Portal:Current events/2012 February 10

Current events of February 10, 2012 (2012-02-10) (Friday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Arab Spring:
  • 2011-2012 Syrian uprising:
    • The Syrian Army offensive in Homs continues with further heavy fighting expected over the weekend. (Reuters)
    • Two explosions are recorded in Syrian government security compounds in the northern city of Aleppo with casualties reported. (AP via ABC News America)
    • A bipartisan group of US Senators led by Bob Casey and Marco Rubio will introduce a resolution calling for the Obama administration to start assisting the Opposition. (Foreign Policy)
    • Saudi Arabia circulates a draft resolution amongst the General Assembly of the United Nations with similar wording to that vetoed in the Security Council. (Al-Jazeera)
  • 2011–2012 Bahraini uprising:
    • Tens of thousands of anti-government protesters march towards an area outside the capital Manama in the run-up to the one year anniversary of the uprising. (Washington Post)
  • Egypt since the Revolution:
    • Egyptian protesters march towards the Defense Ministry in Cairo, demanding the return of a civilian government. (UPI)
    • Egypt's military rulers warn of conspiracies that seek to topple the state and spread chaos one day before the one-year anniversary of the toppling of former President Hosni Mubarak. (AP via Google News)
• People in Greece protest against the latest austerity measures imposed on their country, as more senior politicians resign. (The Guardian)
• An internal plot among cardinals to kill Pope Benedict XVI is alleged in Italy. (The Guardian)
• A protester is shot dead by security forces in Qatif, eastern Saudi Arabia, amid a demonstration calling for the release of Shia prisoners and democratic reforms. (BBC)
• In England, three men who distributed and posted through letterboxes leaflets calling for the execution of gay people are locked up. (BBC News)
• Secessionists battle with forces from Somaliland near the border with Puntland in northern Somalia. (IOL)
• The United States Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta tells the Marine Corps to re-investigate and take appropriate action against snipers who posed with a logo resembling that of the Nazi Schutzstaffel in Afghanistan. (AP via MSNBC)
• The United States Central Intelligence Agency website and Alabama state websites go down with reports that Anonymous is responsible. (MSNBC)

Arts and culture

• A new book of poetry by President of Ireland Michael D. Higgins is negatively reviewed by leading critic Professor Kevin Kiely, who says the President "can be accused of crimes against literature". (Irish Independent)
• The Cats of Copenhagen, a children's story by James Joyce, is published for the first time in Dublin, and is called an "outrage". (BBC)
• The Guard wins The Guardian's annual First Film award. (BBC)
• Spanish photographer Samuel Aranda wins the 2011 World Press Photo of the Year with an image of a veiled woman holding a wounded relative in her arms after a demonstration in Yemen. (BBC)

Business and economy

• A Histadrut general strike in Israel continues for a third day with banks, ports and the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange closed. (Reuters)
• Reuters cites sources "familiar with the matter" as saying that Google will soon receive approval from both the European Union and the United States for its proposed acquisiton of Motorola Mobility. (Reuters)

Disasters

• The death toll of a boat sunk with more than 70 people from Samaná, Dominican Republic, trying to illegally enter Puerto Rico, reaches 47. (Reuters)

International relations

• Argentina's foreign minister Héctor Timerman issues a formal complaint to the United Nations about British "militarisation" of seas around the Falkland Islands. (The Guardian) (Merco Press)
• A group of South Korean lawmakers make a rare visit to North Korean Kaesong Industrial Region. (AFP)

Law and crime

• A Ugandan lawmaker who propose the Anti-Homosexuality Bill scraps the proposed death penalty clause. (Times of India)
• Banking scion Nat Rothschild loses his libel action against the Daily Mail for a statement that he is "puppet master" for Peter Mandelson and Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska. (The Guardian)
• Luka Bojović, an alleged member of the Zemun Clan, is arrested in Valencia, Spain, for involvement in over 20 murders in Serbia, the Netherlands and Spain, including the killing of former Prime Minister of Serbia Zoran Đinđić. (BBC)
• An Uzbek man Ulugbek Kodirov pleads guilty to plotting with the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan to assassinate President of the United States Barack Obama in a hearing in Birmingham, Alabama. (AP via Google)

Politics

• Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao pledges greater freedoms in Tibet, hours after two protesters are killed demanding the end of Chinese rule in the region; seven officials are also sacked for "neglecting state duties". (Straits Times) (CNN)
• Chinese dissident Zhu Yufi is jailed for seven years for "inciting subversion", after publishing a poem in support of freedom. (Radio Television Hong Kong) (BBC)
• U Gambira, a Bhikkhu or Buddhist monk and a leader of the 2007 Burmese anti-government protests, is reported as having been arrested in Yangon. (BBC)
• A Saudi blogger is detained by Malaysian police after fleeing Saudi Arabia for allegedly insulting the Prophet Muhammad. (Al Jazeera)
• Firefighters hose down the Belgian prime minister's office. (The Guardian)
• Mohamed Nasheed, former president of the Maldives, demands new elections and threatens protests if the new government meet the demands. (Reuters)

Sport

• In rugby league, the Australian Rugby League Commission is formed to run the National Rugby League replacing control by representatives of News Limited and the former Australian Rugby League. (Sydney Morning Herald)