Portal:Current events/2010 December 2

December 2, 2010 (Thursday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

About 8,000 African Union troops from Burundi and Uganda are deployed to the Somali capital Mogadishu, the scene of heavy fighting this week. (Reuters)
Representatives of the Philippines government and the National Democratic Front resume peace talks in Hong Kong. (BBC) (RTHK)
A joint investigation by the United Kingdom and the United States finds that aid worker Linda Norgrove was killed by a grenade thrown by an American soldier during an operation to rescue her. (BBC)
One of 12 American soldiers admits acting on orders and shooting unarmed Afghan farmers. He is sentenced to nine months imprisonment and demotion, but allowed to stay in the military. (Al Jazeera)
At least 4 people are killed during an attack on an Abidjan office belonging to Côte d'Ivoire opposition leader Alassane Ouattara. (BBC)

Arts and culture

1 million free books are to be made available in the UK and Ireland on 5 March 2011; some booksellers object due to falling sales. (BBC) (The Guardian) (The Daily Telegraph)

Business and economy

Norway investigates whether Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus diverted millions of dollars of aid money from the Grameen Bank but expresses certainty that nothing criminal has occurred. (BBC)

Disasters

Thousands of New Zealanders gather at the Omoto racecourse to commemorate the victims of the Pike River Mine disaster. (BBC)
More than 55,000 animals are being culled after a breakout of foot-and-mouth disease at pig farms in South Korea. (Al Jazeera)
UK and Irish snow
- Heavy snowfall in the United Kingdom disrupting travel, with Gatwick Airport remaining closed. (The Telegraph)
- In Ireland court cases are affected, Dublin Airport is closed and traffic is disrupted across the country due to the poor weather. (RTÉ) (BBC) (The Irish Times) (TV3)
Dublin's main thoroughfare O'Connell Street is shut following an explosion from a gas leak. (The Irish Times)
At least 40 people are killed during a forest fire near Haifa in Israel. (BBC) (Al Jazeera)

International relations

United States diplomatic cables leak:
- Amazon.com cuts off its access to the WikiLeaks website following "heavy political pressure" applied by Joe Lieberman, a senator in the United States. The move is compared to the censorship of Google by China. (The Guardian) (AFP via France24)
- The United States thinks President of Sri Lanka Mahinda Rajapaksa was involved in a massacre of Tamils according to a leaked cable. (Al Jazeera)
- The Irish foreign ministry objected to America's sending of Apache helicopters to Israel via Ireland during the Israel-Lebanon war in February 2006 without informing local authorities but Irish officials were warned that the U.S. would use facilities elsewhere, depriving the Irish economy of tens of millions of dollars. (Al Jazeera)
- Specialists in espionage law say U.S. authorities would encounter "insurmountable legal hurdles" during any attempt to prosecute Julian Assange, even if he were to appear in the country. (Reuters via National Post)
WikiLeaks spokesperson Julian Assange calls for the resignation of Hillary Clinton "if it can be shown that she was responsible for ordering U.S. diplomatic figures to engage in espionage in the United Nations, in violation of the international covenants to which the U.S. has signed up". (TIME)
Julian Assange grants an interview to TIME in which he talks about secrecy, saying "we keep secret the identity of our sources" but that secrecy "shouldn't be used to cover up abuses". (TIME)
Iran completes the fueling of its nuclear reactor at Bushehr. (RIA Novosti) (Tehran Times)

Law and crime

Dick Cheney faces charges in Nigeria over $180 million dollars in bribes a subsidiary of Halliburton, of which Cheney was chief executive, paid to Nigerian officials. (BBC)
Police in Iran make several arrests of suspects in relation to an attack on two nuclear physicists that it claims are connected to the United States Central Intelligence Agency, Mossad from Israel, and MI6 in the United Kingdom. (CNN)
Former Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian enters prison on being convicted of corruption charges. (Taipei Times)

Politics and elections

Ivory Coasts' election commission in Côte d'Ivoire declares Alassane Ouattara the winner of the Ivorian presidential election but the Constitutional Council declares the announcement invalid as it missed the deadline to announce the results. (Al Jazeera), (CNN)
Vanuatu Prime Minister Edward Natapei is ousted in a vote of no confidence while traveling en route to Cancun, Mexico. Sato Kilman becomes Prime Minister. (BBC News)
All Russian state media is to be put up for sale by the government. (The Guardian)
The United States House of Representatives votes to censure New York Democratic Party member Charlie Rangel. (New York Times)

Sport

2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids:
- The results of the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids are announced. (Al Jazeera)
- Russia wins the right to host the 2018 FIFA World Cup. (The Sofia Echo) (RIA Novosti) (The Daily Telegraph)
- Qatar wins the right to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup. (The Sofia Echo) (Al Jazeera)