Portal:Current events/2011 July 6

July 6, 2011 (Wednesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Arab Spring:
- 2011 Libyan civil war:
  - Rebels launch an offensive in the western Nafusa Mountains. (Reuters)
  - al-Qwalish is taken by anti-Gaddafi forces, who make gains of 12 kilometres, after a battle lasting 6 hours. (Al Jazeera)
- 2011 Syrian uprising: A Syrian human rights organisation claims that Syrian Army troops have killed 22 people in the town of Hama since yesterday. (Al Jazeera)
- 2011 Egyptian revolution: A court in Suez upholds the release of police accused of killing 17 people during the popular revolution that ousted the regime of Hosni Mubarak from power; family members attack police cars and the court building as a result. There is a call for 1 million people to demonstrate in Tahrir Square on Friday. (BBC) (Al Jazeera)
Nigerian Sharia conflict:
- An explosion and gunfire are heard in the northern Nigerian town of Maiduguri, amid activity by Islamist group Boko Haram. (Malaysia Star)

Arts and culture

Iconic Indian filmmaker Mani Kaul dies in Delhi. (BBC) (The Times of India) (Economic Times) (The Telegraph)

Business and economy

The European Commission denounces international credit ratings agencies as "questionable" after Portugal is downgraded by Moody's, while Greece's foreign minister Stavros Lambrinidis calls their behaviour "madness". (BBC)
Japan's Jiji Press reports that the country will conduct stress tests for all nuclear reactors in the country. (Reuters)

Disasters

Authorities report that a cargo plane has crashed in eastern Afghanistan with casualties feared. (AP via The Washington Post)
7 people are killed during heavy floods in Sichuan Province in the People's Republic of China. (Xinhua)
A Bell UH-1Y Venom helicopter crashes on a training flight at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton near the US city of San Diego with one person dead and five people injured. (Sign On San Diego)

Law and crime

The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals orders the Obama administration to cease its enforcement of the ban on gay men and women in the military ("Don't ask, don't tell"). (BBC) (Daily Mail)
5 Belarusian journalists are sentenced to administrative arrests ranging from 3 to 12 days for attending unsanctioned rallies in Minsk and other cities. (RIA Novosti)
7 people are jailed before a trial into suspicions of match-fixing in the Turkish League. (Al Jazeera)
Russian government daily Rossiyskaya Gazeta publishes a list of individuals and companies allegedly involved in money laundering and financing of terrorism. (RIA Novosti)
The perjury trial of retired star baseball pitcher Roger Clemens commences in the U.S. over allegedly false statements made to a United States Congress Committee over use of performance-enhancing drugs. (Reuters via Yahoo)^{[permanent dead link‍]}
Nine Germans are convicted in absentia in Verona Italy for killing hundreds of civilians during World War II. (BBC)

Politics and elections

News of the World phone hacking affair:
- Members of the United Kingdom House of Commons discuss a Labour Party proposal to set up a public inquiry into the News of the World phone hacking affair. (BBC) (Al Jazeera)
- News International uncovers emails indicating that thousands of pounds were paid to Metropolitan Police officers by News International staff for information. (BBC) (BBC)
- Vauxhall, Mitsubishi, the Co-op, Lloyds TSB and Virgin Holidays all join Ford in suspending advertising with the News of the World. (BBC)
- The Daily Telegraph reports that phones belonging to the relatives of British soldiers killed in combat were hacked. (BBC)
- Rupert Murdoch, chairman and chief executive of News Corporation, calls the allegations "deplorable and unacceptable". (BBC)
Nepalese authorities ban exiled Tibetans from celebrating the Dalai Lama's birthday for fears that the gatherings will turn anti-Chinese. (MSNBC)
Irish government lawmaker Denis Naughten votes against his own government over cuts to a hospital, amid protests by hundreds of people outside Dáil Éireann; he now faces expulsion from Fine Gael with the hospital's emergency department to close on Monday. (Irish Examiner) (The Irish Times) (RTÉ)
Freedom Flotilla II:
- The French ship Dignity Al Karama is reported to have successfully reached international waters and is heading for the Gaza Strip, with hopes expressed that the remaining unsabotaged ships currently being held by Greek authorities will soon join it. (The Voice of Russia)
- Israel announces the deportation of 5 people involved in activism to Belgium and France amid reports that hundreds more are to fly in from Moscow and New York. (Channel 6 News)
Israeli officials are reported to be boycotting a United Nations official over an unpublished report concerning the part played by Israeli forces in the recent deaths of 7 Palestinian protesters during the annual Nakba commemorations. (BBC)
China blocks mentions on the Internet to Jiang Zemin due to speculation of his death. (BBC)
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announces the new cabinet of Turkey.

Sport

Pyeongchang, South Korea is named as host of the 2018 Winter Olympics. (AP via ESPN) (BBC Sport) (Al Jazeera)
In rugby league, Queensland defeat New South Wales 34–24 in the decider of the State of Origin series. It is the sixth consecutive series win for Queensland. (Australian AP via Fox Sports Australia)