Portal:Current events/2011 July 29

July 29, 2011 (Friday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

2011 Syrian uprising
- An oil pipeline near the city of Homs is blown up by "saboteurs", according to the state news agency. (Reuters)
- Syrian forces kill at least 20 civilians in attacks on several pro-democracy demonstrations across Syria. (Reuters)
2011 Bahraini uprising: King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa approves parliamentary reforms, which are rejected by opposition groups. (Al Jazeera)
2011 Tunisian revolution: Former President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali is sentenced in absentia to 16 years imprisonment for corruption. (Xinhua)

Business and economy

Johnson & Johnson announced that it will lower the maximum daily dosage of one of its signature products, Extra Strength Tylenol, in order to reduce the risk of liver damage. (Reuters)
Pay-TV company BSkyB secures a seven year deal to share the United Kingdom broadcasting rights of Formula One racing. From March 2012 half the races will air on Sky, while the BBC retains the right to show the other half. (Bloomberg)

Disasters

A Polish report into the 2010 Polish Air Force Tu-154 crash that killed President Lech Kaczyński blames the Polish crew and Russian air traffic controllers for the accident. (UPI)
The Prime Minister of South Korea, Kim Hwang-sik, calls for an overhaul of disaster management following the death of 59 people in floods and landslides caused by heavy rain in recent days. (Yonhap)
At least twenty coal miners are killed and seventeen are missing following two accidents in the Ukraine. (CTV News)(AP via Google News)

International relations

South Sudan joins the African Union as its 54^th member. (The Hindu)
North Korea threatens to dispose of South Korean assets at the jointly-run Mount Kumgang resort. (Reuters)
The Chief of the armed forces along with the heads of the army, navy and air force all resign in Turkey. (BBC)

Law and crime

Ajmal Kasab, the last surviving gunman from the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks, launches an appeal against his death sentence in India. (Times of India) (Sky News)
News International phone hacking scandal
- The legal team representing Glenn Mulcaire, the private investigator at the centre of claims of phone hacking, says that he "acted on the instructions of others". (BBC)
- MPs on the Culture, Media and Sport Committee vote not to recall James Murdoch after his evidence was called into question by two senior News International executives. However, he may have to appear again later after more evidence is heard. (BBC)
- Baroness Peta Buscombe announces her intention to step down as Chair of the Press Complaints Commission following criticism about the way she handled the scandal. (BBC)
- Broadcaster BSkyB announces its intention to return $1bn to shareholders angered by the recent fall in its share prices. (BBC)
- Appearing in court, protester Jonathan May-Bowles admits to throwing a foam pie at Rupert Murdoch as he gave evidence to a Parliamentary Committee. (BBC)
Christopher Jefferies, an early suspect in the investigation into the murder of Joanna Yeates, accepts "substantial" libel damages from eight British newspapers after they published details of his private life. The Sun and Daily Mirror are also fined for contempt of court in their reporting of the investigation. (BBC)
UK based Internet blogger Bilal Zaheer Ahmad is sentenced to 12 years imprisonment after admitting using his blog to solicit the murder of MPs who voted for the Iraq War. (BBC)
A U.S. Court of Appeals holds that isolated DNA is "markedly different" in its chemical structure from the DNA within chromosomes, and thus is not simply a product of nature but of human ingenuity. According, the court upholds two patents held by Myriad Genetics against challenge. (New York Times)

Movies

The Movie Premiere of The Smurfs

Politics

The United States House of Representatives votes to increase the debt ceiling but the Senate rejects it. (WTSP)
The Prime Minister of Spain José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero calls an early election for November 20 rather than 2012. (EFE via Fox News)

Sport

Jürgen Klinsmann is named head coach of the United States men's national soccer team, one day after Bob Bradley was relieved as coach. (ESPN)