Portal:Current events/2016 June 15
< Portal:Current events
June 15, 2016 (Wednesday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Syrian Civil War
- Syrian government airstrikes hit rebel-held areas in Aleppo, killing at least 34 people. (Al Jazeera)
Disasters and accidents
- A scaffolding on a bridge under construction near Werneck, Germany, collapses, killing at least one worker and injuring six more. (BBC)
- EgyptAir Flight 804
- A deep sea search vessel discovers the wreckage of the lost aircraft in the Mediterranean Sea. (CNN) (BBC)
International relations
- European Union-Turkey relations
- Turkey fails to meet the criteria set forth by the European Union in order to obtain visa-free travel to its member states. The EU promised to grant Turkey visa-free travel only if it met specific conditions on border security and human rights. (The Guardian)
- Ukraine–NATO relations
- NATO's defense ministers agree to boost support for Ukraine with a "comprehensive package of assistance", which will help it strengthen defense and to modernize its armed forces. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
- Israel–Palestine relations
- Israel announces plans for construction of a three-story residential building for Jewish settlers in a Palestinian neighborhood of East Jerusalem. (Reuters)
Law and crime
- 2014–16 Venezuelan protests
- Venezuelan police arrest at least 400 people in the city of Cumaná after food riots and looting broke out yesterday. (Reuters)
- November 2015 Paris attacks
- The father of Cal State Long Beach student Nohemi Gonzalez, the only American killed in the November 13, 2015, Paris massacre, files suit in San Francisco, California, federal court against Twitter, Facebook, and Google, alleging the companies provided "material support" to the Islamic State and other extremist groups. While generally free of liability under U.S. law which provides a legal safe harbor for content posted, this case targets the behavior social media companies enable. The suit is very similar to a case brought against Twitter in January by the widow of a contractor killed in the November 9, 2015, attack in Jordan. (AP via San Francisco Chronicle) (Daily Mail) (The Guardian)
Politics and elections
- Yōichi Masuzoe resigns as the Governor of the Japanese capital Tokyo over a political funding scandal. He was due to face a no-confidence motion in the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly later today. (AP via ABC News America)
- Senator Murphy gun control filibuster
- United States Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn) launches a filibuster on the Senate floor in an effort to pass gun control legislation in the wake of the Orlando nightclub shooting. (Politico)
- The Canadian House of Commons approves a bill to make the lyrics in the country's national anthem gender neutral. The bill would change the words in O Canada from "in all thy sons command" to "in all of us command." (Reuters)
- The Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, City Council approves a 1.5-cent-per-ounce tax on sugar-sweetened and diet beverages, effective January 1, 2017. This the first so-called sugary drinks tax in a major U.S. city. (Philadelphia Inquirer)
Science and technology
- Scientists confirm a second detection of gravitational waves by LIGO. (The Guardian) (BBC)
Sport
- Violence at UEFA Euro 2016
- Renewed clashes take place between English and Russian football fans in the French city of Lille following Russia's 2-1 defeat against Slovakia. Riot police fired tear gas at England supporters outside Gare de Lille Europe. (The Guardian) (BBC)
- Police arrest at least 36 people in Lille following clashes between French police and football fans at the tournament. French authorities report 16 people were taken to hospital. (BBC)
- In baseball, Ichiro Suzuki reaches a combined total of career hits of 4,257 spanning Major League Baseball and Nippon Professional Baseball. It passes Pete Rose's career total encompassing Major League Baseball only of 4,256 but the MLB is considered to be a higher quality competition. (ESPN)