Portal:Current_events/2010_December_7 Knowpia

December 7, 2010 (Tuesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

One child is killed and 20 people are injured in a bomb blast at a temple in Varanasi, northern India. (Hindustan Times) (Reuters)

Arts and culture

A copy of John James Audubon's Birds of America is sold at auction in London for a record £7.3 million ($10.3 million). (AP via Yahoo! News) (AFP via The Straits Times) (The Guardian) (The Independent)

Business and economy

Irish financial crisis:
- Irish Finance Minister Brian Lenihan, Jnr hands down the hardest budget in the country's history. (AP via Yahoo) (The Guardian) (The Irish Times) (BBC)
- Ahead of the budget a man drives a small crane laden with demonstrative slogans to the gates of Leinster House and broadcasts Lady Gaga's "Poker Face" to witnesses. He is arrested, charged with dangerous driving and the slogans are torn down by authorities. (RTÉ) (Evening Herald) (Newstalk)^{[permanent dead link]}
- Noisy but peaceful protesters gather outside Dáil Éireann and Government Buildings. (The Irish Times)
- The budget overcomes its first hurdle. (The Irish Times) (Al Jazeera)
- Former Anglo Irish Bank chief executive David Drumm is questioned under oath in Boston. (The Irish Times)
U.S. authorities expand their investigation into insider trading among hedge funds and their service providers. John Kinnucan, an independent researcher for hedge funds, told Reuters that he expects the Federal Bureau of Investigation will at some point arrest him, "That's just how they operate." (Reuters)

Disasters

French epidemiologist Renaud Piarroux, working on behalf of the French and Haitian governments, points to "strong evidence" linking United Nations peacekeepers to Haiti's cholera outbreak. (Al Jazeera) (The Straits Times)
More than 76,000 people are left marooned following floods in Sri Lanka. (Xinhua)
A state of emergency is declared after a landslide in Colombia, with 37 corpses retrieved so far. (The Straits Times)
Hundreds of people are stranded in the United Kingdom as a cold spell continues. (BBC) (The Guardian)
Severe weather also continues in Ireland with water shortages in parts and public anger over incorrect weather forecasts. (Evening Herald) (RTÉ) (The Irish Times)

International relations

Côte d'Ivoire is expelled from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). (Al Jazeera)
19 countries are to miss the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony for Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo; 44 are to attend. China described supporters of Liu as "clowns". (CBC) (MSN India)^{[permanent dead link]} (BBC) (Al Jazeera)

Law and crime

War on WikiLeaks and arrest of Julian Assange:
- The U.S. government "declares war" on the WikiLeaks website. (CBS News)
- Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, is arrested in London for alleged sexual misconduct in Sweden. (BBC) (Reuters)
- The WikiLeaks website continues to release cables despite the arrest of Assange. (The Guardian)
- District Judge Howard Riddle refuses to grant bail to Assange despite interventions from Jemima Khan, Ken Loach and John Pilger before a packed court No 1 at Westminster Magistrates Court. Another hearing is scheduled for 14 December. (The Guardian) (Al Jazeera)
- U.S. senator Joe Lieberman tells Fox News that The New York Times and other news organisations may be investigated. (The Guardian)
- The website of the Swedish prosecutor's office pursuing Assange is brought down by the Anonymous group. (The Straits Times)
A U.S. judge dismisses a lawsuit over the U.S. government putting American citizens on "capture or kill" lists. (BBC)

Politics and elections

Results from the parliamentary election in Egypt indicate the ruling National Democratic Party has won 80% of seats. (Al Jazeera)
The Haitian presidential election will go to the second round run-off between former first lady Mirlande Manigat and Jude Celestin from the governing Unity Party. (Reuters)
Attorney, author, and activist Elizabeth Edwards dies of cancer. (ABC News)

Science

Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev instructs scientists to find methods of age reversal. (CBS News)

Summary