Portal:Current events/2012 September 16

September 16, 2012 (Sunday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian Civil War: Violence between government forces and rebels continues in several Syrian provinces. (Al Jazeera)
Mexican Drug War
- Jaime Serrano Cedillo, a deputy of the State of Mexico, is assassinated; he is the second politician of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) to be killed in just two days. Eduardo Castro Luque was killed by unknown assailants on Friday night. (The Washington Post)
- The dismembered remains of 17 men are found at a farm near the border between Jalisco and Michoacán states. (The Washington Post)
Militants attack an Egyptian security headquarters in the Sinai Peninsula, injuring several officers. Operation Sinai is extended "until its goals are achieved". (Al Jazeera)
2012 diplomatic missions attacks fallout
- President of Libya Mohamed el-Magariaf announces Libya has made at least 50 arrests in conjunction with the U.S. Consulate attack in Benghazi. (Jerusalem Post)
- The United States has ordered all non-essential staff to evacuate its embassies in Sudan and Tunisia and urges its citizens to avoid travelling to those countries. (Associated Press via The Guardian)
War in Afghanistan:
- Eight female civilians are killed in a NATO airstrike in the eastern Afghan province of Laghman; NATO said the airstrike was attempting to target insurgents. (BBC) (AFP)
- An Afghan policeman kills four US troops in southern Afghanistan. (Vancouver Sun)
A roadside bombing carried out by Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militants in the southern Turkish province of Bingöl kills at least eight police officers. (BBC)
A roadside bomb detonates near Jandol, Lower Dir District, Pakistan, killing 14 and seriously wounding 7. (BBC)

Environment and health

Super Typhoon Sanba reaches the Ryukyu Islands on its way to Korea. (Huffington Post) (NPR) (Times Online)^{[permanent dead link‍]}
- Four people are injured and 85,000 households lose power as Sanba moves across Okinawa and Kagoshima Prefectures. (Kyodo News via Mainichi Shimbun)

International relations

Senkaku Islands dispute:
- Anti-Japan protesters in China ransack Japanese businesses; set fire to a Panasonic plant in Qingdao. (Bloomberg) (Reuters) (Kyodo News via The Japan Times) (Los Angeles Times)
- Japanese prime minister Yoshihiko Noda condemns the anti-Japan protests in China. (Wall Street Journal)
Japan's ambassador designate to China, Shinichi Nishimiya, dies after suddenly collapsing outside his home in Tokyo on Thursday. (Kyodo News via The Japan Times) (Times of India) (Reuters)
US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta urges China and its neighbours not to engage in "provocative behaviour" over maritime border disputes. (Los Angeles Times)

Politics and elections

The Egyptian Army now names Operation Eagle as Operation Sinai. (The Daily News Egypt)
The Mayor of Chicago Rahm Emanuel seeks a court order to resolve a week-long teachers strike. (AP via Yahoo News)

Science and technology

Mei Xiang, the Washington, D.C. National Zoo's adult female giant panda, gives birth to a cub, her second there, via artificial insemination. (NBC News)

Sports

The National Hockey League locks out its players after the expiry of the collective bargaining agreement. (ESPN)