Portal:Current events/2010 December 10

December 10, 2010 (Friday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Somali pirates hijack a Liberian ship 80 nautical miles east of the border between Tanzania and Mozambique, in their most southerly attack yet. (CNN)
At least 15 people are killed and several dozen others sustain wounds during a suicide attack at a Shia hospital in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. (Al Jazeera)
Thai soldiers killed people at a Buddhist temple in Bangkok during demonstrations in May, leaked government documents demonstrate. (The Guardian)
2010 UK student protests:
- Prime Minister of the United Kingdom David Cameron criticises the "mob" which launched an attack upon the car of Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall as the couple were driven down Regent Street towards a Royal Variety performance in London last night. Protesters indicate the use of police brutality. (The Guardian) (CNN)
- 20-year-old Alfie Meadows undergoes brain surgery after being beaten by a policeman wielding a truncheon while leaving an area outside Westminster Abbey as a demonstration against an increase in student fees was underway. (The Guardian) (Sky News) (Al Jazeera) (BBC) (Daily Mail)
- A British mother questions why anti-terrorist officers removed her 12-year-old son from school to warn him against his own planned protest outside David Cameron's constituency office. (The Guardian)
An English exam questioning Indian crackdown on demonstrations in the disputed region of Kashmir leads to police arresting a college lecturer. (AP via The Guardian)

Arts and culture

An auction of Picasso paintings is postponed in Paris. (BBC)
Traces of cocaine "likely" triggered the death of Gerry Ryan in April. (BBC) (RTÉ) (The Irish Times)

Disasters

The United States "loses track" of 119,000 private planes, with uncertainty over who has access to them. (Al Jazeera) (The Hindu) (CNN)
A new archive of the genocide in Rwanda is unveiled in the capital Kigali. (Rwanda News Agency) (BBC)

International relations

A group of 26 ex-EU leaders has urged the union to impose sanctions on Israel for continuing to build settlements on occupied Palestinian territory. (BBC) (EUobserver) (The Guardian)
A ceremony is held in Norway to award the Nobel Peace Prize to Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo in absentia. (Reuters) (Al Jazeera) (BBC)
United States diplomatic cables leak: (Day 12 summary: The Guardian)
- Newly released cables show American pharmaceutical company Pfizer hired investigators in a search for evidence of corruption allegedly committed by Michael Aondoakaa, then attorney-general of Nigeria. This occurred as Aondoakaa was engaged in legal action against Pfizer over a drug trial. (Al Jazeera)
- Newly released cables suggest Burma may be building missile and nuclear sites with the help of North Korea. (BBC) (Al Jazeera)
- It is reported that the U.S. military has issued a "Cyber Control Order" instructing its airmen to "immediately cease use of removable media on all systems, servers, and stand alone machines residing on SIPRNET". (CBS News)
- The U.S. state of Virginia is reported to be Googling "WikiLeaks" more than any part of the country. (The Huffington Post)
- Attacks against companies opposed to WikiLeaks:
  - The websites of the Dutch prosecutor's office and police come under denial-of-service attacks, with officials "probably" linking the incidents to yesterday's arrest in the country of a 16-year-old supporter of the WikiLeaks website. (AFP via The Sydney Morning Herald)
  - Supporters of the WikiLeaks website explain that they are not hackers but "average internet citizens" acting in response to perceived injustices against the website and that they "do not want to steal your personal information or credit card numbers". (BBC)
For the first time since World War II, German troops are stationed in France. (Yahoo! News)

Law and crime

Detention of Julian Assange:
- Christine Assange, mother of the imprisoned WikiLeaks spokesperson Julian Assange, expresses her anger with the Australian government, especially Julia Gillard, on the Seven Network. (Sky News)
- Assange is reported to have been denied the use of his own laptop and has to make do with daytime television which he objects to. (Sify)
- Lawyers for Assange prepare for possible charges under America's Espionage Act. (The Guardian) (The Daily Telegraph)
Prosecutors in Italy open an investigation into allegations that Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi bought MPs before important votes. (The Guardian)
Prosecutors in Croatia issue an arrest warrant for former Prime Minister Ivo Sanader on suspected corruption charges. He is then arrested. (Al Jazeera) (AP) (Sify India)
Human rights campaigners object to a TV programme showing imprisoned Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani returning home. (The Guardian)

Politics and elections

Demonstrations in favour of the WikiLeaks website and its spokesperson Julian Assange are held across Australia. The Australian government is accused of opposing freedom of speech. (Al Jazeera) (Xinhua) (The Sydney Morning Herald)
The Congress of the Republic of Peru applauds the Peruvian 2010 Nobel Literature laureate Mario Vargas Llosa. (Living in Peru)
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is to seek a second term, according to aide Arkady Dvorkovich. (BBC) (RIA Novosti) (China Daily)
A school in Dublin threatens to expel a student who led a protest march against education cuts outlined by the Irish government. (Evening Herald)

Sport

Association football team FC Barcelona ends its 111-year history of refusing commercial shirt sponsorship as it signs a record £125 million deal with the Qatar Foundation. (BBC Sport) (The Guardian) (Al Jazeera)
At least 250 people are injured due to a fence collapse at a game between Al-Wahdat and Al-Faisaly. (Al Jazeera)