Portal:Current events/2010 May 11

May 11, 2010 (Tuesday)

The Conservative Party's David Cameron kisses the hands of Queen Elizabeth II to become Prime Minister of the United Kingdom after Gordon Brown resigns as Prime Minister and as Leader of the British Labour Party. (BBC)
The son of Corazon Aquino, Benigno Aquino III, appears set to win the presidency in the Philippine elections, which have been marred by deadly violence and malfunctioning voting machines. (Chicago Tribune)^{[permanent dead link‍]} (USA Today)
The Egyptian parliament votes to extend the country's almost three decade state of emergency for a further two years, drawing criticism from foreign governments, opposition groups, dissidents and human-rights organizations concerned with the effect that extensive police powers and the suspension of constitutional rights has on human rights in Egypt.(The Jerusalem Post) (Al Jazeera) (BBC) (The Star)
Lost Planet 2 is Released for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360
At least three people are injured by authorities as protesters attempt to storm Dáil Éireann in a campaign against bank bail-outs. (RTÉ) (Irish Independent) (The Irish Times)
U.S. missiles kill 24 suspected insurgents in North Waziristan, Pakistan, in the latest two of three strikes since an attempted car bombing in New York linked to the Taliban. The identities of most of those killed are not known. (Chicago Tribune)^{[permanent dead link‍]} (USA Today)
Pope Benedict XVI and child sexual abuse in the Catholic Church:
- Tens of thousands of people line the streets as Pope Benedict XVI begins his four-day trip to Portugal. (RTÉ)
- The Pope blames the clerical child abuse scandal on "sin within" the Church while on his trip to Portugal. (BBC)
- The Pope encounters thousands of Facebook protesters after a seven-week online campaign against his views on contraception and HIV/AIDS. (The Guardian)
- Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin speaks of "never being so disheartened and discouraged" about how the Church is handling the scandal at a conference in Dublin. (RTÉ) (Irish Independent) (BBC) (Irish Examiner) (BusinessWeek)
Gulf of Mexico oil spill:
- United States Coast Guard commander, Admiral Thad Allen, is appointed by President Obama to lead the federal response to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. (USA Today)
- United States Congress begins hearings on the massive oil spill threatening sensitive marshes and marine life along the Gulf Coast as the three companies involved in the drilling activities that unleashed the environmental crisis blame each other. (Chicago Tribune)
- Louisiana state health officials close oyster harvesting areas as a precaution against contaminated products from the oil spill. (USA Today)
Air travel disruption after the 2010 Eyjafjallajökull eruption:
- Four airports in the Canary Islands and three in southern Spain are closed, Spain's air traffic control agency Aena said. (BBC)
- Morocco closes ten airports, including Casablanca, Rabat-Sale, Tangiers, Fes, Agadir, Tan-Tan and Essaouira, for the first time. This is the first African country affected.(BBC)(CNBC)^{[permanent dead link‍]}
- Turkey imposes a four-hour flight ban over the country's north-west from 1200 GMT, but the main Istanbul international airport remains open. (BBC)
9 trapped miners found dead in coal gas leak in northwest China's Gansu Province Tuesday. (China Daily)
Swedish artist Lars Vilks is headbutted and has his glasses broken by a man sitting in the front row while delivering a lecture about the limits of artistic freedom at Uppsala University, with police using pepper spray and batons on the crowd. (BBC) (CBS News) (Houston Chronicle) (Radio Free Europe)
South Africa's team manager Sipho Nkumane and commercial director Victor Nosi are suspended by the South African Football Association (SAFA) one month before the start of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. (BBC) (Bangkok Post)^{[permanent dead link‍]}
China cracks down on dissenters, banning two leading human rights lawyers from practicing and exiling a leading HIV/AIDS campaigner from the country. (The Australian)
Pakistan's ambassador to Iran, Mohammad Bakhsh Abbasi, is hospitalised after becoming injured in an attack by an Afghan on his car in Tehran. (BBC)
A nearly $1 trillion rescue package to prevent the Greek sovereign debt crisis spreading in Europe will impact various facets of the Chinese economy. (Sina)