Portal:Current events/2016 September 12

September 12, 2016 (Monday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Arts and culture

The Arctic Research Foundation discovers the wreck of the Royal Navy's HMS Terror almost completely intact off the southern coast of King William Island in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, 168 years after being abandoned during Franklin's lost expedition in 1848. (The Guardian)

Business and economy

Asian stock markets open lower following the fall in the Dow Jones amid speculations about the Federal Reserve's target interest rates. (CNBC)
A researcher from the University of California, San Francisco discovers that the sugar industry may have manipulated studies about heart diseases. (NBC)

Disasters and accidents

2016 North Korean floods
- The United Nations estimates that the death toll from severe flooding in North Korea reaches 133 with another 395 missing and tens of thousands homeless. (The Straits Times)
2016 Gyeongju earthquake
- A 5.8-magnitude earthquake occurs in South Korea, 9km south of Gyeongju, injuring at least two people and causing nationwide panic. It is the strongest earthquake ever recorded in South Korea. (Xinhua)
The Piton de la Fournaise (Peak of the Furnace) shield volcano on France's Réunion island in the Indian Ocean erupts for the second time this year. It is one of the world's most active. (UPI)
A house fire in Memphis kills at least 11 people. (Fox News)

Health

International relations

Philippines–United States relations
- In response to criticism of his government's extrajudicial killings of 1,800 people since July, Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte says that U.S. forces advising the Armed Forces of the Philippines against an Islamic insurgency in Mindanao are doing more harm than good and must leave the country, saying, ”I do not want a rift with America, but they have to go," during a speech in Manila. (USA Today) (The New York Times)

Law and crime

Indonesia–Philippines relations
- In last week's meeting between Indonesian president Joko Widodo and Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte, Widodo today says that Duterte allegedly said that he '(would) not interfere' in the execution of accused drug smuggler and Philippine national Mary Jane Veloso. However, today a Manila Bulletin article says that Manny Piñol, the Philippines Agriculture Secretary, states that Duterte actually asked for clemency for Veloso. (Manila Bulletin) (Philippine Daily Inquirer)

Politics and elections

Catalan independence
- In a protest in Barcelona, an estimated 800,000 people (370,000 in the government claim) demand secession from the Madrid-based Spanish government. (Time)
Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom David Cameron resigns as MP for Witney, triggering a by-election. (The Telegraph)
2016 Turkish purges
- Turkish authorities remove two dozen elected Kurdish mayors in southeast Turkey. (Reuters)
Eduardo Cunha, former President of the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies loses his position as a Deputy following a vote of the Chamber as a result of a series of corruption scandals. (Forbes)

Science and technology