Portal:Current events/2012 November 22

Current events of November 22, 2012 (2012-11-22) (Thursday)

Armed conflicts and attacks In six terrorist and sectarian attacks across Pakistan over last 24 hours at least 37 people were killed and 92 others injured. (Xinhua) Business and economy Russia lifts a 16-year ban on the import of British beef and lamb. British farmers had been stopped from exporting to Russia following the 1996 BSE outbreak in the UK, despite the lifting of a worldwide ban in 2006. (The Telegraph) (BBC) The European Commission gives its backing to commodities giant Glencore's $31 billion (£19.5 billion) bid to take over mining company Xstrata. (BBC) Disasters and accidents A subway train rear ends another in Busan, South Korea, injuring 40. (Voice of Russia) Up to 120 people are injured and 2 killed near Beaumont, Texas in a 100-vehicle pileup in dense fog that forced the closure of both directions of Interstate 10 in Southeast Texas. (Reuters) Law and crime A hostage situation in the northern city of Thessaloniki, Greece, ends peacefully, as policemen arrest a 72-year-old Greek pensioner who was threatening to set a tax office building on fire due to a financial dispute. (Global Times) Israeli police and Shin Bet arrest several suspects in relation to the bombing of a public bus in Tel Aviv. The suspects claim affiliation with Hamas and Islamic Jihad and reveal they planted the bomb on the bus and detonated it remotely using a cell phone. (The Jerusalem Post) Japanese police rescue four hostages from a Toyokawa Shinkin bank and arrest the knife-wielding man who had held them captive for more than 12 hours while demanding that Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda resign. (AFP via Google) Media The BBC appoints Tony Hall, Baron Hall of Birkenhead, as the new Director-General of the corporation after the resignation of George Entwistle earlier this month due to the Newsnight controversy. He is expected to start in the role in early March 2013. (The Independent) Politics and elections Afghanistan is set to remove a block placed on YouTube more than two months ago over a controversial anti-Islamic video Innocence of Muslims. (Pajhwok) The United Kingdom's Lord Chancellor Chris Grayling tells the House of Commons that a European Court of Human Rights ruling on prisoner votes can be defied. (BBC) Science and technology Sandy Island, a South Pacific island, shown on marine charts and world maps as well as on Google Earth, does not exist, Australian scientists say. (BBC) ESO says Makemake, one of the solar system’s five dwarf planets, has been found to have no atmosphere. (The Register) Sport The Russian Premier League awards FC Dynamo Moscow a technical 3-0 victory after a league match in Arena Khimki on 17 November was abandoned when a goalkeeper Anton Shunin was hurt by a firecracker thrown from the FC Zenit Saint Petersburg supporters end. (RIA Novosti)