Portal:Current events/2010 October 25

October 25, 2010 (Monday)

A bomb at the Fariduddin Ganjshakar Sufi shrine in Pakpattan, a city in Pakistan's Punjab province kills at least eight people and injures twenty. (NDTV), (CNN) (Xinhua) (irna)
An Afghan official claims that a NATO air strike killed about 25 people in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. (AP via Salon)

Retired teachers who had worked with schools affiliated to State-owned companies from 22 provinces appealed to the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council (SASAC). (Global Times)
Singapore Exchange makes an $A8.4 billion takeover proposal for the Australian Securities Exchange. (Dow Jones via The Australian), (BBC)
Sony stops selling the original cassette Walkman. (Newcore via Herald Sun)
US financial regulators launches an investigation into the foreclosure practices of various US financial institutions. (BBC News)
BP
- CEO Bob Dudley outlines a strategy to rebuild public trust, after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. (BBC News)
- The British oil firm sells its interests in four Gulf of Mexico oil wells to Japanese firm Marubeni, in a wider cash-raising effort that aims to raise 30 billion dollars for compensations related to the oil spill. (BBC News)

Leading Nepalese Sherpa Chhewang Nima, known for climbing Mount Everest 19 times, is now feared dead. (The Independent)
Indonesia
- Authorities evacuate 40,000 people in Java due to fears of an explosion by Mount Merapi. (CNN)
- A magnitude 7.5 earthquake strikes near the Mentawai Islands, but tsunami warnings for western Sumatra proved unwarranted. (BBC News)
At least twelve people are killed and eighty injured after oil leaks from a pipeline near the town of Pakokku in Burma. (BBC)

Israeli officials criticize the concluding document of the Vatican’s synod on the Middle East, with Israeli deputy foreign minister Danny Ayalon accusing the synod of being "a forum for Arab propaganda". (The Irish Times) (The Jerusalem Post) (AP)
Japan lodges a formal protest with China after two Chinese fishing boats were seen near the Senkaku Islands. (BBC)
Afghanistan
- President Hamid Karzai acknowledges that his office has regularly received cash from Iran and the United States but claims that the process was transparent. (BBC), (AP via Yahoo! News)
- A Dutch aid worker, along with an Afghan driver, are kidnapped on a highway while traveling to Kunduz Province, Afghanistan. (BBC News)
U.S. Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts claims the government of Sudan– which has been subject to U.S. sanctions since 1997– has assured him it will hold a referendum on independence for the south. (BBC) (Xinhua)

Abdul Nacer Benbrika, serving a 15-year jail term in Australia after being found guilty on a number of terrorism-related charged, loses an appeal in the Court of Appeal against conviction of leading a terrorist group. (ABC Melbourne) (Herald Sun)
The EU activates its Rapid Border Intervention Teams for the first time since its creation in 2007 to stem illegal immigration at the Greek border. (BBC News)
The trial of the alleged killer of Chandra Levy, Ingmar Guandique of El Salvador, begins in Washington D.C. (AP via USA Today)

Liberal Democrats Deputy Leader Simon Hughes is threatening a backbench rebellion over proposed housing benefits cut, which might threaten the stability of the United Kingdom coalition government, of which the Liberal Democrats are a part of. (BBC News)
Voters in Piran, Slovenia elect Ghanaian-born Peter Bossman as its mayor, the first time a person of African descent has been elected mayor in any Slovenian cities and towns. (BBC News)
Voters in Philippines go to the polls for the Philippine barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections. (PhilStar)
Voters across all municipalities in Ontario go to the polls for the Ontario municipal elections, 2010

More than 700 species of ancient insects are discovered preserved in amber in an ancient rainforest in India. (BBC)

UEFA
- UEFA President Michel Platini spoke out against goal-line technology, arguing that it would lead to "Playstation Football", despite recent controversies regarding the lack of goal-line technology in World Cup 2010 matches. (BBC Sports)
- The European football (soccer) rulemaking body has called for proof to substantiate corruption allegations leveled against the Euro 2012 bidding process. (BBC Sports)