Portal:Current events/2012 February 13

February 13, 2012 (2012-02-13) (Monday)

Armed conflict and attacks

• Syria:
  • The Syrian Army continues its bombardment of Homs. (Reuters)
  • Navanethem Pillay, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, accuses the Syrian government of launching an "indiscriminate attack" on civilians. (ABC News Australia)
  • The Free Syrian Army claims to have repelled a push by the Syrian Army into the town of Rastan. (AP via Herald-Tribune)
• 13 February 2012 attacks on Israeli diplomats:
  • An explosion tears through an Israeli diplomat's car in the vicinity of the Israeli Embassy in New Delhi, India; one woman is injured. (Ynet)
  • Explosives are found near the Israeli Embassy building in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi; the device is neutralized safely. (Ynet)
• 2011–2012 Bahraini uprising: Police use tear gas on protesters attempting to occupy the Pearl Roundabout in the capital Manama a day before the anniversary of the start of anti-government protests. (Al Jazeera)

Arts and culture

• Beverly Hills police confirm Whitney Houston was underwater and unconscious when found in a bath in her Los Angeles hotel room last Saturday. (BBC)
• David Kelly, the "grand old man of Irish acting", dies in Dublin. (The Irish Times) (BBC) (Irish Examiner)
• The UK broadcaster ITV1 screens the first ever British advert aimed specifically at dogs. The 60-second commercial for the Bakers dog food brand features high-pitched sounds that cannot be heard by humans, and is a send up of the 1969 film The Italian Job. (The Daily Telegraph)
• Barack Obama, the President of the United States, presents 16 people with the National Medal of Arts at the White House including actor Al Pacino, country music singer Mel Tillis and former United States Poet Laureate Rita Dove. (BBC)

Business and economy

• The Australia and New Zealand Banking Group announces plans to cut 1000 jobs in Australia. (Herald Sun)
• Japan suffers negative economic growth for the fourth quarter of 2011 making it three out of four quarters that the Japanese economy shrinks. (CNN)
• Rangers F.C. announces an intent to enter administration. (BBC)
• The European Union and United States approve Google's $12.5 billion acquisition of smartphone maker Motorola. (Wall Street Journal) (AP via Seattle-PI)
• Moody's Investors Service downgrades the credit ratings of several European Union members including Italy, Malta, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain and issues a negative outlook for the ratings of Austria, France and the United Kingdom. (Reuters)

Disasters

• A 5.5-magnitude earthquake hits Northern California, near Weitchpec, according to the United States Geological Survey. (CNN)

International relations

• Azerbaijan rejects a claim by Iran that it has been helping Israeli spies in the killing of an Iranian nuclear scientist. (Trend News Agency)

Law and crime

• The Prime Minister of Pakistan Yousuf Raza Gilani appears before the Supreme Court of Pakistan to face contempt of court charges. (IBN Live)
• Abu Qatada, accused of being one of the United Kingdom's most dangerous preachers of Islamic extremism, is released from prison following a ruling from the European Court of Human Rights last week. (BBC)

Politics

• The president of Turkmenistan, Gurbanguli Berdymukhamedov, wins a new five-year term with 97% of the vote, according to election officials. (The Guardian)
• Washington governor Christine Gregoire signs a bill into law that legalizes same-sex marriage in the state. (Reuters)
• The New Jersey state Senate passes a bill to legalize marriage for same-sex couples by a vote of 24-16. (NJ Today)

Science

• The first launch of a new ESA carrier rocket Vega takes place from the Guiana Space Centre. (ESA)

Sport

• The victorious Zambia national football team arrives back in Lusaka after winning the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations in a penalty shoot-out. (BBC News)
• The Six Nations Council announces that the match between France versus Ireland in the 2012 Six Nations Championship, called off minutes prior to kick-off on Saturday night, will not take place this weekend. A date has not yet been announced. (RTÉ Sport) (BBC Sport)

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