Portal:Current events/2010 July 8

July 8, 2010 (Thursday)

Armed conflicts and incidents

A series of bombings over the three-day Shia pilgrimage to the mausoleum of Musa Kadhim in Iraq kill at least 70 and wound 300.
A fugitive rebel captain in the Philippines, Nicanor Faeldon, accused of participation in the Oakwood mutiny, turns himself in after three years. (Al Jazeera) (BBC News) (Philippine Inquirer)
A bomb rips through the engine and coach of a passenger train in Assam, India, killing one person. (Times of India) (The Sydney Morning Herald)

Politics

The Palestinian Authority calls on U.S. President Barack Obama to end tax breaks on American donations to Jewish settlements in the West Bank. (BBC)
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon recalls his envoy and closes an office in Sri Lanka due to protests over a war crimes panel. (UN News Centre) (Al Jazeera) (Times of India)
Cuban dissident Guillermo Fariñas ends a 134 day hunger strike after the Cuban government is to release 52 political prisoners. (CNN) (AP)
CNN's veteran Middle East editor Octavia Nasr writes on Twitter that she "respected" the recently deceased Lebanese Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah. The comment is deleted from Twitter and Nasr is promptly sacked by CNN. (BBC News) (The Australian)
Amnesty International calls on Israel to completely lift its blockade of the Gaza Strip after Israel removes the restrictions on all consumer goods. (Bernama)
David Lloyd Johnston, president of the University of Waterloo, is announced as Canada's next Governor General. He will succeed Michaëlle Jean in September. (CBC News)
United States Republican Party Chairman Michael Steele again resist calls for him to step down after he asserted that the War in Afghanistan was a "war of Obama's choosing". (MSNBC)

Law

US federal judge Joseph Louis Tauro, in two separate cases, rules that a federal ban against gay marriage is unconstitutional, as it interferes with a state's right to define marriage. (MSNBC)
Brazilian footballer Bruno Fernandes de Souza surrenders to police in connection with the disappearance of his former mistress. (BBC News)
Los Angeles Police announce that they have arrested Lonnie David Franklin, Jr., suspected to be the serial killer known as the Grim Sleeper, yesterday. He is arraigned on various murder charges. (CNN)
BT Group and TalkTalk Group announce they are seeking a judicial review of the Digital Economy Act 2010. (BBC News)
Russian Spy Ring in the United States
- 10 people uncovered by the FBI as Russian spies plead guilty in court to conspiracy to act as foreign agents. (BBC News)
- The spies are sentenced to time served, and deported from the United States in exchange for 4 people imprisoned for alleged contact with Western intelligence bodies. (MSNBC).
BART Police shooting of Oscar Grant
- Johannes Mehserle is found guilty of involuntary manslaughter for the killing of Oscar Grant in 2009. (MSNBC)
- Sentencing is set for August. (CNN)
- At least 50 people are arrested in Oakland, California, after protests against the involuntary manslaughter verdict turn violent. (MSNBC)

Business and economics

Greece heads for a general strike after legislators raise the retirement age from 60 to 65. (The Sydney Morning Herald)
The IMF raises global economic growth forecast for this year from 4.2% to 4.6%. (BBC News) (Business Week)
Mozambique announces it will build a new bridge across the Zambezi to allow for a giant coal project in Tete Province. (Afrol News) (BBC News)

Science and weather

Atlantic Tropical Depression Two makes landfall near South Padre Island in Texas. (CNN)
Dolphin Moko's corpse is believed to have washed up on a beach in New Zealand's North Island. (The Sydney Morning Herald)
The Swiss Solar Impulse project's solar powered plane remains aloft for 24 hours, a record for a solar powered craft. (AP via Fox News)
British researchers publish the results of an 11-year study, challenging the traditional notion that childhood obesity is a result of inadequate exercise, arguing instead that obesity leads to inadequate exercise. (BBC News)
A study conducted by Stanford University suggests that heat waves will become more common in the future, due to climate change and global warming. (MSNBC) See Climate change mitigation scenarios.
Scientists discover antibodies that may eventually lead to the development of a vaccine against AIDS. (MSNBC)
A hoard of 52,503 Roman coins dating to the third century is found in Somerset, England. (BBC News) (The Telegraph)
Two undiscovered species of pancake batfish are discovered in the Gulf of Mexico, in areas affected by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. (Reuters)

Sports

NBA free agent LeBron James announces in an hour-long TV special that he plans to sign with the Miami Heat for the upcoming season. (USA Today), (ABC Online)

Other current events

Two people are gored and five injured during the Running of the Bulls at the San Fermín festival in Spain. (AP)