Portal:Current events/2011 January 10

January 10, 2011 (Monday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Aftermath of the 2011 Tucson shooting:
- A judge denies bail to gunman Jared Loughner, who is accused of killing six and injuring 14 including a federal judge and U.S. Congresswoman. (CBC)
- Congresswoman Gabby Giffords is able to respond correctly to simple commands. (AP)
Three people are killed in a clash between Sudanese army and the Sudan Liberation Movement rebel group, in north Darfur, according to the United Nations-led peacekeeping mission. (Bloomberg)
A suicide bomber kills two policemen and a civilian, the second attack in four days for which the Taliban claims responsibility, while separately, three policemen are killed in a 'friendly fire' incident as US Vice President Joe Biden arrives for a visit in Afghanistan. (Los Angeles Times) (The New York Times)
Palestinians fire three rockets from Gaza, landing in Israel's Ashkelon region, shortly after IDF soldiers kill a 65 year old farmer for unknown reasons, and bomb two sites in the Gaza Strip. (Haaretz) (Ynet) (The Jerusalem Post)
ETA declares a permanent and general ceasefire which will be verifiable by the international community. (Gara) Archived 2011-01-24 at the Wayback Machine (BBC)
War in North-West Pakistan:
- Tens of thousands of people rally in Karachi, Pakistan to demand the release of Mumtaz Qadri, charged with killing Salman Taseer, the provincial governor of Punjab who had campaigned to amend the country's blasphemy laws. (The Australian)

Arts and culture

Turkey is considering demolishing a giant sculpture, meant to symbolize friendship between Turkey and Armenia, near the city of Kars. (BBC) (AsiaOne)(The Washington Post)

Business and economics

Trading on the Dhaka Stock Exchange in Bangladesh is halted after it fell by 9.25% in an hour; investors stage protests and clash with riot police. (BBC) (Financial Express Bangladesh)
Brazilian Finance Minister Guido Mantega moves to secure the Brazilian real amid concerns expressed in the Financial Times of currency manipulation by the United States, China and others. (BBC)
U.S. chemical company DuPont buys out Danish food ingredient and enzyme company Danisco for $5.8billion. (Reuters)

Disasters

International relations

Pope Benedict XVI urges Pakistan to repeal its blasphemy law, which carry the death penalty for insulting the Prophet Muhammad. (BBC)
EU envoys in the Middle East are urging Brussels to treat East Jerusalem as the future capital of a Palestinian state. (BBC) (Reuters)
Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez responds to criticism from Organization of American States Secretary General José Miguel Insulza by saying the OAS is interfering in the country's internal affairs and referring to Insulza as a "spokesman of the empire" during a radio address. (BBC)

Law and crime

Iranian human-rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh is sentenced to 11 years in prison and banned from practicing law or traveling for 20 years; France condemns the punishment as "deeply shocking" and called for the release of Sotoudeh and another activist, Shiva Nazar-Ahari, who was sentenced to four years in prison and 74 lashes. (Los Angeles Times) (The New York Times) (Reuters)
Interpol places 47 Saudis on its most-wanted list after Saudi Arabia accuses them of involvement in the Al-Qaeda terror network. (The Washington Post) (Sify)(The Jerusalem Post)

Politics

36 people killed including possibly 20 police as Southern Sudan votes on referendum on independence. (BBC) (MSNBC)
Burma's new parliament is to convene on 31 January for the first time following general elections last year. (AFP) (Sify India) (BBC)
Universities and schools in Tunisia are closed following unrest, as President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali says a further 300,000 jobs would be created. (Reuters) (AFP) (Al Jazeera)
Former Republican United States House of Representatives Majority Leader Tom DeLay is sentenced to three years in prison for money laundering. (New York Post), (Washington Post)
More than 150 Israeli university lecturers support a boycott of the University Centre of Samaria in Ariel over concerns of "unbearably harsh conditions" faced by Palestinians living nearby, as well as Ariel being an "illegal settlement" and a roadblock to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state. (The Irish Times)(Al Jazeera)

Sport