Portal:Current events/2015 October 9

Current events of October 9, 2015 (2015-10-09) (Friday)

Armed conflicts and attacks Syrian Civil War Battle of Aleppo (2012–present) Iranian state television says Revolutionary Guard brigadier general, Hossein Hamadani, has been killed on the outskirts of Syria's Aleppo by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant militants. This is the latest in a string of high-ranking Iranian commanders killed in Iraq and Syria in the last six months. (Independent) Islamic State militants launch an offensive north of Aleppo, seizing several rebel-held villages, as well as the strategic former Syrian Army base known as the 'Infantry Academy'. (AP via The Washington Times) United Nations condemns the killing of Anadolu Agency Turkish photojournalist Saleh Mahmoud Laila in Thursday's ISIS suicide attack at a marketplace in Huraytan, north of Aleppo. (Daily Sabah) (Novinite) Foreign involvement in the Syrian Civil War United States suspends its 500 million dollar Syrian rebel training program. The new strategy will shift toward supplying military aid "to a select group of vetted leaders and their units so that over time they can make a concerted push into territory still controlled by ISIL," a U.S. official said. (CNN) (ABC News) Israeli–Palestinian conflict Hamas' leader in Gaza, Ismail Haniyeh, declares an "Intifada" against Israel in the West Bank and says, "Gaza will fulfil its role in the Jerusalem intifada and it is more than ready for confrontation” with Israel. Over 20 stabbing attacks have happened in the last 24 hours in Israel. (The Telegraph) (The Guardian) An Israeli stabs and injures two Bedouin arabs and two Palestinians in the southern city of Dimona. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "strongly condemned the harming of innocent Arabs." (Washington Post) Israel Defense Forces kill six Palestinian protesters and wound 60 at the Gaza Strip border, according to Gaza medics. The protesters attempted to destroy the "border" fence between Gaza and Israel and IDF soldiers "responded with fire on the main instigators in order to prevent them progressing and to disperse the riot," according to the IDF. (Reuters) (CNN) Riyad Mansour, Palestinian ambassador to the UN, urges Security Council President Román Oyarzun to hold an emergency meeting on the latest tensions with Israel. (AP via WHDH TV) Iraqi Civil War (2014–present) Iraqi police officials say at least 35 people have been killed following a mortar bombardment of villages near the eastern city of Baqubah, capital of the Diyala Governorate. Officials did not speculate on who may be responsible for the attack, however the Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for several recent attacks in the volatile province. (AP via ABC News) Disasters and accidents 2015 Mina stampede A new tally by the Associated Press places the death count from the Mina stampede at 1,453 killed making it the deadliest disaster ever to occur during the Hajj. (AP via MSN) 2015 Guatemala landslide The death toll from the landslides in Guatemala rises to 253 with 374 people still missing. (Reuters via Melbourne Age) International relations Libyan Civil War (2014–present) The United Nations envoy for Libya, Bernardino León, proposes a government of national unity for Libya led by Fayez Sarraj as Prime Minister. (BBC) Australia is to send refugees from Nauru and Manus Island to the Philippines. (Sydney Morning Herald) The Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet wins the 2015 Nobel Peace Prize for its "decisive contribution to the building of a pluralistic democracy in Tunisia in the wake of the Jasmine Revolution of 2011." The Tunisian General Labour Union (UGTT), the Tunisian Confederation of Industry, Trade and Handicrafts (UTICA), the Tunisian Human Rights League (LTDH), and the Tunisian Order of Lawyers comprise the quartet. (BBC) (CNN) (Nobel Peace Prize) Territorial disputes in the South China Sea China says it will "not stand for violations of its territorial waters in the name of freedom of navigation", following a statement from a Pentagon official, that the U.S. may consider sailing warships close to China's disputed artificial islands in the South China Sea within the next two weeks. (Reuters) Law and crime School shootings One student is killed and three others wounded during an early morning shooting in a Northern Arizona University dorm in Flagstaff, Arizona. The suspected shooter was taken into custody. (New York Daily News) (NPR) One person is killed and another wounded, with a person in custody, in a shooting at an apartment complex near the Texas Southern University campus in southeast Houston, Texas. This is the second shooting involving TSU this week. A man is in serious, but stable, condition after being shot on the campus's Tiger Walk on Tuesday. (Houston Chronicle) (Reuters) WikiLeaks releases the intellectual property section of the finalized Trans-Pacific Partnership intended to be withheld until after October 19. (WikiLeaks) (International Business Times) Politics and elections European migrant crisis The southern German state of Bavaria threatens to take the Federal German government to court if it fails to take immediate steps to limit the flow of migrants to Germany. Over 200,000 migrants are estimated to have entered Germany since the beginning of September, the vast majority over the Austrian border into Bavaria. (Reuters)