April 26 2010 - May 06 2010

.2010

6 May 2010 (2010-05-06) (Thursday) edit history watch

The ruling Mauritian Labour Party under Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam wins re-election after the opposition Mauritian Militant Movement concedes the 2010 general election. (Times of India) Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates become the first countries to have non-Latin ccTLDs. (BBC) A powerful tornado hits Chongqing municipality in south-western China, killing at least 25 and injuring more than 160 people in Dianjiang and Liangping counties. (The Independent) (BBC) (news.com.au) (China Daily) (Xinhua) Former chief executive of collapsed Kaupthing Bank, Hreiðar Már Sigurðsson, is arrested on suspicion of embezzlement, Iceland's first high-profile arrest since the 2008 financial collapse. (BBC) Burma's main opposition party, the National League for Democracy led by Aung San Suu Kyi, disbands after it refuses to register under new election laws. (Al Jazeera) (AFP) Nigeria's acting President, Goodluck Jonathan, is sworn in as President of Nigeria following the death of Umaru Yar'Adua. (The Punch) (AP) The Irish Aviation Authority announces new flight restrictions at several airports, including Shannon Airport and Ireland West Airport Knock, from midnight because of the (Iceland) volcano. (RTÉ) Hundreds of people in Afghanistan demonstrate against alleged mistreatment and executions of Afghan refugees in Iran. (BBC) Robert Mugabe, Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara, in a rare display of solidarity, call for an end to international sanctions on Zimbabwe and instead request investment. (BBC) United Kingdom general election: Voters in the United Kingdom head to the polls to elect Members of Parliament. (BBC) Nigel Farage, former leader of the UK Independence Party, is injured in a light aircraft crash in Northamptonshire. (The Daily Telegraph) (TVNZ) The Electoral Commission issue a statement that an investigation will be held following polling stations closing with people queueing outside. (BBC Election 2010) Ajmal Kasab, the only surviving member of a group responsible for the 2008 Mumbai attacks, is sentenced to death. (The Times of India) (BBC) United States Baptist minister George Rekers, a campaigner who opposes homosexuality, responds to allegations of a holiday in London/Madrid with a male prostitute he met at Rentboy.com. (BBC) Pope Benedict XVI accepts the resignation of Joseph Duffy, a bishop mentioned in the reports into child sexual abuse by clergy. (RTÉ) (BBC) (The Irish Times) The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunges nearly 1,000 points for a record intraday loss before recovering about 70% of its losses. (Reuters) (CNBC) (The Wall Street Journal) North Korean leader Kim Jong-il allegedly meets with Chinese President Hu Jintao in Beijing. (Straits Times) (BBC) Russian military sailors release the tanker MV Moscow University from Somali pirates. (RIA Novosti) Ireland's Supreme Court rules, after a ten-year campaign, that there is no constitutional obligation for political and legal acts to be written in both the English and Irish languages (RTÉ) The inaugural African Grandmother Gathering convenes in Swaziland to discuss HIV/AIDS. (BBC) (The Hindu)

May 6, 2010 Wikinews articles

Peruvian bolero singer Lucho Barrios dies aged 75 Nigeria swears in new president after death of Umaru Yar'Adua Russian forces storm oil tanker seized by Somali pirates, crew freed British oil firm claims discovery off coast of Falkland Islands Black boxes from Air France Flight 447 localized NBC employee wins $266M from California lottery Mumbai gunman given death penalty, to be hanged 2010 UK general election results Greek parliament passes austerity bill Athens bank fire kills three as Greece goes on strike British political candidate Nigel Farage injured in plane crash on polling day New York bridge shut down after suspicious truck found African leaders start drive to eradicate malaria Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua reported dead

Current events of 5 May 2010 (2010-05-05) (Wednesday) edit history watch

The European Parliament calls for tougher EU fiscal rulebook. (EU Business) (Expatica) The European Parliament calls on Canada to ensure visa-free travel for all EU citizens in a wide-ranging resolution adopted on Wednesday. MEPs also voice concern about the environmental impact of oil sand extraction and express hope that the EU-Canada summit would help speed up negotiations on a comprehensive trade agreement. (Europarl) (Isria) (MSNBC) (EC) Umaru Yar'Adua, President of Nigeria, dies at age 58. Acting President Goodluck Jonathan succeeds Yar'Adua as President in his own right. (Sky News) (CNN) 2010 Greek riots One hundred thousand Greeks participate in a general strike in Greece to protest against "austerity measures" set up by the recent Papandreou's gouverment. (The Times) (CBC) (Al Jazeera) Three people die of asphyxiation due to fires set by protesters. (Reuters) (BBC) The Supreme Court of India in a landmark judgment declares the use of narco tests, brain mapping tests and lie detector tests by investigative agencies unconstitutional. (HindustanTimes) Landsides killed 15 Chinese workers in the Tengchong County, Yunnan Province. (China.com) (People) Somali pirates seize the Russian oil tanker Moscow University with 23 people on board, 500 miles off the Somali coast. (RIA Novosti) (BBC) An Egyptian-led proposal for a nuclear arms free Middle East receives support from the United States, Russia, Britain, France, and China. Israel is the only Middle Eastern nation believed to possess nuclear weapons. (Reuters) Around 23 people are killed when a bus overturns while traveling to Cape Town, South Africa. (AP) (IOL) (Daily Nation) A prominent journalist in Somalia, Sheikh Nur Abkey, is kidnapped and then killed in Mogadishu. (Press TV) (Reuters India) (BBC) Two men are killed and another one is wounded when unidentified gunmen open fire at a Lexus in the capital of Russia’s Caucasian republic of Dagestan, Makhachkala. (ITAR) Twenty-one-term U.S. Rep. Dave Obey, a Wisconsin Democrat and chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, announces he will not run for re-election in November. (AP at Yahoo) Democracy Now! producers file a lawsuit against multiple law enforcement agencies for allegedly unjustifiably encroaching on their First Amendment rights at the 2008 Republican National Convention. (StarTribune)

May 5, 2010 Wikinews articles

Heavy rains start in central and southern Chile while aftershock takes place Taleban launches attack on Afghan city; several dead BP: One oil leak in Gulf of Mexico plugged Tanker seized by Somali pirates; Russian warship en route Knife-wielding woman arrested after allegedly stabbing four at store in West Hollywood, California FDA report criticizes conditions in factory that produced recalled medications Scottish airspace to be closed over volcanic ash concerns Greek demonstrators protest austerity measures Wikinews interviews Dr. Phil Klotzbach on upcoming hurricane season Euro reaches one-year low against US dollar

Current events of 4 May 2010 (2010-05-04) (Tuesday) edit history watch

Thailand's Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and anti-government "Red Shirt" protesters reach a qualified agreement to hold general elections in November, but questions over the dissolution of parliament prevent an end to the two-month standoff in central Bangkok. (ABC News) (AP) Former Argentine President Néstor Kirchner is unanimously elected the first Secretary General of the Union of South American Nations (Unasur) at a heads of state summit held in Campana, Argentina. Télam (Argentina), Washington Post,ABC (Spain),Semana (Colombia) U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents arrest Faisal Shahzad, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Pakistan, in connection with the attempted car bombing in Times Square as he tried to flee the country. (MSNBC) (CNN) (USA Today) Air travel disruption after the 2010 Eyjafjallajökull eruption: Flights in and out of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland are grounded for several hours. (BBC News) The Civil Aviation Authority announces that airspace over Scotland and Northern Ireland will be closed from 0700 BST on Wednesday. (BBC News) Rising floodwaters from the Cumberland River flood the Grand Ole Opry House with several feet of water, and cause evacuations in Nashville, Tennessee. (USA Today) (The New York Times) (The Washington Post) The Deepwater Horizon drilling rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico causes slowing shipping and increased prices for gasoline, food and other items in the United States. (CBS News) (MSNBC) Pablo Picasso's Nude, Green Leaves and Bust sells for US$106 million at Christie's in New York, becoming the most expensive work of art sold at auction. (Reuters) A new European Jewish group, JCall, supported by thousands of European Jews is founded to lobby for a resolution to the Middle East conflict.(Jerusalem Post) (Al Jazeera) At least 10 people die and 14 are injured in a fire at a dormitory for railway workers in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia. (The Sydney Morning Herald) Dozens of people are injured when panic breaks out at the Remembrance of the Dead in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. (NOS) Experts announce a rescue plan intended to preserve the existence of the endangered snubfin dolphin, the only dolphin unique to Australia. (The Sydney Morning Herald)

May 4, 2010 Wikinews articles

Investigation into US Airways river ditching in New York completed US criticizes Iran for remarks at nuclear conference Continental and United Airlines to merge Severe flooding leaves 28 dead in southern United States California governor Schwarzenegger vetoes smoking ban in parks 6.4 magnitude earthquake hits Chile Iraq starts manual vote recount

Current events of 3 May 2010 (2010-05-03) (Monday) edit history watch

The European Commission proposes rules for imports of fishery products from Greenland into the EU. (EU Business) Ajmal Kasab, the only surviving terrorist involved in the 2008 Mumbai attacks, is found guilty of murder, conspiracy, and waging war against India. (AP) (NDTV) American air carriers United and Continental officially announce a merger that will create the world's largest airline. (CNN) (Bloomberg) Darfur rebel group, the Justice and Equality Movement, breaks off peace talks with the Sudanese government, accusing it of a renewing the conflict with a military offensive that has included airstrikes and ground attacks over the past week. (USA Today) (The Washington Post) The death toll reaches 28 as flooding from weekend storms worsens in southern US towns and cities, including Nashville in Middle Tennessee, and parts of Kentucky, Alabama and Mississippi. (USA Today) (CNN) Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva proposes to hold elections on 14 November to end the political crisis in the country. (Bangkok Post) (Al Jazeera) (BBC) World Press Freedom Day: Journalists protesting against the prison death of Cameroon newspaper editor Bibi Ngota clash with police in Yaoundé as hundreds are prevented from staging a sit-in at the office of the prime minister. (BBC) Paris-based media watchdog group Reporters Without Borders names the leaders of North Korea (Kim Jong-il), Russia (Vladimir Putin) and Rwanda (Paul Kagame) as as some of the world's worst "predators of freedom" and lists offences against press freedom in 40 countries. (BBC) (New York Daily News) The Irish Aviation Authority closes Donegal Airport, cancels at least two flights and announces the closure of all airspace in Ireland on Monday due to Icelandic volcanic ash, while British Airports, including some in Scotland, may also be affected due to continued eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull volcano. (Herald Sun) (BBC) (RTÉ) Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and United States Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton exchange criticism of each other’s countries nuclear policies at the opening of the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty Review Conference at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. (Chicago Tribune) (CNN) (USA Today) Australian mining stocks plummet after the government passes a new 40% profit tax on the industry. International mining companies warn that many new mining projects may be canceled. (Reuters) Norsk Hydro secures 100 years worth of bauxite supply in a US$4.9 billion deal. (Bloomberg) Hundreds of Egyptian workers protest outside Egypt's cabinet building to request a rise in their minimum wage. (Al Jazeera) A manual recount gets underway in Baghdad. (Al Jazeera) Neil Robertson becomes the first Australian to win the World Snooker Championship since 1952 and the first player from outside the UK and Ireland to win the world title since 1980. (BBC) (The Sydney Morning Herald) North Korean leader Kim Jong-il arrives in China on a rare foreign visit. (Hong Kong Standard) (The Times) (Yonhap) (China Daily) (Al Jazeera) Uganda's highest ice cap in the Rwenzori mountain range splits. (BBC) Natavia Lowery, PA to former Ramones manager Linda S. Stein, is given a 25 year to life jail sentence for beating Stein to death on 30 October 2007. (BBC) (CNN) (Houston Chronicle) (The Washington Post)

May 3, 2010 Wikinews articles

New ash flight bans ordered in Ireland Wikinews interviews spokesman for Greek far-left party Xekinima Oil company BP to pay for Gulf of Mexico spill Bangladesh storms kill at least 23 5.9 magnitude earthquake in Pichilemu, Chile revives fears of new tragedy Nepal Maoists begin strike to overthrow government Australian rules football: Traralgon, Maffra two games clear on top of 2010 Gippsland Football League ladder Wikinews interviews Brittany Phelps, administrator of the United States Pirate Party Eurozone approves Greece bailout Chilean earthquakes in the O'Higgins Region: photoessay Protests in Greece over proposed budget cuts

Current events of 2 May 2010 (2010-05-02) (Sunday) edit history watch

The death toll from the Mogadishu bombings on May 1 rising to at least 45; authorities say al Qaeda is likely to blame for the attack. (CNN) (VOA) The Pakistani military kills approximately 40 Taliban militants in a helicopter attack. (UPI) Approximately 70 Iraqi Christian students are wounded and one other Iraqi killed in bombing on the outskirts of Mosul, Iraq. (The New York Times) Notable Hollywood personalities, including Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro, Robert Redford and Francis Ford Coppola, sign a petition asking the Iranian government to release director Jafar Panahi, who was arrested alongside his wife, daughter and 15 other guests at his home on 1 March. (BBC) The European Union and the International Monetary Fund agree to a bailout package for Greece that will provide approximately €120 billion to end the sovereign debt crisis in that country. (Bloomberg) The United Nations investigates reports of a possible massacre of 100 people by Ugandan rebels in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. (BBC) (Al Jazeera) After Iran’s selection to the Commission on the Status of Women, a United Nations panel on women’s rights, Canada cites “serious concerns” about Iran’s participation in the panel and Iran’s human-rights record. (The Vancouver Sun) (The Jerusalem Post) Hizbul Islam members enter Harardhere in Somalia, and meet no resistance; they promise to enter other towns in the region. (Al Jazeera) A large Maoist-led strike in Kathmandu shuts down the city in a bid to force Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal to resign. (The Guardian) Five people are killed and at least 12 others are injured in a stampede at a Intocable concert in Guadalupe, Nuevo León. (BBC) Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva says his government is preparing to take back Bangkok and end the seven-week long protests. (VOA) A group of Asian finance ministers announce a new US$700 million bond fund to promote the issuance of local bonds because of the guarantee the new funds would provide potential investors. (The Wall Street Journal) Chris Solinsky becomes the first non-African runner to break the 27 minute mark in the 10,000 meters, improving the American record by 14 seconds. (The Flint Journal) The World number one snooker player John Higgins and his manager are reported by the News of the World to have been videoed accepting a £261,000 bribe in Ukraine to lose frames in four separate matches later this year; an investigation is launched and the player is immediately suspended on the final day of his reign as world champion ahead of the final of the 2010 World Snooker Championship. (BBC) (News of the World) (The Daily Telegraph) Roman Polanski speaks out about his possible extradition to the United States after several months of silence. (The New York Times)

May 2, 2010 Wikinews articles

Bomb scare closes Times Square, New York Oil spill in Gulf of Mexico reported to have reached coast; offshore drilling ban announced by Obama administration

Current events of 1 May 2010 (2010-05-01) (Saturday) edit history watch

Part of New York City's Times Square is evacuated and sealed off as a car bomb is discovered and deactivated before it could be detonated. (ABC News) (BBC) (Philippine Daily Inquirer) (Sydney Morning Herald) Dozens of people are killed by twin bomb blasts inside a Mogadishu mosque. (Reuters) (Al Jazeera) (BBC) (San Francisco Chronicle) (The Times) Four soldiers are killed and several sustain wounds in a rocket, rifle and grenade attack on a military outpost near Nazimiye in Turkey. (BBC) In thoroughbred racing, Super Saver, ridden by Calvin Borel, wins the 2010 Kentucky Derby. (AP) At least one person is killed and 21 others are injured at a horse race in Nalchik, Kabardino-Balkaria. (Al Jazeera) At least two civilians are killed and ten more are wounded by a suicide attack on a market in Swat Valley. (Al Jazeera) Johnson & Johnson announces the recall of 43 over-the-counter medicines intended for infants and children, affecting the United States and nine other markets. (Washington Post) At least 150,000 people gather in Kathmandu to support Maoists who want the Prime Minister to resign; a general strike is called for on Sunday, May 2. (Al Jazeera) (BBC) (The News International) (CNN) Greek police shoot tear gas at protesters in Athens during an anti-government march. (BBC) (Sky News) (The Times) Thousands of people protest in Tirana, demanding a recount of votes from last June's parliamentary elections. (Al Jazeera) (BBC) (Deutsche Welle) (France24) In a non-title boxing match, welterweight champion Shane Mosley loses to Floyd Mayweather by unanimous decision. (LA Times) Bolivia nationalises four electricity companies. (Al Jazeera) (BBC) (Bangkok Post) (Reuters) Pope Benedict XVI will appoint an envoy and a commission to reform Legion of Christ (LC), whose Mexican founder, Marcial Maciel, abused children before being dismissed in 2006. (BBC) (Reuters) Albania becomes the 37th member of the European Patent Organisation. (EPO) Taiwan employs capital punishment for the first time since 2005, executing four men for "grave offences such as fatal kidnappings and murders". (BBC) Two retired generals tell The Washington Post that, with more than 25 per cent of young Americans being "too fat to fight", obesity is threatening the future of the United States military. (BBC) (The New Zealand Herald) (Radio New Zealand) A Taipei-Shanghai flight makes an emergency landing in Hangzhou after an American passenger makes an inappropriate reference to a bomb. (The Times of India) (The Age) (BBC) A major pipe rupture in Weston, Massachusetts leaves up to 2 million people in the Greater Boston area without drinkable tap water for 59 hours. (Boston Globe)

May 1, 2010 Wikinews articles

Stones thrown by protesters in Kashmir kill civilian Bomb blasts in Somalia kill at least 30 Redistricting reform efforts in Illinois fail for this year Nine of Alfred Hitchcock's films are restored; 30 years since his death

.2010

26 April 2010 (2010-04-26) (Monday) edit history watch

Belgium's King Albert accepts the resignation of Prime Minister Yves Leterme, ending his government's term and leading to early elections in June 2010. (BBC) In elections marred by boycotts and fraud allegations, Omar al-Bashir is re-elected president of Sudan despite facing war crimes charges and an international arrest warrant. (USA Today) 2010 Thai political protests: Several grenade attacks occur at the homes of former Thai Prime Minister Banharn Silpa-archa and in Chiang Mai. (Bangkok Post) Red shirt protesters set up roadblocks to prevent police reinforcements from reaching the capital Bangkok. (BBC) (Thai News Agency) Yellow shirt protesters say they will take action against the red shirts if the authorities do not deal with the protests. (Al Jazeera) Robotic submarines attempt to stop leaking oil in the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig explosion. (The Globe and Mail) The British ambassador to Yemen, Timothy Torlot, survives an attempted suicide bombing. (Washington Post) Former dictator of Panama, Manuel Noriega is extradited from the United States to France. (CNN) Noma, located in Copenhagen, Denmark, is named as the "world's best restaurant" in Restaurant magazine's annual survey. (The Guardian) A 6.5~6.9 earthquake strikes near Taitung, south east of Taiwan. (Focus Taiwan) (Xinhua) By a 6-5 margin, a United States federal appeals court rules that a sex-discrimination lawsuit, the largest employment discrimination case in history, against Wal-Mart can continue. (NY Times) The United States Supreme Court agrees to hear a case challenging laws that forbid the selling of violent video games to minors. (LA Times) A Hamas militant is killed in Hebron after a shootout with the Israeli Defense Forces. (Jerusalem Post) (Sydney Morning Herald) (BBC) South Koreans pay tribute to the victims of the sinking of the ROKS Cheonan in March. (Yonhap) (Xinhua) (Al Jazeera) The Government of South Korea announces the completion of the world’s longest seawall in a reclaimed tidal flat in Gunsan, North Jeolla Province. (Korea Herald)

Current events of 27 April 2010 (2010-04-27) (Tuesday) edit history watch

Standard & Poor's downgrades Greece's sovereign credit rating to junk, four days after the country's government requests the activation of a €45-billion EU–IMF bailout. (Business Week) Norway and Russia settle a 40-year old conflict over their maritime border in the Barents Sea, announced during President Medvedev's state visit in Norway. (Earthtimes) (Reuters) India arrests a woman working at its embassy in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad on charges of espionage. (Times of India) (Xinhua) A mortar attack on joint Iraqi army-police office kills 2 Iraqi soldiers and injures 14 in Baghdad. (USA Today) About 20 senior military leaders in Burma, including Prime Minister Thein Sein, retire from their posts in the State Peace and Development Council to participate in the general election later this year. (BBC) (Reuters) (Sify) A smoke bomb is thrown in the Ukrainian parliament during protests after Ukraine's extension of the lease on a Russian naval base in Sevastopol. (BBC) (RIA Novosti) A United States Senate investigation finds that Goldman Sachs made billions of dollars at the expense of its clients during the collapse of the housing market. (BBC) Oh Eun-Sun becomes the first woman to successfully scale all of the world's 14 highest peaks. (Korea Times) (CTV) Former Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev is charged with mass killings for his role in an uprising earlier this month. (Washington Post) (RIA Novosti) Kenya's foreign minister Moses Wetangula arrives in the United Arab Emirates to resolve a diplomatic row after Kenya interrogated and deported members of the UAE's ruling family on terrorism charges. (Kenyan Standard) (BBC) Haiti drops kidnapping charges against U.S. missionaries detained for trying to take children out of the country after the January earthquake. (USA Today) London's Metropolitan Police release a report on the 1979 death of Blair Peach which concludes that a police officer was probably responsible for his death. (BBC) (Report) The Israeli military disciplines four officers involved in two clashes with West Bank protesters in which four Palestinian civilians were killed. (BBC) A massive landslide hits a north Taiwan highway close to Keelung. (People) Sierra Leone introduces free healthcare for pregnant and breast-feeding women and children under five. (BBC) The evangelical group Noah's Ark Ministries International claims to have found a 4800 year old wood structure that they are "99.9 percent" certain is the remains of Noah's Ark. (Fox News)

Current events of 28 April 2010 (2010-04-28) (Wednesday) edit history watch

Niger faces total crop failure worse than that of 2005, according to United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator John Holmes. (BBC) (Reuters) A Thai soldier dies in a flareup of tensions in the ongoing conflict between pro- and anti-government factions in Thailand. (Wall Street Journal) The United States Coast Guard plans a controlled burn to remove spilled oil in the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon disaster. (MarketWatch) Russia posts once classified documents relating to the Katyn massacre online. (The Guardian) President of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has applied for a visa to visit the United States next week for the Non-Proliferation Treaty review conference, and State Department spokesman Philip Crowley has said they will likely be approved, although "a face-to-face meeting between a US diplomat and an Iranian diplomat is highly unlikely" (BBC) (AFP) (AP) (The Star) Israeli–Palestinian conflict: Israeli soldiers open fire on protesters who approached the Israeli border from Gaza, killing a 20-year-old Palestinian man. The Israeli military says the demonstrators were throwing stones at soldiers and setting fires. (Haaretz) (New York Times) (Al Jazeera) (Press TV) Four Palestinians die in a tunnel beneath the Egyptian border with the Gaza Strip, possibly after the tunnel was filled with gas or blown up. (BBC) (Ynetnews) A report blames pilot error for the 2007 crash of Kenya Airways Flight 507 in Cameroon. (BBC) (CBC) (Reuters Africa) United States Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar approves Cape Wind, the nation's first off-shore wind farm. (BBC News) Team China is stripped of a 2000 Olympics bronze medal in women's gymnastics after it is revealed that one member of the team was underage. (NY Times) UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown is described as "mortified" after an open-mic incident during general election campaigning recorded him describing a Rochdale voter as a "bigoted woman". (BBC News)

Current events of 29 April 2010 (2010-04-29) (Thursday) edit history watch

Deepwater Horizon drilling rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico The United States Coast Guard begins a controlled burn to remove oil spilled in the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon disaster. (BBC News) As economic losses begin to mount, shrimp fishermen in Louisiana and Alabama file class action lawsuits against the oil company BP and owners of the drilling rig (Reuters) A U.S. government panel, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, names Saudi Arabia and China among 13 countries as the most serious violators of religious freedom. (VOA) (AP) (USA Today) Millions of mostly Asian women who work in countries like Saudi Arabia, Lebanon and the United Arab Emirates remain at risk of human trafficking, forced labor, confinement and sexual violence, the New York-based Human Rights Watch group reports. (The Jakarta Globe) India and Pakistan agree to reopen discussion on "all issues of mutual concern." (LA Times) (Times of India) Twenty-eight children and three adults are stabbed at a nursery school in China. (BBC News) (China Daily) The FDA approves Provenge (sipuleucel-T), the first "vaccine" approved to treat cancer, for men with advanced prostate cancer. (USA Today) Belgium's parliament votes to ban the wearing of burqas and other face coverings in public. (The Telegraph) The United States tells Israel that it must remove 23 West Bank outposts, as previously promised. (Jerusalem Post) The third round of leaders' debates takes place in the United Kingdom. (NY Times) Human rights workers Beatriz Alberta Cariño Trujillo and Jyri Antero Jaakkola were killed by paramilitaries in the Mexican state of Oaxaca. (The Washington Post) Pakistani security forces announce that Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud is likely still alive, contrasting early reports that stated a January 2010 drone attack had killed him. (LA Times)

Current events of 30 April 2010 (2010-04-30) (Friday) edit history watch

Expo 2010: Hailed as the largest World's Fair in history, Expo 2010 opens in Shanghai, China. (Financial Times)(Xinhua) (China.org) (Sina) (People) (China.com) (Shanghai Daily) Maltese President George Abela is hospitalised after sustaining an injury in his China hotel and has to cancel his appearance at the official inauguration. (The Times of Malta) At least eight villagers die following a landslide in Kenya, with others hospitalised or missing and homes destroyed. (BBC) At least eight people die in an attack on an army base in South Sudan. (BBC) French senator Charles Pasqua is convicted and sentenced on charges of corruption which occurred whilst he he was interior minister in the 1990s. (France24) (BBC) (China Post) Tonga's Attorney-General suddenly resigns amidst allegations the government is trying to take over his judiciary. (TVNZ) Deepwater Horizon drilling rig explosion aftermath: The oil spill resulting from the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico reaches the Louisiana coast. (CBS News) Landfall of the giant oil spill will result in widespread environmental harm to animals, birds and coastline areas. (The Washington Post) (CNN) Weather threatens to impede cleanup efforts. (Houston Chronicle) Former Pakistani spy Khalid Khawaja is murdered; a previously unknown militant group - Asian Tigers - claims responsibility. (The Wall Street Journal) Protesters in Thailand storm a hospital amid rising tension between pro- and anti-government factions. (NY Times) The United States Justice Department opens a criminal investigation into alleged fraud by Goldman Sachs. (Washington Post) The Nigerian House of Representatives announces the creation of ten new states, five in the north and five in the south, by 2011. (AllAfrica.com) China and South Korea discuss the potential security threat presented by North Korean aggression. (Washington Post) The United States announces it will begin mediating indirect peace talks between Israel and Palestine. (NY Times) Iran threatens to "cut off Israel's feet" if Israel attacks Syria. (Jerusalem Post) China moves to increase classroom security after a series of unrelated attacks on schools injure dozens of children and kill ten. (LA Times) One of Ireland's most recognisable broadcasters, Gerry Ryan, who co-presented Eurovision Song Contest 1994 sixteen years ago today, is discovered dead at his Dublin home after failing to present this morning's edition of The Gerry Ryan Show on national radio station RTÉ 2fm. (The Guardian) (BBC) (esctoday.com) (Vancouver Sun) (Sky News) Russian businessman Vasily Bukhtienko, who established a Joseph Stalin museum in Volgograd, is beat to death by electric shocks. (BBC)