Portal:Current events/2010 September 24
September 24, 2010 (Friday)
Arts and culture
- Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus of ABBA object to the use of the song "Mamma Mia" at rallies held by a right-wing Danish political party and threaten to sue. (BBC)
- The Beano is to feature a President of the United States for the first time in its history. (BBC)
- American satirist Stephen Colbert attracts media attention in his country by appearing before a United States Congress committee. (BBC)
Business and economy
- Gold prices reach a record US$1,300/oz in a prolonged rally. (MarketWatch)
- Striking pilots from the state-owned Air Zimbabwe end their two week strike that grounded flights and left passengers stranded after a pay deal with the government in Zimbabwe. (Times Live) (Reuters)
- In the world's largest share offer, Brazilian semi-public energy company Petrobras raises US$67 billion. (Wall Street Journal)
- The Thanet Wind Farm, the world's largest offshore wind farm, opens off the southeast coast of Thanet district in Kent, England. (AP via yahoo) (3news) (Sky) (Seattle Times) (CBS) (AP)
- China Energy Conservation and Environmental Protection Group invests RMB 30 billion offshore in a wind farm project in Liaoning province of northern China. (Business China)
- Facebook launches a new feature for iPhone in Canada, allowing users to automatically update their location. (CBC) (Tehran Times)
- Chile freezes the assets of San Esteban Mining to fund the cost of the rescue effort from the 2010 Copiapó mining accident. (AFP via Adelaide Advertiser)
Disasters
- The government of Nigeria opens two swollen dams in Jigawa State, displacing two million people. (AP via MSNBC) (BBC)
- Hurricane Lisa becomes the seventh hurricane of the 2010 Atlantic hurricane season. (UPI)
- At least five people die in a freak storm in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. (Sky News Australia)
- One person is killed and 57 are injured in a train collision in Tunis. (Xinhua)
International relations
- The African Union appeals for funds to increase its force in Somalia from 8,000 to 20,000. (BBC) (AP)
- Japanese prosecutors release the Chinese fishing boat captain recently captured in disputed waters in the East China Sea after pressure from the Chinese government. (Reuters via Yahoo! News UK) (BBC) (Al Jazeera)
- The United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton meets with the President of the Palestinian National Authority Mahmoud Abbas to discuss an extension of the Middle East peace process. (AFP via Google News)
Law and crime
- A senior Nicaraguan diplomat is found dead in an apartment in New York City. (Latin American Herald Tribune) (CNN)
- Judge Ronald B. Leighton of the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington rules on remand that the discharge of flight nurse Maj. Margaret Witt under the Don't ask, don't tell policy violated her constitutional rights. (AP via MSNBC)
Politics
- Gennady Yanayev, who briefly declared himself to be the President of the Soviet Union in the August Coup of 1991 that deposed Mikhail Gorbachev, dies in Russia. (AP via Google News) (BBC) (Reuters via Gulf News)