Portal:Current events/2010 May 23

May 23, 2010 (Sunday)

At least 19 passengers were killed and more than 70 were injured, when a landslide in rain-drenched Yujiang, East China's Jiangxi Province. (Global Times)
A state of emergency is declared in the Jamaican capital Kingston after armed gangs attacked police and blockaded parts of the city in an attempt to prevent the arrest of a drug lord. (Jamaica Observer) (BBC) (CNN)
A five-day strike at British Airways is announced to begin tomorrow following a breakdown in talks which were invaded by protesters yesterday. (Al Jazeera) (The Australian) (The Daily Telegraph) (Wall Street Journal)
Ethiopian general election, 2010:
- Voters in Ethiopia go to the polls to elect members of the House of Peoples' Representatives. (BBC) (Xinhua) (Montreal Gazette) (Walta Information Center) (TIME)
- The opposition reveals evidence of corruption by the government as the elections are happening, including rigging, blocking, arrests, intimidation and privacy concerns. (Taiwan News) (Al Jazeera)
- Voting ends and the counting begins. (Al Jazeera)
Voters in Nagorno-Karabakh vote in a parliamentary election as more than 70 international observers watch. (Voice of Russia) (Reuters)
A train traveling from Shanghai to Guilin derails in a mountainous area near Fuzhou, Jiangxi, China, and is destroyed, killing at least 19 and injuring 71 others. (Xinhua) (BBC) (Reuters) (Al Jazeera)
The death toll in Poland's worst flooding in 60 years reaches 12. (Al Jazeera)
Clashes break out between Indian and Pakistani troops near the border in the disputed Kashmir region. (Al Jazeera) (Hindustan Times)
Dozens of masked gunmen from an Islamist group break into a United Nations-run Gaza summer camp for children and set it on fire, after beating up the guard and destroying the plastic tents. (The Jerusalem Post) (Al Jazeera)
Somalia's presidential palace is targeted by Al-Shabab militants in a mortar attack. (Press TV) (Reuters) (The Sydney Morning Herald) (AP)
Rescue teams hunt for the data recorders from Air India Express Flight 812. (BBC) (The Times) (Japan Today)
Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama makes an apology for breaking an election promise to get rid of a U.S. military base located in Okinawa which he and the United States believe is "needed to guarantee regional security". Demonstrators affected by this failure order him to "go home". (BBC)
Mordechai Vanunu, the Israeli nuclear whistleblower who spent 18 years in prison, goes back to jail for violating the terms of his parole. (AP) (CNN)
Sinking of the ROKS Cheonan:
- South Korea announces it will take the case of the sinking of the Cheonan to the United Nations Security Council. (CBC) (The Guardian) (Xinhua)
- South Korean President Lee Myung-bak says North Korea will pay the price for the sinking. (VoA)
The Cuban government eases jail conditions for political prisoners following talks with Catholic Church leaders and President Raúl Castro. (Reuters) (Press Trust of India) (BBC)
Maria Vittoria Longhitano [it], Italy's first woman priest, belonging to a breakaway Catholic order, is ordained. (BBC) (The Sydney Morning Herald)
The Catholic Church requests the public to donate at least £1 million to church collections today to fund three big open air masses at which Pope Benedict XVI will present while in the UK. The rest of the money is paid for by the British government. (BBC)
Nine ships under the banner Freedom Flotilla, from the UK, Ireland, Algeria, Kuwait, Greece and Turkey, with of 800 people from 50 nationalities, begin a trip to Gaza, the biggest attempt by international aid groups to break Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip. Israel informs them they will be stopped for "breaching Israeli law". (Al Jazeera)
Two militants are killed in the woods near Serzhen-Yurt in Shali, Chechen Republic. (Voice of Russia)
Sarah, Duchess of York's involvement in a "cash for royal access" scandal is filmed by undercover reporter Mazher Mahmood; she asked for a $40,000 (£27,650) golden handshake in cash and for £500,000 to be sent to her bank in return for access to Prince Andrew. (The Times) (The Daily Telegraph) (News of the World)^{[permanent dead link‍]} (Al Jazeera)
Sweden's "Treskilling Yellow", the most expensive postage stamp in the world, retains its title at a private auction. (AP) (The Times of India)
The UK tourist resort of Blackpool is expected to benefit "tens of millions" of pounds, described by the tourism chief as "unthinkable", following the local football club's elevation to the Premier League as an open-top bus tour is announced. (BBC)
The Champs-Élysées is covered in earth and turned into a huge green space by young financially impoverished farmers. (BBC) (The Independent) (The Sydney Morning Herald)
Thai film Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives, directed by Apichatpong Weerasethakul (pictured) wins the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival much to the surprise of the BBC. (BBC)
The Rolling Stones achieve their first UK number one album for 16 years with a re-release of Exile on Main St.. (BBC)
Czech Republic defeats Russia in 2010 IIHF World Championship final. (The Washington Post)