Portal:Current events/2012 June 14

Current events of June 14, 2012 (2012-06-14) (Thursday)

Armed conflicts and attacks Arab Spring: Tunisian authorities ban protests planned for Friday. (BBC) Egypt's supreme court calls for the dissolution of the lower house of parliament and for fresh elections after ruling that last year's parliamentary vote was unconstitutional. (BBC) Mexican Drug War: Víctor Manuel Báez Chino, a journalist for the Mexican newspaper Milenio, is found dead after being kidnapped in the coastal state of Veracruz. (Milenio) Violent protests demanding election reform in Togo enter into a third day. (BBC) Indonesian police kill separatist leader Mako Tabuni, causing violent protests. (BBC) The U.S. military expands its secret network of air bases across Africa, according to reports in the U.S. media. (Al Jazeera) (Washington Post) Arts and culture Westlife singer Shane Filan is declared bankrupt. (The Guardian) (BBC) Business and economics German deputy finance minister Steffen Kampeter rejects calls to pool European debt, saying "debt is a national responsibility." (BBC) Nokia announces it will cut 10,000 jobs. (BBC) Coca-Cola says that it will start doing business in Burma after sixty years as soon as the U.S. government issues a license allowing American companies to make such investments. (The Washington Times) Disasters An explosion at a government-owned steel plant in Visakhapatnam, India kills 11 and severely injures 16 others. (BBC) International relations United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says that the supreme leader of North Korea Kim Jong-un "has a choice to make" about the country's current policies. (CNN) Law and crime José Treviño Morales, an alleged money launderer of the Mexican criminal group Los Zetas and a prominent quarter horse racer in the U.S., is arrested in Lexington, Oklahoma. (ESPN) British Prime Minister David Cameron appears before the Leveson Inquiry. The hearing is told of his relationship with former News International Chief Executive Rebekah Brooks, while he says his decision to appoint Andy Coulson as his Director of Communications will haunt him. (BBC) The UK Supreme Court dismisses a bid by WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to reopen his appeal against extradition to Sweden over alleged sex crimes. (BBC) (Al Jazeera) Politics and elections Mental health problems are no longer to be a bar to becoming an MP in the United Kingdom. (The Guardian) Photos of a woman forced to have an illegal abortion by Chinese authorities due to the country's One-Child Policy spark controversy. (BBC) Falklands War anniversary: A ceremony is held in the Falkland Islands capital Stanley to mark the 30th anniversary of the end of the Falklands War. (BBC) Addressing the United Nations Special Committee on Decolonization, Argentina's President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner demands the United Kingdom enters negotiations over the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands. (BBC) A new survey finds that global support for U.S. president Barack Obama has declined since 2009. (BBC) Venezuela's president Hugo Chávez gives a televised address from the country's defence ministry to discuss his defence plans. (BBC) HBO issues a public apology for any offence suffered after the use of a severed head in Game of Thrones; the head on a spike is said to resemble that of former U.S. president George W. Bush. (BBC) Science and health A 10-year-old girl receives what is believed to be the world's first stem cell assisted vein transplant. (HealthDay) 2012 LZ1, a large near-Earth asteroid, is scheduled to pass by the planet. (National Geographic) Australia announces plans to create the world's largest marine reserve. (BBC) A second person dies after contracting Legionnaires' disease in Edinburgh. (BBC) Sport UEFA Euro 2012: Fernando Torres scores twice, while David Silva and Cesc Fàbregas also score, to knock the Republic of Ireland out of the tournament in Gdańsk. (BBC) (Al Jazeera) Mario Mandžukić's second-half equaliser earns Croatia a draw against Italy in the early game at the Stadion Miejski in Poznań. (BBC) (Al Jazeera) Premier League club Tottenham sack manager Harry Redknapp. (Al Jazeera) Turkish weightlifting champion Nurcan Taylan is banned for four years for doping and therefore misses the London Olympics. (The Washington Post) Financier and cricket mogul Allen Stanford is sentenced to 110 years in prison after siphoning billions from investors. (Al Jazeera) (BBC) Robert Nkemdiche, top high school football recruit in the U.S. according to several sources, makes a verbal commitment to play collegiately for Clemson University. (ESPN) (Rivals.com)