Portal:Current events/2011 July 22

Current events of July 22, 2011 (2011-07-22) (Friday)

Armed conflict and attacks 2011 Norway attacks An explosion damages government buildings in Oslo, Norway at 15:25; at eight people are killed and several are reportedly injured. (Al Jazeera) (Sky News) A gunman opens fire at a Labour Party camp in Utøya with 69 people killed. (Al Jazeera) (The Guardian) Police arrest a Norwegian man Anders Behring Breivik for the shooting at Utøya with reports of links to right-wing extremism. (CTV News) (Sky News) 2011 Syrian uprising: Hundreds of thousands of people take to the streets after Friday prayers in cities across Syria. (Reuters) 2011 Malawian protests: Authorities block a mass funeral for seven people killed during anti-government riots. (News 24) Arts and culture China is to ordain seven more bishops, amid a dispute with the Vatican. (AFP via Google News) Elliot Handler who cofounded Mattel with his wife dies at age 95. (The New York Times) Business and economy Qantas pilots commence industrial action for the first time in 45 years. (AFP via The West Australian) General Electric reports stronger than expected earnings, largely due to industrial sales outside the United States. (Reuters) Disasters and accidents At least 41 people are killed in a fire on a bus in Xinyang City, central China. (BBC) (Xinhua) Nepalese officials say monsoon rains have swollen two major rivers in the country and have increased the threat of widespread flooding. (IOL) 2011 Horn of Africa famine The al-Shabaab Islamist militant group in Somalia says a ban on aid groups working in parts of the country remains. (Al Jazeera) Canada is giving C$50 million more, in addition to the $22 million it has already donated, to aid agencies working in East Africa (CBC News) International relations ASEAN Regional Forum South Korea seeks a bilateral meeting with North Korea to discuss nuclear issues at the sidelines of an ASEAN Regional Forum in Bali, Indonesia. (Yonhap) The United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton praises the People's Republic of China and Association of Southeast Asian Nations members for agreeing on guidelines aimed at defusing tensions over the South China Sea. (AFP via Yahoo News) North Korea appoints Ri Yong-ho as its new negotiator in the Six-party talks on the North Korean nuclear weapons program. (Yonhap) Law and crime Up to 100 asylum seekers, many from Iran, riot again at Australia's Christmas Island Immigration Reception and Processing Centre. (AAP via WA Today) Serbia extradites suspected war criminal Goran Hadžić to The Hague to face trial. (BBC) News International phone hacking scandal The Crown Office confirms that Strathclyde Police will investigate phone hacking and breaches of data protection in Scotland. (BBC) British Labour MP Tom Watson says he is contacting Scotland Yard after two former News of the World executives contradicted James Murdoch's evidence to a Parliamentary Select Committee. The Independent Two Mexican police officers assigned to guard the United States consulate in Monterrey are killed in a drive-by shooting while off duty. (AP via SF Gate) Politics Debt negotiations between President of the United States Barack Obama and Speaker of the House of Representatives John Boehner collapse. (Washington Post)