Portal:Current events/2015 September 28
September 28, 2015 (Monday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)
- The Taliban seize control of the provincial capital of Kunduz in northern Afghanistan. Locals say militants have raised their flag above the city's main square. (Sky News), (The News Hub)
- Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen
- An Arab coalition air-strike on a wedding party in Wahijah, a village near the Red Sea port city of Mocha in southern Yemen, reportedly leaves as many as 131 people dead, making it the deadliest coalition attack on Yemeni civilians in the conflict so far. The UN secretary-general condemns the attack. (BBC), (USA TODAY)
- Government forces backed by the Arab coalition capture Marib Dam, one of the Houthi militant’s remaining strongholds in Marib Governorate, opening the path to a key highway leading to Sana'a. (The National)
- Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
- ISIL claims responsibility for the killing of an Italian man in Dhaka. If verified, it would be Islamic State's first attack in Bangladesh. (AP)
Arts and culture
- Pope Francis' visit to the United States
- Pope Francis returns to Rome after finishing his trip to Cuba and the United States. (CNN)
Business and economy
- Royal Dutch Shell halts its drilling program for oil and gas off the coast of Alaska citing high costs and a challenging regulatory environment. (Bloomberg)
- Sahaviriya Steel Industries closes the Teesside Steelworks in the Redcar and Cleveland borough in northern England, resulting in the loss of 1,700 jobs. (BBC)
Disasters and accidents
- 2015 Pacific typhoon season
- Taiwan prepares for the impact of Typhoon Dujuan tonight, with thousands of people evacuated from outlying islands ahead of this. (AFP via France 24)[permanent dead link]
Politics and elections
- Pro-Serbian opposition from the Democratic Front holds a mass protest rally in the capital of Montenegro, Podgorica, demanding the resignation of the government of Prime Minister Milo Đukanović. (The News Hub)
- Catalonian parliamentary election, 2015
- Separatists won a clear majority of seats in Catalonia's parliament (72 out of 135) in this weekend's election that saw a record turnout of 78 percent. The winners will seek to unilaterally declare independence within 18 months. Spain's constitution does not allow any region to break away. Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy vows to fight the separatist plan. (BBC), (AP via U.S. News & World Report)
Science and technology
- NASA states that it has found the best evidence yet of the existence of liquid water on Mars. The water is not pure but highly poisonous, containing various dissolved salts that on Earth only an extremophile microbe might survive within. (News Limited via Daily Telegraph), (NASA), (CNBC)
- The Indian Space Research Organization successfully launches its first dedicated-astronomical research satellite, Astrosat. (Times of India)
Sports
- The Government of Nepal bans inexperienced mountaineers, as well as people with disabilities, from attempting to climb Mount Everest. (The Guardian)