Portal:Current events/2012 September 27

September 27, 2012 (Thursday)

Health

Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Health voices concerns that the novel coronavirus, similar to SARS and reported to have originated from the country, might affect the Hajj, the religious pilgrimage set to occur next month. The ministry suggests that travelers take the necessary precautions. (ABC News)

International relations

Senkaku Islands dispute:
- Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda meets with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, explaining to him that the islands are "Japan's inherent territory" and that "there is no territorial dispute as such". (Yomiuri Shimbun)
- Tokyo residents demand that the city's municipal government return private donations it had amassed in order to purchase three of the disputed Senkaku Islands. The central government preempted Tokyo's move by acquiring the islands itself earlier this month. (Mainichi Shimbun)^{[permanent dead link]}
- Japan's Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba, states that his country intends to reach out to the international community to seek support for its sovereignty over the disputed islands. (Kyodo News via Mainichi Shimbun)
- Jia Qinglin meets with Japanese business leaders and lawmakers in Beijing in a bid to ease tensions between China and Japan. (Kyodo News via Mainichi Shimbun)^{[permanent dead link]} (Xinhua)
- Former prime minister and newly-elected leader of the LDP Shinzo Abe declares that relations between China and Japan are "inseverable". (Xinhua) (NHK World)^{[permanent dead link]}
- President of Taiwan Ma Ying-jeou praises the flotilla of fishermen that sailed to waters around Senkaku Islands earlier in the week in order to assert Taiwan's territorial claim. (NHK World)^{[permanent dead link]}
- The UN publicly releases documents from China and Japan detailing their contesting claims. (NHK World)^{[permanent dead link]}
- Department store chain Heiwado announce that the costs incurred from damage and looting to its stores in China may reach in excess of $6.5 million. (AFP via AsiaOne) (NHK World)^{[permanent dead link]}
The United States announces that it will seek to lift its ban on imported goods from Myanmar. (Los Angeles Times)

Law and crime

A Los Angeles jury finds David Viens, the Lomita chef who told authorities that he cooked his dead wife’s body to dispose of it, guilty of second-degree murder. (Los Angeles Times)
Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, alleged producer of the film Innocence of Muslims and the trailer of which contributed to widespread attacks and protests, is arrested for violating the probation terms of his release after a conviction for bank fraud. (USA Today)
Iván Velázquez Caballero, a top leader in the Mexican criminal group known as Los Zetas, is arrested in San Luis Potosí. (US News)
The body of a missing Northwestern University student, a sophomore in the School of Engineering there, is found in Wilmette Harbor on Lake Michigan; police have thus far found no signs of foul play, but his family believes he had been kidnapped and had offered a $25,000 reward. (Northwestern University)
Minneapolis firm shooting:
- A mass shooting takes place at Accent Signage Systems, a sign company in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States; five people are killed, including the gunman who committed suicide, and four others are wounded. (Huffington Post)

Politics

The Parliament of Catalonia votes in favor of a resolution to hold a referendum on self-determination. (El País)

Science and technology

The Mars Curiosity rover, for the first time, discovers what, upon further study, could be determined to be direct evidence of a fast-moving streambed- a past water source- on the planet, moving from speculation to potential proof of past water, a landmark step because such an area would be a logical site for a future base and for the discovery of past life. (Washington Post)
Scientists in Japan confirm the 2004 discovery of a 113th element, paving the way for it to be named and included on the periodic table. (Mainichi Shimbun) (Nature)

Sports

The NFL and the NFL Referees Association reach an agreement, ending the referee lockout that has been ongoing since June of this year. (CNN) (AP via Boston Globe)