Portal:Current events/2010 June 28

June 28, 2010 (Monday)

Captured Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit:
- Hamas leader Khaled Mashal says Hamas plans to kidnap more IDF soldiers and increase the price for captive soldier Gilad Shalit if Israel does not meet its demands for a prisoner swap. (The Jerusalem Post) (Ha’aretz)
- About 5,000 people attend a rally in the northern Israeli town of Kiryat Motzkin in support of the captured soldier on the second day of cross-country march (Ynet)
Five Muslim American students sentenced to serve 10 years in a Pakistani prison for conspiracy to commit attacks and raising funds for terrorism, appeal their conviction. (Reuters) (CNN) (Voice of America)
The European Union and United States sign a five-year agreement on sharing financial data in anti-terrorist investigations for accounts suspected of being used for terrorist financing, after agreeing on limits to protect customer privacy. (NPR)^{[permanent dead link]} (Star Tribune)^{[permanent dead link]}
Gulf of Mexico oil disaster:
- Tropical Storm Alex is expected to become a hurricane, with heavy winds, rain and rough seas in the Gulf of Mexico, driving the oil deeper inland and bringing much of the cleanup to a standstill. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)^{[permanent dead link]} (Statesman) (CBS)^{[permanent dead link]} (Reuters)
- The state of Louisiana reports 162 cases of oil-spill related illnesses to date, 128 of those among workers in the Gulf of Mexico, as concern over petroleum-related air pollution also grows. (Los Angeles Times) (CNN)
Assassination of Rodolfo Torre Cantu:
- Rodolfo Torre Cantu, a leading candidate in a Mexican, state election is assassinated near Ciudad Victoria. (Times Live South Africa) (CNN)
- President of Mexico Felipe Calderón blames drug cartels for the assassination. (Aljazeera)
Death of oldest, longest serving United States Senator, Robert Byrd:
- Democratic Robert Byrd of West Virginia, President pro tempore of the United States Senate and the longest serving member its history, dies at age 92 in Washington, D.C. (CNN) (BBC News)
- Senator Daniel Inouye of Hawaii succeeds Byrd as President Pro Tempore, making Inouye the highest ranking Asian American politician in American history. (Politico)
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad postpones nuclear talks so as to “punish the West” for United Nations Security Council Resolution 1929 aimed at curbing the alleged development of Iranian nuclear weapons. (Aljazeera) (Voice of America) (AFP)
World leaders at the G20 summit agree to cut their budget deficits in half by 2013, while US President Obama urges continued spending to support economic growth. (Voice of America) (The Washington Post) (Forbes)
Toronto police arrest over 600 people outside the G20 summit, with police using rubber bullets and tear gas on protestors. (Democracy Now!)
Rwandan authorities arrest two people in connection with the killing of a journalist critical of Rwandan President Paul Kagame, and deny complicity in the murder. (AFP) (Sky News) (AP)
Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapakse and other prominent Sri Lankans protest international calls and the appointment of a United Nations panel to investigate war crimes allegedly committed during the country's civil war with the Tamil Tiger separatists. (AFP) (Canadian Press) (Colombo Page)
At least 100 people are feared trapped or buried in a landslide in Guizhou Province in south-west China following continued heavy rain. (BBC) (Al Jazeera)
Former Panamaian leader Manuel Noriega goes on trial in Paris. (Arab News) (Aljazeera) (The Guardian)
Kyrgyzstan approves a new constitution with 90.6 percent of voters backing a constitution that would pave the way for a parliamentary election in October, following the violence of the recent uprising and riots. (The New York Times)
Philip Gordon, the Obama administration's top diplomat on European affairs warns Turkey that it must demonstrate its commitment to NATO, Europe and the United States after its opposition to sanctions against Iran’s nuclear program and rhetoric against Israel after the Gaza flotilla raid. (The Jerusalem Post)
A presidential election takes place in Burundi with incumbent President Pierre Nkurunziza as the only candidate. A series of grenade attacks also take place. (Al Jazeera) (The Guardian)
A member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine is killed and two others are wounded by Israeli forces east of Gaza City while firing rockets into Israel (JTA) (Ynet) (AFP) (Press TV)
Thousands of Sudanese Lou Nuer are forced from their homes in Upper Nile towards Jonglei, an area where food is short. (BBC)
Singer Sergio "El Shaka" Vega is shot dead while on tour in Sinaloa, hours after denying his own murder. (BBC) (The Daily Telegraph) (UPI)
The military government in Fiji issues new media restrictions targeting foreign ownership of media organisations in the country. (Hindustan Times) (BBC) (The Australian)
The Red Crescent delays an aid shipment bound for Gaza after being told that Egypt would prevent it from using the internationally neutral Suez Canal. (BBC)
A group of armed men vandalises a United Nations summer camp in the Gaza Strip, in a second attack since May. Hamas and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine condemn the attack. (Aljazeera)
Turkey closes its airspace to some Israeli military flights in apparent retaliation for Israeli raid on the Gaza-flotilla; civilian commercial flights are not affected. (The Jerusalem Post) (BBC) (Christian Science Monitor)
Somali pirates hijack a Singaporean chemical tanker in the Gulf of Aden, carrying a cargo of ethylene glycol. (Yahoo! News)
A second statue of Joseph Stalin is removed by authorities in Georgia. (The Independent) (Straits Times)^{[permanent dead link]}
Britain's Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt incorrectly links hooliganism to the 1989 Hillsborough Disaster, and is called "an absolute disgrace" by families of those who were killed. (BBC) (The Guardian) (Reuters)
The United States Department of Justice announces that ten people have been arrested for allegedly spying for Russia. (Aljazeera) (BBC) (The Guardian) (USA Today)
- The United States Department of Justice rounds up ten suspects alleged to have participated in the Illegals Program, a multi-year effort by the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service to infiltrate the U.S. (New York Times), (MSNBC)
In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court of the United States rules that Chicago's handgun ban is unconstitutional. (BBC News)
America's Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) remains unaware of Australia's new prime minister. (The Sydney Morning Herald)
Le Monde is sold to Xavier Niel, Matthieu Pigasse and Pierre Bergé. (The Guardian) (BBC)
One person is killed and eleven are injured in a derailment at Ústí nad Labem, Czech Republic. České Noviny Idnes
Turkish soldiers mistakenly kill two villagers in Hatay. (Hurriyet Daily)^{[permanent dead link]}