Portal:Current events/2009 October 15

October 15, 2009 (Thursday)

Treaty of Lisbon:
- Czech President Václav Klaus's disruption of the Treaty of Lisbon is deemed "absurd, irresponsible and damaging to the country" by his predecessor Václav Havel. (The Times)
- President of Ireland Mary McAleese signs the Lisbon Treaty after returning from Luxembourg. (RTÉ) (Reuters) (Taiwan News)
Ugandan MP David Bahati proposes creating a capital offence of "aggravated homosexuality" for gay sex with people under 18, disabled people or when the accused is HIV-positive. (BBC)
The U.N. General Assembly elects Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Gabon, Lebanon and Nigeria to the U.N. Security Council as non-veto-holding members. (Reuters)
Narges Kalhor, the daughter of a senior adviser to President of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, applies for asylum in Germany. (Reuters)
Burma and Bangladesh send warships to a disputed area in the Bay of Bengal 50 nmi (93 km) west of St. Martin's Island. (Mizzima)
Three of the five members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee initially argued against awarding U.S. President Barack Obama the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize. (AFP via Google News) (Primary source: Verdens Gang)
North Korea accuses South Korea of intruding into its territorial waters, further raising tensions on the Korean Peninsula. (Yonhap) (Reuters) (AFP)
Palestinians have urged the UN to act to punish Israel for its offensive in the Gaza Strip last winter. (BBC) (Ha'aretz)
At least 37 people are killed in a series of bomb attacks in Pakistani cities by militants. (The News)^{[permanent dead link‍]} (Bloomberg) (Indian Express)
A further six people are sentenced to death over ethnic unrest in China's Xinjiang region in July. (China Daily) (Al Jazeera) (BBC)
The International Criminal Court opens an investigation into the suppression of an opposition protest in Guinea, in which dozens of people were killed. (Associated Press)
Finland becomes the first country in the world to declare Internet broadband access a legal right. (CNN)
The ruling party in Malaysia, the United Malays National Organisation, announces internal reforms after a series of defeats in local elections. (Al Jazeera) (Bernama)
Militants launch attacks on police in Lahore, the capital of Punjab province, in Pakistan, killing 31 people after a week of violence in which more than 100 people died. (Reuters)
Norwegian pop trio a-ha announce they are to split after 25 years together. (BBC) (The Daily Telegraph) (The Independent)
A worldwide media circus surrounds an incident in which a six-year-old boy is alleged to be flying in a homemade hot-air balloon; the boy was later found safe at home. (CNN)