Portal:Current events/2012 July 23

July 23, 2012 (Monday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian uprising (2011–present):
- Syria Foreign Ministry spokesman Jihad Makdissi declares that Syria has stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons and that it plans to use them in case of a foreign attack, but never against its own citizens. (AP via ABC News)
- The European Union tightens sanctions on Syria, adding 29 more names to the existing list of 170 Syrian individuals and companies. (AP via ABC news)
One hundred three people are killed in attacks across Iraq. (AP via Los Angeles Times)
Fighting between indigenous tribes and Muslim settlers in Assam, northeast India kills at least 19 people, causing 50,000 people to flee. (Reuters) (Times of India)

Arts and culture

The Olympic torch features in a special live section of the British soap EastEnders when actor Perry Fenwick, in character as Billy Mitchell, carries it through the fictional London borough of Walford as part of the 2012 Olympic torch relay. (BBC)

Business and economics

Hamburg-Köln-Express, the second open-access train operating company to challenge market leader Deutsche Bahn AG for its lucrative long-distance business, launches a route in Germany connecting the northern city of Hamburg with Cologne in the west. (AP via ABC News)^{[permanent dead link‍]}
Talks between Apple and Samsung aimed at resolving patent law disputes deadlock over a dispute over the valuation of each other's patents. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

After the heaviest rains in 60 years kill 37 in Beijing, 9 million microblog users criticise the government for the lack of warning and poor infrastructure. (Al Jazeera) (Reuters)
Forest fires in Catalonia, Spain kill four people, with fires also in France, Portugal and Romania. (EuroNews) (Romania Insider)

Law and crime

Aftermath of the 2012 Aurora, Colorado shooting
- James Holmes, the suspect of a mass shooting that killed 12 and injured 58 in Aurora, Colorado, makes his first court appearance. (The New York Times)

Science

Sally Ride, the first American female astronaut, dies of pancreatic cancer at the age of 61. Her obituary acknowledges her 27-year relationship with a woman. (CNN)

An unusually large coronal mass ejection emitted by the Sun barely missed the Earth by nine days, dubbed the Solar storm of 2012. If it hit, it would have caused up to US$2.6 trillion in damages to electrical equipment worldwide. (Science@NASA)

Sport