Portal:Current events/2009 October 18

October 18, 2009 (Sunday)

Yemen claims to have killed 18 Shia rebels in fighting in the north of the country.
Iraq accuses neighbouring countries of stealing sections of its national archives, including centuries-old documents. (AFP)
Ukraine commences its first presidential election campaign since the 2004 Orange Revolution. (Reuters)
A Rwandan doctor working in a French hospital is suspended after a nurse locates an Internet Interpol arrest warrant, accusing him of a 1994 "genocide, war crimes". (Reuters)
At least 60 Taliban militants are killed in an ongoing offensive in South Waziristan, northwest Pakistan. (The Guardian) (Xinhua)
Jenson Button wins the 2009 Formula One World Championship in Interlagos, São Paulo, Brazil, by finishing fifth in the 2009 Brazilian Grand Prix.
Germany and Israel complain about a Bangkok museum billboard depicting a salute by Adolf Hitler beside the slogan "Hitler is not dead". (BBC) (Radio Netherlands Worldwide)
Hurricane Rick strengthens to a Category 5 storm, becoming the strongest hurricane in a decade in the eastern Pacific Ocean. (Associated Press) (Straits Times) (CNN)
The Australian state of Queensland declares a state of emergency after more than 50 wildfires burn out of control. (TVNZ) (Al Jazeera) (The Australian)
Eight people are jailed in Hubei, China, for "disrupting public order" after 10,000 people participated in riots following the controversial death of a chef in June. (BBC) (China Daily) (Bangkok Post)^{[permanent dead link‍]}
Scotland Yard investigates a complaint about an article by Jan Moir in the UK's Daily Mail tabloid concerning her views on the death of Boyzone singer Stephen Gately. (RTÉ)
2009 Pishin bombing:
- Senior commanders of Iran's Revolutionary Guards are among 35 people killed in a suicide bombing in the southeast of the country. (Zee News) (Press TV) (RIA Novosti)
- Iranian state television says Britain was directly involved in the attack and intended it as a distraction from problems it faces in Afghanistan. (Reuters)
- The Pakistani charge d'affaires is summoned after Iran says it has evidence the attack had been launched from Pakistani soil. (Press TV)
Seven people are killed and 20 injured after gunmen open fire in a bar in Puerto Rico. (Associated Press)
Two foreign aid workers Sharon Commins and Hilda Kawuki – one Irish and one Ugandan – working for the GOAL charity captured in Sudan's Darfur region more than three months ago are released. (Associated Press) (RTÉ) (BBC)
A boat with 76 migrant workers on board headed for Canada is seized by the Canadian Navy and RCMP off its west coast in the Pacific Ocean. (CTV) (AFP)
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) assists Indonesian and Malaysian agencies with two distressed boats. (The Sydney Morning Herald)
The Icelandic government says it has come to a new agreement with the governments of the Netherlands and the UK over the repaying of $5bn. (BBC)