Portal:Current events/2009 September 17

September 17, 2009 (Thursday)

A senior Irish Catholic bishop says Roman Catholics can vote "Yes" in the country's second referendum on the Treaty of Lisbon "in good conscience". (BBC)
At least 87 refugees are killed after an army air raid on a camp for displaced people in 'Amran Governorate, northern Yemen. (BBC) (Saba) (Bernama) (Al Jazeera)
The President of France Nicolas Sarkozy says European Union leaders agree to impose a cap on banker pay. (AP via Google News)
The Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, Jan Fischer, says that President Barack Obama told him that the United States is abandoning plans for a missile shield based in Poland and the Czech Republic. (AP via Houston Chronicle) (RIA Novosti)
Two large explosions hit the main base of African Union peacekeepers in Mogadishu, Somalia. (AP via Chicago Star-Tribune)^{[permanent dead link‍]} (Xinhua)
Shia insurgency in Yemen: More than 80 people are killed in an air raid on a camp for displaced people in northern Yemen. (BBC)
A number of children are injured in an attack at the Carolinum secondary school in the Bavarian town of Ansbach. German police arrest a man. (BBC) (RTÉ)
Colombia says it would consider quitting UNASUR if the bloc does not agree to debate issues related to drug trafficking, terrorism and arms purchases. (MercoPress)
Ethiopia's Prime Minister Meles Zenawi denounces an International Crisis Group (ICG) report that warns his country could descend into ethnic violence ahead of its first national election since a 2005 poll triggered deadly street clashes. (IOL)
A large car bomb attack in the centre of Kabul, Afghanistan, kills six Italian ISAF soldiers. (BBC) (Adnkronos)
Egypt's top Islamic authority, Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa, defends women's rights to wear trousers in public following the high-profile court case in neighbouring Sudan where women, including Lubna al-Hussein, were flogged for dressing in the garments. (IOL)
Seven explosions hit the Burmese city of Yangon with no casualties. (Bangkok Post)^{[permanent dead link‍]} (Times of India)
Indonesian police confirm the death of their most wanted man, Noordin Mohammed Top, who was suspected of involvement in the 2009 Jakarta bombings and the Bali bombings in 2002. (Jakarta Post) (Al Jazeera) (CNN)
United Nations Under-Secretary General for Political Affairs Lynn Pascoe begins visiting camps holding displaced Tamil refugees in northern Sri Lanka. (Colombo Page) (BBC) (AFP)
Venezuela and China agree a $16 billion oil exploration deal allowing China to drill in the Orinoco basin. (Bloomberg) (MarketWatch) (Al Jazeera)
The ruling Burmese junta defends its decision to bar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi from attending her appeal hearing. (Straits Times) (Gulf News)^{[permanent dead link‍]} (Philippine Star)^{[permanent dead link‍]}
Four more people are found guilty and jailed for carrying out attacks with syringes in the western Chinese province of Xinjiang. (BBC)
The National Assembly of Kenya passes a bill to reduce the number of ministries from 40 to 24. (BBC)