Portal:Current events/2009 September 19

September 19, 2009 (Saturday)

A six-nation east African regional bloc consisting of Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan and Uganda urges global sanctions on Eritrea for backing Islamist rebels in neighbouring war-torn Somalia. (IOL)
Two men are arrested in Denver, Colorado, United States, as part of an FBI terror probe. (AP via Google News)
Attacks by rebels in Yemen are reported despite a ceasefire. (CNN) (Saba) (BBC)
Pro and anti government protestors demonstrate in the Thai capital Bangkok and near the Preah Vihear Temple along the border with Cambodia. (Bangkok Post) (BBC) (Xinhua)
A gay pride march in Belgrade, Serbia, is called off after police and Prime Minister Mirko Cvetković tell organisers they could not guarantee its safety. (BBC) (The Times of India) (ABC News)
An earthquake measuring 5.8 on the Richter scale occurs off the coast of Bali in Indonesia. (BBC)
DNA tests confirm that Islamist bomber Noordin Mohamed Top is dead. (BBC)
Treaty of Lisbon:
- President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso arrives in Ireland on the campaign trail for the country's second referendum on the Treaty of Lisbon. (RTÉ) (Reuters) (The Times)
- French President Nicolas Sarkozy warns the Czech Republic it will have to face the “consequences” if President Václav Klaus refuses to sign the Lisbon Treaty allowing it to enter into force. (The Irish Times)
Four people are seriously injured in a bear attack in Takayama, Gifu Prefecture, Japan. (BBC)
Pakistani police raid a local security firm that provides security for the United States embassy for illegal weapons possession. (AP via Houston Chronicle)
The German government raises its terrorism alert level after al Qaeda posted a video on the Internet threatening attacks in Germany based on the outcome of this month's elections. (CNN)
Two German ships become the first Western commercial vessels to navigate the Northern Sea Route. (BBC)
Singer Vera Lynn, aged 92, becomes the oldest artist to obtain a number one album in the United Kingdom. (The New York Times)
France's government holds emergency talks with farmers to avert protests over falling dairy prices. (BBC)
Pope Benedict XVI announces he is to hold a special meeting of Roman Catholic bishops to discuss the concerns and challenges of the Church in the Middle East in October 2010. (The Irish Times)
Nigeria's government asks cinemas to stop showing the science fiction film, District 9, saying it denigrates the country's image by portraying Nigerians as cannibals, criminals and prostitutes. (BBC)
Hundreds of parachutists from the United States, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands commemorate the 65th anniversary of Operation Market Garden near Arnhem, the Netherlands. (The Sydney Morning Herald)
Becky Simmons becomes the first Guernsey-born person to swim the English Channel. (The Guernsey Press)