Portal:Current events/2012 September 26
< Portal:Current events
September 26, 2012 (Wednesday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Syrian civil war:
- Twin explosions near the headquarters of the Syrian Armed Forces in central Damascus kill at least four military guards. (Al Jazeera)
- Press TV correspondent Maya Nasser is killed by sniper fire while reporting from the scene of twin bomb blasts in Damascus. (The Guardian)
- Qatar calls for Arab intervention in Syria. (Al Jazeera)
- Local activists report a massacre of over 40 civilians by the Syrian army in the Damascus suburb of Thiabieh. (TIME)
Business and economy
- Trade unions in Greece call a general strike in protest against continuing austerity measures. (BBC)
International relations
- Russia and Japan schedule a sub-cabinet level meeting for October in Tokyo to discuss the Kuril Islands dispute. (Jiji Press via Yomiuri Shimbun)
- Senkaku Islands dispute:
- Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda addresses the UNGA by stating that Japan is committed to a "peaceful solution" to its territorial disputes, but that it intends to "fulfill its responsibility" to protecting its sovereignty. (Yomiuri Shimbun) (NHK World) (AP)
- China responds to Noda's speech by calling it "self-deceiving" and as a "challenge" to the post-war international order. (Xinhua)
- Anti-Japan protests are staged outside the UN. (NHK World)
- ANA and JAL report that over 52,000 seats for flights between China and Japan have been canceled. (Kyodo News via Mainichi Shimbun)
- Japanese businesses are asked to withdraw their exhibits from the forthcoming Western China International Fair in Chengdu. (Kyodo News via Mainichi Shimbun)
- Japanese automakers suspend operations in China until after National Day and announce plans to cut output in the country. (Kyodo News)
Law and crime
- Russian billionaire Alexander Lebedev is charged with hooliganism and battery over a televised punch-up, with a possible five-year jail sentence in what he says is revenge for criticising President Vladimir Putin. (Reuters)
- Expelled ANC Youth League president Julius Malema is charged with money laundering at a court in South Africa. (IOL)
- A court ruling allows Turkey to ban access to the film Innocence of Muslims. (Hurriyet Daily News)
Politics and elections
- Ireland's Minister of State for Primary Care Róisín Shortall resigns due to a dispute with Minister for Health James Reilly. She also resigns from the Labour Party. (RTE) (The Irish Times)
- Former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe is elected the leader of the opposition Liberal Democratic Party. (The Japan Times)