Portal:Current events/2009 August 4

Current events of August 4, 2009 (2009-08-04) (Tuesday)

• A European Commission report finds that more than 50% of all Europeans regularly surf the Internet, up 33% in five years. (Deutsche Welle)
• Burundian police detain opposition leader and former journalist Alexis Sinduhije at Ruyigi in eastern Burundi, where he is accused of hosting an illegal meeting. (IOL)
• Pro-government activist, Lina Ron, surrenders to Venezuelan authorities one day after attacking opposition television station Globovisión. President Hugo Chávez condemns the attack, saying it helps his opponents brand him as a tyrant. (BBC) (The Guardian)
• Amos Kenan, Israeli columnist, painter, sculptor, playwright, novelist and leading intellectual of Canaanism died at the age of 82 in Israel, his funeral is scheduled for Thursday, August 6th, at a kibbutz cemetery in central Israel. (The Associated Press)
• Former United States President Bill Clinton arrives in Pyongyang, North Korea, and secures the freedom of two detained American journalists, Laura Ling and Euna Lee. (BBC) (Yonhap) (KCNA) (Al Jazeera) (The Times) (BBC)
• Georgia
  • The Russian and U.S. Presidents discuss in a phone conversation the Georgian situation and “the need to decrease tensions in the region,” America's White House claims. (Civil).
  • Russia establishes combat readiness of its troops in South Ossetia due to the situation. (Rustavi 2), (Civil).
  • Georgia urges the European Union and United States to help avert a new war with Russia, as tensions escalate ahead of the first anniversary of the 2008 South Ossetia war. (AFP via Google News)
  • South Ossetian separatists throw grenades into Georgian and Russian checkpoints. (Rustavi2)
• Police in Australia foil a major terror operation involving a suicide attack on a military base understood to be Holsworthy Barracks on Sydney's western outskirts. (Sky News) (The Age) (The Hindu)
• 5,300 people flee flames which thousands of firefighters fight in British Columbia. (BBC) (Canada.com) (CBS News) (National Post)
• Bangkok Airways Flight PG 266 crashes into a disused control tower at Samui Airport on the island of Ko Samui, Thailand, killing at least one person. (Bangkok Post) (BBC) (China Daily) (RTÉ)
• A referendum on whether to extend Mamadou Tandja's presidency for a third term is held in Niger. (BBC) (Associated Press)
• Gotland governor Marianne Samuelsson is forced to resign after she was taped arguing that a local businessman should be given favourable treatment. (The Local)
• UBS remains cautious about its prospects after client withdrawals spurred by protracted U.S. tax litigation drags the Swiss bank into another big quarterly loss. (Reuters)
• John Yettaw, detained in Burma for making an uninvited visit to Aung San Suu Kyi, is taken to hospital suffering seizures. (BBC) (AFP) (CNN)
• After a public demonstration in support, a High Court judge in Ireland orders the release of Thomas Cook staff, including one woman who went into labour, who were arrested after occupying the company's premises on Grafton Street, Dublin. (The Irish Times) (Reuters) (RTÉ) (The Times)
• About 100 Algerians and Chinese clash in Algiers. (Reuters India) (BBC)
• Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua orders an investigation into the recent sectarian violence in the north of the country. (NEXT) (Reuters)
• Opposition groups in Iran call for further protests ahead of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's inauguration. (Associated Press)
• The trial of a Sudanese woman accused of public indecency after wearing trousers is adjourned for a second time after police disperse protesters outside the court. (IOL) (Al Jazeera)
• Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki commutes the sentences of more than 4,000 death row inmates to life imprisonment. (IOL)
• Nigerian airport officials release an Ukrainian aircraft and its crew arrested in June with an arms cargo bound for Equatorial Guinea. (IOL)