PORTAL:CURRENT EVENTS 2010 AUGUST 22

August 22, 2010 (Sunday)

Armed conflicts and incidents

A Venezuelan soldier opens fire at an army base in the capital Caracas, killing two officers and injuring six others. (BBC) (AP)
The Philippines and the United States hold a joint exercise of their forces. (Xinhua)
Brazilian police rescue 35 hostages from InterContinental in São Conrado, Rio de Janeiro. (Al Jazeera)
The Government of Somalia claims that 10 members of the al-Shabab militant group have been killed when bombs they were preparing went off prematurely in Mogadishu. (Al Jazeera)
Rwandan Lieutenant-Colonel Rugigana Ngabo, brother of exiled General Faustin Nyamwasa, is reported missing, having been arrested on Friday. (BBC)

Arts and culture

The Vincent van Gogh painting Poppy Flowers, missing but reportedly found yesterday, is now reported missing again after yesterday's find is proven false. (BBC) (Aljazeera)
Hundreds of people rally in relation to an Islamic cultural centre proposed for New York City, United States; opponents to the building blare Bruce Springsteen's " Born in the U.S.A." over loudspeakers. (Aljazeera)

Disasters

5,000 people are evacuated in North Korea after the Yalu River on the border with China floods; 94,000 in China are also evacuated. (AFP) (Xinhua) (BBC)
2010 Pakistan floods:
- Around 150,000 people flee their homes in Sindh as the devastating floods worsen in Pakistan. (Al Jazeera) (The Independent on Sunday) (BBC)
- International pledges currently total $800 million, say government figures. (Aljazeera)
All 33 Chilean miners trapped deep underground are located alive after 17 days, though they have not yet been removed from the mine and remain trapped. (AP via Google News) (BBC) (Reuters via France24) (Aljazeera)

International relations

A Bolivian-flagged all-female international aid ship bound for Gaza is delayed as Cyprus bans it from passing, with Israel's Ehud Barak calling on France and the United States to prevent it from sailing because, he says, it is "a needless provocation". (Haaretz) (euronews) (Press TV) (Buenos Aires News)
Iran unveils a long range unmanned bomber, the Karrar drone their latest addition in a number of recently disclosed military hardware. (The Guardian), (Los Angeles Times)
Palestinian official Wassel Abu Yousef objects to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's talk of "preconditions" that the Palestinians should recognize Israel as the state of Jews and says such comments are a threat to direct talks next month. (Xinhua)

Law and crime

South African trade unions state that a court injunction successfully sought by the government is intended to "intimidate" workers who are striking in the hope of receiving better pay. (BBC) (News24)
Supporters of Julian Assange of Wikileaks credit American intelligence agencies with recent smears against his character and express surprise that it has not happened sooner. (The Guardian) (Aljazeera)
After a federal investigation by the United States, 47 foreign-born gang members are arrested in New England, including members of the "True Somali Bloods", "True Sudanese Bloods" and the "Asian Boyz". Over half are arrested in the U.S. state of Maine. (Portland Press Herald)
4 mutilated and decapitated corpses are located by police hanging by their ankles from a bridge outside Cuernavaca, Morelos. (BBC)

Politics and elections

Protesters against the Park51 project for an Islamic community center two blocks away from Ground Zero of the World Trade Center site gather in New York City. (CNN) (ABC)
With results of the federal election in Australia indicating a hung parliament, Prime Minister Julia Gillard holds initial talks with independent candidates in an attempt to form a government. (BBC) (Aljazeera)

Science

United States authorities give the green light to human trials of an Ebola drug said to have worked during tests on monkeys. (BBC)

Sport

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