Portal:Current events/2010 August 4

Current events of August 4, 2010 (2010-08-04) (Wednesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• About 70 Indian police personnel are reported missing in Chhattisgarh forests amid a major engagement with Maoist guerrillas; they are later found. No casualties have been reported. (The Times of India)
• Israeli shellfire kills a Palestinian militant and wounds 1 other in Khan Yunis in the Gaza Strip as the search gets underway for further casualties. (Reuters)
• A suicide attack kills four people, a paramilitary commander Sifwat Ghuyur and three bodyguards, in Peshawar. (Aljazeera), (Reuters via ABC Online)
• Adaisseh incident:
  • The United Nations Peacekeeping Forces assert that Israeli soldiers were attacked in Israeli territory while performing routine maintenance, leading to yesterday's deadly clash. (Boston Herald)
  • The United Nations Security Council agrees that Israel and Lebanon must show "utmost restraint" following the clash. (BBC)
  • Hezbollah's second in command Naim Qassem warns that the organisation will retaliate if there are further incidents. (AFP via Google News)
  • Lebanese government official confirms that Israel was not in violation of international law. (ANSAmed)
• A controlled explosion is carried out on a device discovered beneath the car of a serving soldier, believed to be an army major, in Bangor, County Down in Northern Ireland. (The Guardian)

Arts, culture and entertainment

• Sharers of the Radiohead album In Rainbows, once offered by the band for nothing, are sent cease-and-desist letters by the RIAA and IFPI. (The Guardian)

Disasters

• 2010 Khyber Pakhtunkhwa floods:
  • Nearly 1 million people are estimated to have been left homeless during the ongoing severe floods in Pakistan. (The Guardian)
  • Thousands of people flee their homes in Punjab due to flood fears. (Aljazeera)
  • The United Nations World Food Programme warns that parts of northwest Pakistan are facing urgent food shortages. (Sky News)
• Eurotunnel has "apologised profusely" after train passengers brought to Calais, France, through the Channel Tunnel are locked into their carriages upon arrival and immediately returned to Kent, England. (The Guardian)

Law and crime

• Vaughn R. Walker, the Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, rules in Perry v. Schwarzenegger that California Proposition 8 is unconstitutional. (LA Times), (Reuters via New York Times)
• A man with a knife embarks on a fatal slashing rampage in a kindergarten in Zibo, Shandong. (The Sydney Morning Herald) (BBC)
• The prison sentence of Sabbar Kashur, an Arab man convicted by Israel of "rape by deception", because the accuser thought he was Jewish, is delayed as he attempts an appeal. (BBC)
• Mohamed Mostafaei, a lawyer who defended convicted adulterer Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, is reported to be in Turkey, seeking asylum. (BBC) (France24)

Politics and elections

• President of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's trip to Hamedan:
  • Ahmadinejad announces in Hamedan that Iran is ready to start talks this month about a possible nuclear fuel swap. (Xinhua)
  • Ahmadinejad denies rumors that he survived an assassination attempt while in Hamedan, and claims that a customary firecracker was set off to greet him. (Xinhua) (The Guardian) (BBC) (AFP via News Limited) (Press TV)
• Kenyans head to the polls to decide the fate of a potential new constitution. (Aljazeera) (BBC) (Reuters) (CNN)
• Prime Minister of Italy Silvio Berlusconi faces a no-confidence vote. (BBC) (The Irish Times)
• Cabinet formation in the Netherlands: Ivo Opstelten party chairman of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) is appointed the new informateur, to lead the final stage of the forming of a right-wing minority coalition cabinet between the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and the Christian Democratic Appeal with support of the Party for Freedom (PVV). (NOS)

Sport

• 10,000 people arrive in Cologne for the opening ceremony of the 2010 Gay Games. (The Guardian)
• Alex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees becomes the seventh player in the history of Major League Baseball to hit 600 home runs. (New York Times)