Portal:Current events/2010 October 25

October 25, 2010 (Monday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

A bomb at the Fariduddin Ganjshakar Sufi shrine in Pakpattan, a city in Pakistan's Punjab province, kills at least eight people and injures twenty. (NDTV), (CNN) (Xinhua) (irna)^{[permanent dead link‍]}
A roadside bomb struck a passenger van in the Orakzai tribal region killing three people and wounding two others near Tanda. (dawn)
An Afghan official claims that a NATO air strike killed about 25 people in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. (AP via Salon) (Xinhua)
A Sahrawi boy was killed and five other injured by the Moroccan Army near a protest camp in Western Sahara. (Sahara Press Service)^{[permanent dead link‍]}

Business and economy

China and Africa celebrated the tenth anniversary of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in Beijing. Jia Qinglin, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, addressed the reception commemorating. (gov.cn) (China Gate)
Lhasa invests 90 million yuan in 23 tourist facilities. The tourist facilities include Lhasa Tourist Service Center, Namtso Scenic Spot, Potala Palace- Jokhang Temple- Norbu Linka Cultural Heritage tourist attractions, etc. (China Tibet Online)^{[permanent dead link‍]}
United Arab Emirates pavilion in Shanghai wins National Council of Structural Engineers Associations (NCSEA) Excellence Award in Structural Engineering at Shanghai Expo 2010. (UAE)
Singapore Exchange proposes a $A8.4 billion takeover of the Australian Securities Exchange. (Dow Jones via The Australian), (BBC)
Sony stops selling the original cassette Walkman. (Newcore via Herald Sun)
US financial regulators launch an investigation into the foreclosure practices of various US financial institutions. (BBC News)
BP
- CEO Bob Dudley outlines a strategy to rebuild public trust, after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. (BBC News)
- The British oil firm sells its interests in four Gulf of Mexico oil wells to Japanese firm Marubeni, in a wider cash-raising effort that aims to raise 30 billion dollars for compensations related to the oil spill. (BBC News)
American International Group CEO Robert Benmosche has cancer, the company said, and he is receiving "aggressive chemotherapy," but his prognosis is not clear. (CNBC)^{[permanent dead link‍]}

Disasters and accidents

One person is killed and nine others injured after a plane carrying employees of BP Canada crashes in northeastern Alberta. The twin-engine King Air 100 was on its way from Edmonton City Centre Airport to Kirby Lake, southeast of Conklin. (Edmonton Journal) (Globe and mail) (Calgary Herald) (Canada)
Leading Nepalese Sherpa Chhewang Nima, known for climbing Mount Everest 19 times, is now feared dead. (The Independent)
Indonesia
- Authorities evacuate 40,000 people in Java due to fears of an explosion by Mount Merapi. (CNN)
- A magnitude 7.5 earthquake strikes near the Mentawai Islands, but tsunami warnings for western Sumatra proved unwarranted. (BBC News), (News Limited) (Sina)
At least 27 people are killed and eighty injured after oil leaks from a pipeline near the town of Pakokku in Burma. (BBC)

International relations

Israeli officials criticize the concluding document of the Vatican’s synod on the Middle East, with Israeli deputy foreign minister Danny Ayalon accusing the synod of being "a forum for Arab propaganda". (The Irish Times) (The Jerusalem Post) (AP)
Japan lodges a formal protest with China after two Chinese fishing boats were seen near the Senkaku Islands. (BBC)
Afghanistan
- President Hamid Karzai acknowledges that his office has regularly received cash from Iran and the United States but claims that the process was transparent. (BBC), (AP via Yahoo! News)
- A Dutch aid worker, along with an Afghan driver, are kidnapped on a highway while traveling to Kunduz Province, Afghanistan. (BBC News)
U.S. Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts claims the government of Sudan – which has been subject to U.S. sanctions since 1997 – has assured him it will hold a referendum on independence for the south. (BBC) (Xinhua)
Iran and Kenya signed an agreement in the field of tourism. (irna)^{[permanent dead link‍]}

Law and crime

Abdul Nacer Benbrika, serving a 15-year jail term in Australia after being found guilty on a number of terrorism-related charged, loses an appeal in the Court of Appeal against conviction of leading a terrorist group. (ABC Melbourne) (Herald Sun)
The EU activates its Rapid Border Intervention Teams for the first time since its creation in 2007 to stem illegal immigration at the Greek border. (BBC News)
The trial of the alleged killer of Chandra Levy, Ingmar Guandique of El Salvador, begins in Washington D.C. (AP via USA Today)

Politics and elections

Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader Simon Hughes is threatening a backbench rebellion over proposed housing benefits cut, which might threaten the stability of the United Kingdom coalition government, of which the Liberal Democrats are a part of. (BBC News)
Voters in Piran, Slovenia elect Ghanaian-born Peter Bossman as its mayor, the first time a person of African descent has been elected mayor in any Slovenian cities and towns. (BBC News)
Voters in Philippines go to the polls for the Philippine barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections. (PhilStar)
Voters across all municipalities in Ontario go to the polls for the Ontario municipal elections, 2010. (CTV)
An audience member throws shoes at former Prime Minister of Australia John Howard during an appearance on Q&A on ABC1. (Canberra Times)

Science

More than 700 species of ancient insects are discovered preserved in amber in an ancient rainforest in India. (BBC)

Sports

UEFA:
- UEFA President Michel Platini proposes a goal-line referee's assistant rather than goal-line technology which he says would lead to "Playstation Football", despite controversial decisions in 2010 World Cup matches. (BBC Sports)
- The European football rulemaking body has called for proof to substantiate corruption allegations leveled against the Euro 2012 bidding process. (BBC Sports)