Portal:Current events/2010 September 29

September 29, 2010 (Wednesday)

14 Islamist militants are killed in an operation by Russian forces in Dagestan. (Voice of Russia) (BBC) (Reuters)

- Comedian Greg Giraldo passed away at the age of 44 in New Brunswick, New Jersey hospital after an accidental drug overdose four days ago. [1]

Protests and strikes across Europe:
- Tens of thousands of workers across Europe protest against austerity measures being taken by their governments. (BBC) (Al Jazeera), (The Guardian)
- Rallies take place in Portugal, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, the Czech Republic, Cyprus, Serbia, Romania, Poland, Ireland and France. (CNN)
- A concrete mixer is crashed into the gates of Ireland's national parliament by a man protesting against the cost of bailing out Anglo Irish Bank. (The Irish Times) (AFP) (The Guardian)
- Spanish workers stage the country's first general strike since 2002. Transport operates at below normal levels, TV and newspapers are reduced and picketers deliver pamphlets to offices in Madrid explaining their position. (The News Tribune)
- Thousands of people converge outside government headquarters in Warsaw under the slogan "No to cuts, yes to development". (The Sydney Morning Herald)
- An estimated 100,000 people march on Brussels as part of a Europe-wide strike call given by the European Trade Union Confederation . (The Hindu) (Xinhua)
- A strike by air traffic controllers in Brussels and the general strike in Spain impacts flights by airlines such as Etihad Airways, easyJet and Ryanair. (Gulf News)
The United States House of Representatives approves legislation that would lead to trade sanctions against China, which is accused of undervaluing the yuan. (BBC) (CNN)

The 2010 Oaxaca landslide in the Mexican state of Oaxaca is less deadly than initially feared with eleven people missing. (The Guardian)

Germany set to make final payment of World War I reparations. (ABC News)
South Korea says that it has reached an agreement with North Korea to hold working-level military talks for the first time in two years. (CBS)
The European Commission issues a statement saying it will take legal action against France unless it complies with European Union rules on freedom of movement in relation to recent expulsion of Roma within the next two weeks. (National Post)
Turkey's ambassador refuses visas to Australian and New Zealand archaeologists to conduct a survey of Gallipoli Campaign battlesites over concerns about a statue built by Sydney's Assyrian community commemorating the Assyrian Genocide in World War I. (ABC Online)

Ten prisoners die in a fight between rival gangs at a prison in Aragua, Venezuela. (BBC)
Iranian blogger Hossein Derakhshan is sentenced to 19 and a half years in prison on charges of "collaboration" and "propaganda". (Al Jazeera)
United States District Court for the Northern District of California judge Jeremy D. Fogel stays the execution of sex killer Albert Greenwood Brown who was due to be executed on Thursday. (AFP via Google)

India launches a national identity scheme aimed at reducing fraud and improving access to state benefits. (Times of India) (BBC)
Kim Jong-un, the son of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, is appointed to two party posts in a move seen as a gradual transfer of power. (BBC) (Chosun Ilbo)
Maatia Toafa is elected Prime Minister of Tuvalu following the 2010 general election. He succeeds former Prime Minister Apisai Ielemia. (Australia Network)
Cabinet formation in the Netherlands: The People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) and Party for Freedom (PVV) complete the coalition formation after 111 days. (NOS)