Portal:Current events/2011 July 19

Current events of July 19, 2011 (2011-07-19) (Tuesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks 2011 Syrian uprising: Security forces shoot dead at least 10 people in Homs. (Emirates 24/7) (AP via Google News) Forces loyal to Guinean President Alpha Condé repel an attack by unknown assailants on his residence in Conakry. (BBC) A leaked United Nations report suggests war crimes may have been committed in South Kordofan in Sudan during a recent conflict. (Al Jazeera) War in North-West Pakistan: Eight Pakistani employees of the United States based American Refugee Committee are kidnapped in southwest Pakistan near the border with Afghanistan. (Reuters) Israel's navy confiscates a French yacht bound for Gaza, which departed from Greece and attempted to run the blockade after repeated warnings to make for Ashdod instead. No casualties are reported. (AFP via Google News) Disasters A 6.1 magnitude earthquake strikes in southern Kyrgyzstan, near the border with Uzbekistan. (AP via Google News) Typhoon Ma-on, the second typhoon of the 2011 Pacific typhoon season, approaches the main Japanese island of Honshu leading to cancellation of air services. (APA) (Japan Times) Tropical Storm Dora becomes a hurricane with a tropical storm watch issued for southwestern Mexico. (National Hurricane Centre) International relations ASEAN foreign ministers get together for their annual summit on the island of Bali in Indonesia with concerns over territorial claims on the South China Sea. (AP via Sydney Morning Herald) (BBC) Law and crime The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) arrests an alleged agent of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence in the US state of Virginia for making illegal campaign contributions. (MSNBC) Sixteen alleged members of the computer hacking group Anonymous are arrested in FBI raids across several states in the US. (CNN) (US Department of Justice) A protest in the US city of San Francisco turns violent resulting in the arrest of 35 people. (NBC) Politics Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping says the Chinese government will "smash" attempts for an independent Tibet in a speech outside the Potala Palace. (BBC) (Journal of Turkish Weekly) Northern Mariana Islands Governor Benigno Fitial and Guam Governor Eddie Calvo state that they are in serious talks to potentially merge the U.S. territories of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands. (Saipan Tribune) News Corporation affair News Corporation Chief Executive Rupert Murdoch and his son James Murdoch appear before a select committee of the United Kingdom parliament over the News of the World phone hacking affair. Murdoch Senior apologises for the scandal, but says he is not responsible for it. (Reuters) (BBC) A man attacks Murdoch during the final part of questioning with a shaving cream pie. (Los Angeles Times) Appearing later at the same hearing former News International Chief Executive Rebekah Brooks says NI acted "quickly and decisively" in dealing with "abhorrent" phone-hacking at the News of the World. (BBC) Voters in the 30th Senate district in the US state of Wisconsin go to the polls for the first recall election for Democrat Dave Hansen. (New York Times) US budget debate The President of the United States, Barack Obama, endorses in principle a bipartisan proposal developed in the United States Senate to cut debt. (Washington Post) The United States House of Representatives votes to approve the "Cut, Cap and Balance Act" by 234-190 but it is unlikely to pass the United States Senate. (Washington Post) (CNN Political Ticker) Religion Pope Benedict XVI appoints Charles J. Chaput, the current Archbishop of Denver, as the head of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia replacing Cardinal Justin Rigali. (AP via Google News) Science Iran says it has installed faster nuclear centrifuges to enrich uranium. (AFP via Google News) The Space Shuttle Atlantis undocks from the International Space Station for the final time in the history of the space shuttle program. (NASA) Sport The Japan women's national football team returns home to be greeted by thousands of fans after winning the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup. (AP via Straits Times)