Around 150 Venezuelan students end a weeklong hunger strike protesting against alleged human rights abuses in Venezuela, after Organization of American States officials agree to meet the students and one of their leaders is released. (El Universal ) [permanent dead link (Reuters)
Ateke Tom , militant leader of the Niger Delta Vigilante in the Niger Delta region, accepts an amnesty by the Nigerian government. (Vanguard ) (BBC) (AFP) Treaty of Lisbon :
The International Monetary Fund says the global economy is "recovering faster than expected", raising its forecast for global growth to 3.1% for 2010, up from 2.5%. (IMF Survey online)
A second earthquake measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale occurs near Sumatra , Indonesia , following a 7.6 magnitude earthquake the previous day. (Reuters) (The Australian )
The death toll from the previous earthquake rises to at least 1100. (BBC) (Bloomberg)
The Justices of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom are sworn into office, replacing the Law Lords as the final court of appeal in the country. (BBC) (The Times )
Mass celebrations take place in Beijing to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China . (Xinhua) (BBC)
Iran agrees to allow inspections of a recently revealed nuclear facility near the city of Qom . (The New York Times ) The Romanian coalition government collapses with the withdrawal of the Social Democratic Party , in protest at the sacking of one of its members. (Adevarul ) [permanent dead link (AFP) (Al Jazeera)
The opposition in Guinea reject a call by the ruling junta to create a unity government . (Reuters) (Al Jazeera)
12 people are killed in fighting between rival Islamist groups for control of the port city of Kismayo in southern Somalia . (Associated Press) (The Nation )
Paleontologists announced the discovery of an Ardipithecus ramidus (New York Times ) The Dow Jones loses over 200 points by the closing bell. (CNN)
Pakistan is to launch a greater campaign in South Waziristan against the Taliban . (New York Times ) The Netherlands Antilles agrees to disband on October 10, 2010. Bonaire , St. Eustatius and Saba will become Dutch municipalities within the Netherlands , whereas Curaçao and Sint Maarten will become self-governing countries within the Kingdom of the Netherlands . (NRC Handelsblad )
An "industry-wide phishing scheme" targets sites such as Google , Hotmail , Yahoo! and AOL , with passwords posted online and more than a quarter of a million accounts at risk. (BBC) (The Wall Street Journal ) (The Guardian )
Madagascar 's political rivals agree on cabinet posts in a unity government; the President is Andry Rajoelina , the Vice-President is Emmanuel Rakotovahiny , and the Prime Minister is Eugene Mangalaza . (BBC) (Reuters) Ireland 's Ceann Comhairle John O'Donoghue announces his resignation following a scandal over his expenses claims . (RTÉ) (The Irish Times ) One of the most wanted suspects involved in the 1994 Rwandan Genocide , Idelphonse Nizeyimana , is arrested in the Ugandan capital Kampala . (BBC) (Press TV)
Charles K. Kao , Willard S. Boyle and George E. Smith win the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physics for the achievements concerning the transmission of light in fibers for optical communication and for the invention of an imaging semiconductor circuit – the CCD sensor . (The Guardian ) Typhoon Parma makes landfall at Luzon , the Philippines . (ABS-CBN) The death toll from floods in the southern Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka rises to 269, with a further 1.5 million people homeless. (Press Trust of India) (Outlook India) (AFP)
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe calls for improved relations with "hostile" countries at the opening of Parliament . (Xinhua) (Associated Press) (ZimOnline) Hilary Mantel 's Wolf Hall Man Booker Prize . (BBC) (The Guardian ) Somalia 's State Minister for Defence Sheikh Yusuf Mohammad Siad is detained by security forces in Uganda . Siad's detention was originally reported as a kidnapping . (France 24) [permanent dead link
The 2009 Nobel Prize in Chemistry goes to Venkatraman Ramakrishnan , Thomas A. Steitz , and Ada E. Yonath , "for studies of the structure and function of the ribosome ". (Nobel Foundation)
European Union leaders again warn the Czech Republic of the costs which will be imposed by the further delaying of the Lisbon Treaty . (RTÉ) The discovery of a new ring around Saturn is announced. (BBC) (The Times ) (Xinhua) (NASA)
The Somali junior Defence Minister Youssuf Mohamed Siad, mistakenly detained in Uganda yesterday, is released. (Daily Monitor ) (AFP)
Typhoon Melor , forecast to be the strongest typhoon to make landfall in Japan for a decade, approaches the country. (Al Jazeera) (Japan Times ) (euronews) The opposition in Guinea urges Captain Moussa Dadis Camara , head of the ruling junta , to resign. (Bloomberg) (CBC)
A Saudi man, Mazen Abdul-Jawad , is sentenced to five years imprisonment and 1,000 lashes after bragging about sex on a TV talk show. (Associated Press) (IOL)
Burmese National League for Democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi meets for a second time with the ruling junta after her offer to lobby for nations to lift sanctions on the country. (Reuters) (Associated Press) (New Light of Myanmar ) Somali pirates attack the French Navy replenishment tanker Somme (A631) in error, believing it to be a cargo ship. (BBC) (The Times ) More than a million people are affected in one of the worst droughts to affect Syria in decades. (BBC)
Taiwan 's National Palace Museum refuses to display two artifacts stolen from China 150 years ago. (Taiwan News ) (AFP) The Constitutional Court of Italy overturns a law offering Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi immunity from prosecution while in office, ruling it unconstitutional. (Adnkronos) (BBC) (Al Jazeera)
Ambassadors from Ireland and Uganda , along with the Sudanese minister overseeing negotiations, visit Al-Fashir in a renewed effort to win the freedom of aid workers Sharon Cummins and Hilda Kawuki, kidnapped since 3 July. (RTÉ)
A 7.8 magnitude earthquake strikes Vanuatu , followed 15 minutes later by a 7.3 magnitude aftershock . A tsunami warning is issued. (USGS)
The Red Book Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung is displayed for the first time in public. (BBC)
The 2009 Nobel Prize in Literature goes to the Romanian -German novelist Herta Müller , "who, with the concentration of poetry and the frankness of prose, depicts the landscape of the dispossessed". She becomes the twelfth woman to win the literature prize and the fourth female Nobel Laureate of 2009, a record year for female achievers . (Nobel) (Deutsche Welle) (Realitatea) (The Australian ) (The Times )
A Taliban attack on the Indian embassy in Kabul kills at least 17 and injures 83. (The Hindu ) (NDTV) (The Australian )
A prominent Al-Qaeda leader, Abu Yahya al-Libi , urges Muslims in Xinjiang to "prepare for holy war" after the riots in July . (Times of India ) (CNN) (China Daily )
The Government of Ireland announces Nicholas Kearns as its nomination for appointment as President of the High Court . (The Irish Times )
Wallace Souza , former Brazilian television presenter accused of ordering murders to boost the ratings of Canal Livre (The Sydney Morning Herald ) (RTÉ) (CNN) Yevgeny Dzhugashvili launches a court action claiming the Novaya Gazeta Joseph Stalin . (BBC) (The Independent ) (Miami Herald ) [permanent dead link Guinea 's military government announces it is setting up a commission to investigate the shooting of protesters last week. (BBC) (Bloomberg) At least two people are killed and dozens injured as Typhoon Melor makes landfall in Japan . (Al Jazeera) (Mainichi Shimbun )
Treaty of Lisbon :
DNA analysis reveals the identity of the "cursed blood" disorder that afflicted the British Royal Family in the 19th and early 20th centuries. (BBC) A new study reveals one in four people are Muslim , with the global Muslim population standing at 1.57 billion. (The Guardian ) (RIA Novosti) (Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
Colombia's Administrative Department of Security to be dismantled and become newly named Agencia Central de Inteligencia (Central Intelligence Agency).(Colombia Reports)
Luis Armando Pena Soltren , a suspect wanted for the 1968 hijacking of Pan Am Flight 281 , is captured after more than 40 years. (The Associated Press) (CNN) Thousands of people attend the state funeral of Arturo "Zambo" Cavero in Lima , Peru . President Alan García posthumously awards him the Order of the Sun . (BBC)
Mayoral, regional and district council elections take place in Moscow and 75 other regions across Russia . (RIA Novosti) (The Guardian ) (BBC)
Thousands of people march in protest for gay rights in Washington, D.C. . (BBC)
An Irish priest, Michael Sinnot, is seized from a convent and taken away in a motorboat by gunmen in Pagadian City , Mindanao in the southern Philippines . (BBC) (RTÉ) (Miami Herald ) [permanent dead link
At least 10 people die and seven are declared missing in a river ferry sinking on the Mekong in Kratié Province , Cambodia . (The News International ) (Al Jazeera)
Pope Benedict XVI canonizes five new saints : Father Damien , Rafael Arnáiz Barón , Zygmunt Szczęsny Feliński , Francisco Coll Guitart , and Jeanne Jugan . (Reuters) (Times of India ) A spate of car bombings kills 19 people and wounds dozens in the western Iraqi city of Ramadi , in Anbar province . (MSNBC)
Pakistani commandos storm an office building and rescue 39 people taken hostage by suspected Taliban militants after an attack on the army's headquarters in the city of Rawalpindi . (Reuters) The Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) announces an end to violence in Northern Ireland . (Xinhua) (The Guardian ) (ABC News)
The 60th International Astronautical Congress opens in Daejeon , South Korea , with approximately 3,000 space experts from more than 70 countries attending. (UPI)
The death toll from a blast in Pakistan 's Shangla District has reached at least 41, with a further 45 injured. (APP) (AFP)
Elinor Ostrom and Oliver Williamson win the Nobel Prize for Economics . (The Economic Times ) (Bloomberg) Edgar Allan Poe receives a funeral in Baltimore , USA , 160 years after his death and 200 after his birth. (BBC) Kai Eide of Norway , the top United Nations official in Afghanistan , acknowledges "widespread fraud" took place during the recent presidential election in the country. (The Independent ) Six Uyghurs are sentenced to death over riots in the western region of Xinjiang , China in July. (China Daily ) (BBC) (Bernama) (RIA Novosti)
A large fire sweeps through a shanty town in Sao Paulo , Brazil , leaving at least 200 families without homes. (BBC) (Associated Press)
The government in East Timor faces a motion of no confidence after releasing an Indonesian militia member, Martenus Bere, accused of crimes against humanity a decade ago. (Jakarta Post ) (AFP)
The pro-Kremlin United Russia party wins around 80% of regional and local seats in elections held in 76 regions in Russia . Opposition alleges vote rigging (RTÉ) (Taiwan News ) (Xinhua)
Two people are injured in a bomb attack in Milan , Italy , after a Libyan man explodes a device at the entrance of an army barracks. (Adnkronos) (Associated Press)
India test fires two medium range Prithvi II missiles in the eastern state of Orissa . (Press Trust of India) (BBC) (Press TV) Guineans observe an opposition strike to commemorate those who died at an opposition rally last month. (BBC) (Angola Press) North Korea fires five short range missiles into the Sea of Japan , after issuing a "no sail zone" for waters off its east and west coasts until October 20. (Yonhap) (BBC) (Xinhua) The body of two-year-old Aisling Symes, who disappeared last week in New Zealand , is located in a drain in Henderson , Auckland , near the place where she was last sighted. (TVNZ) (RTÉ) (Sky News) (The Daily Telegraph ) (IOL)
Negotiators in Honduras reach a deal to restore President Manuel Zelaya to office to end the political crisis in the country. (CBC) (AFP) (Xinhua)
Opposition politicians walk out of the Russian lower house of parliament, the State Duma , alleging vote rigging at the weekend's elections which saw the United Russia party winning nearly every poll. (BBC) (The Malaysia Star ) (RIA Novosti)
Philippines :
The United Nations warns that malnutrition is getting worse. (BBC)
Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan visits Turkey to attend a qualifying match between the nations for the FIFA World Cup . Turkish fans boo the Armenian anthem . (BBC) The Dow Jones closes above 10,000 points for the first time in more than a year. (The New York Times )
Korean founder and leader of the worldwide Unification Church , Sun Myung Moon , holds a mass wedding ceremony for some 1,000 couples near Seoul . (Reuters) Tim Berners-Lee issues an apology for the unnecessary "//" in URLs he designed for the World Wide Web . (BBC) (The Daily Telegraph ) A Zimbabwean court orders a senior MDC official, Roy Bennett , back to jail on terrorism charges. (Al Jazeera) (South Africa Times )
Iraq 's Human Rights Ministry announces at least 85,000 Iraqis have been killed by bombs, murders and fighting between 2004 and 2008. (Associated Press) (Al Jazeera)
Treaty of Lisbon :
Ugandan MP David Bahati proposes creating a capital offence of "aggravated homosexuality " for gay sex with people under 18, disabled people or when the accused is HIV -positive. (BBC) The U.N. General Assembly elects Bosnia and Herzegovina , Brazil , Gabon , Lebanon and Nigeria to the U.N. Security Council as non-veto -holding members. (Reuters)
Narges Kalhor , the daughter of a senior adviser to President of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad , applies for asylum in Germany. (Reuters) Burma and Bangladesh send warships to a disputed area in the Bay of Bengal 50 nmi (93 km) west of St. Martin's Island . (Mizzima) Three of the five members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee initially argued against awarding U.S. President Barack Obama the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize . (AFP via Google News) (Primary source: Verdens Gang)
North Korea accuses South Korea of intruding into its territorial waters , further raising tensions on the Korean Peninsula . (Yonhap) (Reuters) (AFP) Palestinians have urged the UN to act to punish Israel for its offensive in the Gaza Strip last winter. (BBC) (Ha'aretz ) At least 37 people are killed in a series of bomb attacks in Pakistani cities by militants. (The News ) [permanent dead link (Bloomberg) (Indian Express )
A further six people are sentenced to death over ethnic unrest in China 's Xinjiang region in July. (China Daily ) (Al Jazeera) (BBC)
The International Criminal Court opens an investigation into the suppression of an opposition protest in Guinea , in which dozens of people were killed. (Associated Press)
Finland becomes the first country in the world to declare Internet broadband access a legal right . (CNN) The ruling party in Malaysia , the United Malays National Organisation , announces internal reforms after a series of defeats in local elections. (Al Jazeera) (Bernama)
Militants launch attacks on police in Lahore , the capital of Punjab province, in Pakistan , killing 31 people after a week of violence in which more than 100 people died. (Reuters)
Norwegian pop trio a-ha announce they are to split after 25 years together. (BBC) (The Daily Telegraph ) (The Independent ) A worldwide media circus surrounds an incident in which a six-year-old boy is alleged to be flying in a homemade hot-air balloon; the boy was later found safe at home. (CNN)
Voters in Botswana take part in a general election . (IOL) (Al Jazeera)
The United States records a budget deficit of $1.42 trillion. (Bloomberg)
Stephen Gately :
Treaty of Lisbon :
A strong earthquake hits Indonesia , causing mass panic and evacuations in Jakarta . (CNN)
The United Nations Human Rights Council endorses the Goldstone report on the Gaza War , accusing both Israel and Hamas of war crimes . (Jerusalem Post ) (AFP) (Al Jazeera)
Five men are convicted in Sydney , Australia of plotting a terrorist attack . (news.com.au) (The Sydney Morning Herald )
One part of Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) ends a three-month ceasefire and resumes attacks on the oil industry in Nigeria . (BBC) (Reuters) (IOL)
Guinea
Australian pop singer, songwriter, and actress Kylie Minogue makes her Hindi cinema debut in Blue Bollywood production ever. (The Times ) At least seven people are killed and at least ten are injured in an explosion at a mosque , police station and passenger bus in Peshawar , Pakistan . (Xinhua) (RTÉ) (BBC)
In Berlin , the reconstructed Neues Museum officially reopens after 70 years. (Deutsche Welle) (The Times )
Zimbabwe :
North and South Korea fail to agree on further family reunions, after the North linked the prospect with humanitarian aid deliveries. (Korea Times ) (Straits Times ) Controversial Dutch politician Geert Wilders arrives in the UK amid protests from the Netherlands , proclaiming "a victory for the freedom of speech ". (CNN) (The Guardian ) (Reuters)
Uruguay becomes the first country to provide a laptop for every child attending state primary school. (BBC) German heavy metal band Rammstein releases their seventh album, Liebe ist für Alle Da in Germany .
Yemen claims to have killed 18 Shia rebels in fighting in the north of the country.Iraq accuses neighbouring countries of stealing sections of its national archives , including centuries-old documents. (AFP) Ukraine commences its first presidential election campaign since the 2004 Orange Revolution . (Reuters) A Rwandan doctor working in a French hospital is suspended after a nurse locates an Internet Interpol arrest warrant, accusing him of a 1994 "genocide, war crimes". (Reuters)
At least 60 Taliban militants are killed in an ongoing offensive in South Waziristan , northwest Pakistan . (The Guardian ) (Xinhua)
Jenson Button wins the 2009 Formula One World Championship in Interlagos , São Paulo , Brazil , by finishing fifth in the 2009 Brazilian Grand Prix .Germany and Israel complain about a Bangkok museum billboard depicting a salute by Adolf Hitler beside the slogan "Hitler is not dead". (BBC) (Radio Netherlands Worldwide) Hurricane Rick strengthens to a Category 5 storm , becoming the strongest hurricane in a decade in the eastern Pacific Ocean . (Associated Press) (Straits Times ) (CNN) The Australian state of Queensland declares a state of emergency after more than 50 wildfires burn out of control. (TVNZ) (Al Jazeera) (The Australian )
Eight people are jailed in Hubei , China , for "disrupting public order" after 10,000 people participated in riots following the controversial death of a chef in June. (BBC) (China Daily ) (Bangkok Post ) [permanent dead link
Scotland Yard investigates a complaint about an article by Jan Moir in the UK's Daily Mail Boyzone singer Stephen Gately . (RTÉ) 2009 Pishin bombing :
Seven people are killed and 20 injured after gunmen open fire in a bar in Puerto Rico . (Associated Press)
Two foreign aid workers Sharon Commins and Hilda Kawuki – one Irish and one Ugandan – working for the GOAL charity captured in Sudan 's Darfur region more than three months ago are released. (Associated Press) (RTÉ) (BBC)
A boat with 76 migrant workers on board headed for Canada is seized by the Canadian Navy and RCMP off its west coast in the Pacific Ocean . (CTV) (AFP)
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) assists Indonesian and Malaysian agencies with two distressed boats. (The Sydney Morning Herald )
The Icelandic government says it has come to a new agreement with the governments of the Netherlands and the UK over the repaying of $5bn. (BBC)
Afghanistan 's election commission orders a run-off election for November 7 in the Afghan presidential election . (AP via Jamaica Observer ) [permanent dead link In a set of canon laws , the Vatican welcomes groups of Anglicans as "personal ordinariates" into the Catholic Church , Pope Benedict XVI announces. (BBC) (CNN)
A court in Yemen sentences 10 Shi'ite Houthi rebels to death and jailed five others over clashes which killed hundreds of people last year. (Al Jazeera) (Al Bawaba)
Nine North Koreans who entered the Danish embassy in Hanoi , Vietnam , last month leave for South Korea . (The Copenhagen Post )
Richard Herman resigns as the Chancellor of the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign as a result of an admissions scandal . (Chicago Tribune ) Sun Microsystems announces plans to lay off up to 3,000 workers as it prepares for a merger with Oracle Corp . (Market Watch) The entire government of Kyrgyzstan resigns as President Kurmanbek Bakiyev announces a new reform campaign. (AFP) (BBC) (Taiwan News )
Niger is suspended by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) after its President Tandja Mamadou went ahead with a parliamentary election it had asked to be postponed over boycotts. (BBC) (Reuters) At least four students are killed and many injured in bomb explosions at an Islamic university in Islamabad , Pakistan. (AP via Google)
China pledges to rescue the crew aboard the Chinese ship De Xin Hai after it is hijacked by Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean. The pirates threaten to kill the crew if there is any attempt to rescue them. (Xinhua) (CNN) (The Guardian )
Detectives arrest a man in Belfast in connection with the Massereene Barracks shooting in County Antrim , Northern Ireland , in March 2009. (RTÉ) (BBC) (Press Association)
Iran buries its dead members of the Revolutionary Guard , killed in a suicide attack two days ago. Thousands of people attend the funerals. (BBC) (Press TV) The Supreme Court of the United States agrees to decide whether federal courts have the power to order prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay to be released into the country. (The New York Times )
Nearly 100,000 Italian women sign a petition after Silvio Berlusconi says a female politician is "more beautiful than intelligent" on live television. (BBC) (Reuters)
Rare footage of the abuse of suspected witches causes controversy in India. (BBC)
The United States observes the National Day on Writing , sponsored by the National Council of Teachers of English (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette ) [1] .
Jay-Z and Alicia_Keys released the song "Empire State of Mind",about New York , making it one of the greatest hits and a symbol of the city.
The Philadelphia Phillies win the 2009 National League Championship Series 4 games to 1 after defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers 10–4. (New York Times )
A report on the discovery of a new species of dinosaur , Fruitadens haagarorum Proceedings of the Royal Society (RSPB) (BBC) (The Daily Telegraph )
After 10 hours, a man armed with a rifle and wearing military camouflage holding 8 people hostage in downtown Edmonton , Canada during the 2009 Workers Compensation Board of Alberta Hostage crisis surrenders peacefully to the Edmonton Police Service (Global Edmonton) (CTV Edmonton)
Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev appoints former mayor of Bishkek , Daniar Usenov , as the new Prime Minister following the resignation of his predecessor, Igor Chudinov . (BBC) (Reuters) President of the Marshall Islands Litokwa Tomeing is ousted in the country's first successful vote of no confidence . Ruben Zackhras is appointed acting president until a new election on October 23, 2009. (AFP) (Yokwe ) Hundreds of protestors gather in Lima , Peru , as a bill proposing the legalisation of some form of abortion is approved. (BBC)
The United States is to send a rare mission to Burma for talks with the military government . (AFP) (Reuters)
Several people are arrested over a bomb attack in southeastern Iran that killed 42 people, including members of the Revolutionary Guards . (Associated Press)
Azza Transport Flight 2241 crashes on take-off from Sharjah International Airport , in the United Arab Emirates , killing all six crew. (Gulfnews) (Arabian Business) (Aviation Safety Network) Armed men take six people captive at a Lidl supermarket in Sevran , France . (BBC) (Euronews) (Ghana Broadcasting Corporation) (Channel News Asia) (Jakarta Globe )
At least thirteen people die in India 's Rajasthan state after the Goa Express crashes into the stationary Mewar Express . (CNN)
A goods train derails east of Poti , Georgia , in an incident described as "sabotage". (BBC) (The Times of India ) (Khaleej Times ) (RIA Novosti)
The International Atomic Energy Agency propose draft agreement for Iran and three world powers to agree, aimed at reducing international concerns over Tehran 's nuclear programme. (BBC)
Poland 's Prime Minister Donald Tusk agrees to station SM-3 missile interceptors from United States President Barack Obama 's reformulated missile defense system on the territory of this NATO ally. (The New York Times ) The crypt of Daniel O'Connell at Glasnevin Cemetery in Dublin is refurbished and opened to tourists . (RTÉ)
A Japanese convict who served seventeen years in prison for the murder of a four-year-old girl pleads not guilty during a retrial. (BBC)
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev announces plans to curb the number of state companies by privatising some. (RIA Novosti) (Financial Times ) Former President of South Africa Nelson Mandela denies writing a foreword praising Republic of the Congo President Denis Sassou Nguesso 's biography, Straight Speaking for Africa . (IOL) (The Guardian )
At the end of their three-week synod in the Vatican , more than 200 African Roman Catholic bishops issue a 12-page document urging what they call corrupt political leaders on the continent to repent their sins or resign and criticising multinational companies who exploit and destroy the earth. (BBC) (Reuters) (CBC)
Bernard Fellay , Superior General of the Society of St. Pius X , says that the Vatican is considering the possibility of converting the Lefebvrist group into a personal prelature. (Pakistan Christian TV) A universal mobile phone charger that works with any handset is approved by the International Telecommunication Union . (BBC)
Jean Todt defeats Ari Vatanen in an election to become the new head of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile , replacing former head Max Mosley , who held the position for 16 years. (BBC) The UK GDP contracts by 0.4% between July and September, meaning that the United Kingdom has been contracting for 6 successive quarters for the first time since records were kept in 1955. (BBC) (RTÉ)
The Swiss Government says that the United States has formally requested the extradition of film director Roman Polanski for having unlawful sex with an underage girl in 1977 . (AP via Washington Post ) (Yahoo)
A huge explosion rips through an upmarket area of Peshawar in Pakistan . (AFP via Google News) (Yahoo News)
A huge explosion occurs at an oil refinery in Cataño , Puerto Rico . (Reuters)
Vitit Muntarbhorn , United Nations Special Rapporteur for North Korea , says the country should improve its "abysmal" rights record , adding it should provide food to over 8 million citizens. (Al Jazeera) (Taiwan News ) (BBC) The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) launches its first human rights body, the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR). (Thai News Agency) (Associated Press)
A white Kenyan , Thomas Cholmondeley , is released after five months of an eight month prison sentence for manslaughter. (Daily Nation ) (BBC)
The International Day of Climate Action occurred worldwide in prelude to the United Nations Climate Change Conference of 2009 , with over 5,400 actions to raise awareness of the assertion that 350 ppm is the maximum safe level of carbon dioxide in Earth's atmosphere , and call for mitigation of global warming before Earth reaches a climatological tipping point . (New York Times ) (CNN )
Ten corpses with gunshot wounds thought to belong to a kidnapped Colombian football team are located in Venezuela . (BBC) (Latin American Herald Tribune )
Pakistan reports re-gaining control of Kotkai , South Waziristan , birthplace of Pakistani Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud and also the hometown of the Taliban's master trainer of suicide bombers, Qari Hussain , after a week of fierce fighting with the Taliban . (BBC) Morrissey , ex-frontman of The Smiths , is hospitalized after collapsing on stage while performing "This Charming Man " during his world tour. (BBC) (The Guardian ) (Sky News) Rosanna Al-Yami , a female journalist in Saudi Arabia , is sentenced to sixty lashes and a two-year travel ban for her involvement in a controversial sex programme. (BBC) (CNN) (The New York Times ) (Radio Netherlands Worldwide) (Reuters) Senior envoys from North Korea and the United States hold rare talks on North Korea's nuclear programme in New York City . (Channel News Asia) (Reuters)
At least 15 people are killed after two trains collide in Al-Ayyat , near Cairo , Egypt . (BBC) (Al Jazeera)
Less than a week after the release of GOAL aid workers Sharon Commins and Hilda Kawuki , the International Committee of the Red Cross confirms one of its French employees has been abducted in Darfur . (The Sydney Morning Herald )
Burma 's Prime Minister Thein Sein tells the 15th ASEAN summit his government is prepared to relax the house arrest on National League for Democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi . (Financial Times ) (Bangkok Post ) A magnitude 7.0 undersea earthquake strikes off the coast of eastern Indonesia . (Associated Press) (Jakarta Post )
Thousands of people protest in London , England , demanding the withdrawal of British troops from Afghanistan . (BBC) (The Times ) (AFP)
The ruling National Movement for the Development of Society wins a controversial parliamentary election in Niger . (African Press Agency) [permanent dead link (AFP)
An assassination attempt on President of the Chechen Republic Ramzan Kadyrov is averted. (RIA Novosti) (Bloomberg)
The New York Yankees beat the Los Angeles Angels 5-2 in Game 6 of the 2009 American League Championship Series to advance to the World Series . (New York Times )
Israeli police and Palestinians clash at Temple Mount , Jerusalem 's holiest site, resulting in 12 arrests. (BBC) (Straits Times ) (Associated Press) Bomb blasts kill 155 people and injure at least 500 in central Baghdad , the country's deadliest attack for two years. (BBC) (Reuters India) (The Sydney Morning Herald )India tells China that the Dalai Lama is an "honoured guest" and will not be barred from visiting Arunachal Pradesh despite protests from China. (Associated Press) (Times of India ) (Straits Times ) Nigeria 's main militant group, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta , declares an indefinite ceasefire. (NEXT) (African Press Agency) [permanent dead link (Xinhua) Maksharip Aushev , human rights activist and opposition leader of Ingushetia , is shot dead while driving his car near Nartan in Kabardino-Balkaria . A female passenger is also attacked. (Xinhua) (Radio Netherlands Worldwide) (RIA Novosti) Tunisians vote in a general election . (Al Jazeera) Uruguayans vote in a general election . (Press TV) (Associated Press) Easter Islanders vote to restrict the number of immigrants in a referendum . (Radio Netherlands Worldwide) (BBC) The oil refinery fire continues to burn out of control in Cataño, Puerto Rico , two days after the initial explosion. (Washington Post )
Buildings across the Netherlands —St. Martin's Cathedral, Utrecht , Rotterdam 's Euromast and Groningen 's Martinitoren —dim their lights as clocks go back in Europe . (Radio Netherlands Worldwide)
Inspectors from the United Nations ' nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), arrive in Iran to inspect a newly disclosed nuclear facility near the city of Qom . (CNN)
It is revealed that composer Andrew Lloyd Webber has been diagnosed with prostate cancer . (The Guardian )
President of Tunisia Zine El Abidine Ben Ali wins 90% of votes, his fifth term and a new five-year mandate in the country's general election . (BBC) (Al Jazeera) (CBC) Jurelang Zedkaia is elected the 5th President of the Marshall Islands , following the ouster of Litokwa Tomeing in a no confidence vote last week. (Bernama) At least seven people are killed and at least four others are injured when a three-story building falls down in Palma , Majorca . The dead include at least three from Colombia . (BBC)
Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadžić boycotts his own trial as it begins in The Hague . (BBC) (The Guardian ) (The Australian ) [permanent dead link The UN 's court in Freetown , Sierra Leone sees its final case after seven years of investigating the country's civil war. (BBC) (Reuters Africa) (Ghana Broadcasting Corporation)
The trial of Japanese singer and actress Noriko Sakai begins in Tokyo . (Xinhua) (BBC) (Japan Today )
South Korean cloning scientist Hwang Woo-Suk is convicted of fraud over his stem cell research. (BBC) (Radio Netherlands Worldwide) (The New Zealand Herald ) [permanent dead link King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia removes the sentence of 60 lashes for Rosanna Yami , female journalist involved in the Red Lines sex scandal. (BBC) (Al Arabiya) (CBC) A Sri Lankan court in Colombo releases Vetrivel Jaseeharan , the publisher of North Eastern Monthly (BBC) (Khaleej Times )
It is announced that Silvio Berlusconi will stand trial on 16 November. (BBC)
A court in Milan rules that Mediaset run by Silvio Berlusconi is being anti-competitive against News Corporation run by Rupert Murdoch . (BBC)
The five surviving Conway sextuplets , the first sextuplets born on the island of Ireland , return home. (BBC)
At least 10 patients from thirty-four operated on partially lose their sight after free cataract operations in Nellore , Andhra Pradesh . (BBC)
A crater found in northern Latvia , believed at first to be a meteorite strike, is revealed to be a hoax perpetrated by telecom operator Tele2 . (Fox News)
Uldis Nulle , a scientist at the Latvian Environment, Geology and Meteorology Centre , said: "This is not a real crater. It is artificial." (The Sun) .Prof. Salamat Akhtar demands a repeal of blasphemy laws in Pakistan . (Pakistan Christian TV)
Silvio Berlusconi has been diagnosed with scarlet fever . (The Times ) The composer and pianist Elton John cancels his third concert in several days due to flu . (BBC) (The Daily Telegraph ) (CBC)
Yahoo! discontinues its free web hosting service GeoCities , ten years after purchasing it from David Bohnett and John Rezner . (The Los Angeles Times ) Australian authorities offer a Aus$1 million reward in their search for a man suspected of ordering the murder of a vampire . (BBC) A police officer in Liverpool , England is hospitalised in a life threatening condition after undergoing a homophobic attack by a gang of twenty youths. (Sky News) (BBC)
Phoenix Coyotes owner Jerry Moyes reaches a deal to sale the team to the National Hockey League for $ 140 million. (Bloomberg.com)
A report by the Australian government warns that global warming climate change threatens the coastal lifestyle of the country, with a prospect of a ban on coastal homes. (The Guardian ) (The Daily Telegraph )
Grassroots occupations of Austrian universities spread to several more in Vienna , Graz and Linz , demanding free education for everyone. (Boston Herald ) (CNN iReport) (Austrian Times ) Qatar inaugurates one of the world's largest LNG trains , operated by RasGas . (Al Bawaba) (The Peninsula ) (Gulf Times ) Pope Benedict XVI appoints Cardinal Peter Turkson of Cape Coast , Ghana , to serve as the new head of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. (Pakistan Christian TV) NASA announces a delay in the launch of the Ares I-X test rocket, developed to replace the Space Shuttle , due to poor weather conditions. (New Scientist) (BBC) The Church of Scientology in France is convicted of organised fraud . (France 24) (The Times ) (Al Jazeera)
China confirms it has executed 2 Tibetans over unrest last year . (Angola Press) (The Guardian ) (The Hindu ) The son of ex-French President François Mitterrand , Jean-Christophe Mitterrand and an ex-government minister, Charles Pasqua , are convicted for their roles in illegal arms sales to Angola . (Associated Press) (Reuters)
A nephew of Honduran interim leader Robert Micheletti and a high ranking army officer are found murdered. (Times of India ) (BBC) (Press TV)
A British couple are missing after their yacht is hijacked by Somali pirates off the Seychelles . (Bloomberg) (AFP) (Xinhua)
North Korea says a South Korean man has defected to the North across the Korean Demilitarized Zone . (Yonhap) (Associated Press) (Xinhua) Burundi and Uganda tighten security after threats by the militant Somali Al-Shabaab , a group with links to Al-Qaeda , to attack their capitals. (Reuters India) (VOA) The autonomous Aceh province in Indonesia is to ban women from wearing tight trousers under a new law, while a law authorising the stoning to death of adulterers and the whipping of homosexuals will be reviewed. (Jakarta Globe ) (Straits Times ) (Reuters South Africa)
Authorities in Venezuela arrest a number of people accused of being secret service agents from neighbouring Colombia , on charges of espionage . (El Universal ) (Colombia Reports) (BBC)
Prime Minister of Thailand Abhisit Vejjajiva backs autonomy for the restive southern provinces to bring an end to violence in the region. (The Nation ) (Straits Times )
Canadian folk singer Taylor Mitchell is mauled to death by coyotes at the age of 19. (CBC) (The Star ) Voters in Mozambique go to the polls for the general election . (AFP via Google News) (IOL)
A blast in Meena Bazar, Peshawar , Pakistan , kills at least 95 people while 110 are injured. (Geo TV) (The Times )
12 people – including six United Nations staff – are killed after Taliban militants assault an international guesthouse in the Afghan capital Kabul . (Associated Press) (New York Times )
One of Germany 's last Nazi war crimes trials begins, with Heinrich Boere charged with the killings of three civilians in the Netherlands . (The Local ) (BBC) (Deutsche Welle)
Ares I-X , the first test article for NASA 's Ares I rocket, launches successfully from Launch Complex 39B at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on a sub-orbital test flight. (CNN) The Lebanese army says it has found and deactivated four 107-mm rockets in the garden of a partly built house a day after a rocket fired from Houla hit the northern Israeli border town of Kiryat Shmona . This is the fifth time rocket attacks have been used to try to break the cease-fire. (Reuters)
Chinese police rescue over 2,000 children in a six month campaign against human trafficking . (BBC) (The Daily Telegraph ) Ireland and the United Kingdom agree to ensure drivers disqualified from driving are disqualified in all their countries. (RTÉ) The United Nations Torture Investigator, Manfred Nowak , is prevented last minute from entering Zimbabwe . (Al Jazeera) (Associated Press) (The Herald )
Hamas orders Palestinians in the Gaza Strip not to vote in a January election called by West Bank leader Mahmoud Abbas . (BBC) (Al Jazeera) (Press TV) Mongolia 's parliament approves the resignation of Prime Minister Sanjaagiin Bayar , who stepped down due to ill health. He was replaced by the Foreign Minister Sükhbaataryn Batbold . (AFP) (Xinhua) The main opposition Democratic Party wins three out of five seats in by-elections in South Korea . (The Seoul Times ) (Bangkok Post )
The Matthew Shepard Act , providing legal protection against hate crimes to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered people , is signed into law in the United States by President Barack Obama . (Associated Press)
Federal agents attached to the FBI fatally shoot the leader of a Sunni Muslim group wanted on firearm charges in Detroit , USA . (New York Times ) (Al Jazeera)
In an appearance before the House of Lords Communications Select Committee , BBC Director-General Mark Thompson denies that the appearance of British National Party leader Nick Griffin on Question Time (The Daily Telegraph )
The Haitian Senate votes to remove Prime Minister Michèle Pierre-Louis . (AP via Google News)
The de facto regimeHonduras files suit with the International Court of Justice over Brazil 's continued harbouring of exiled president Manuel Zelaya in its Tegucigalpa embassy. (Guardian )
English Premier League footballer Marlon King is convicted of sexual assault , imprisoned and sacked by his club Wigan Athletic F.C. (BBC) (The Times ) India 's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announces a "new chapter" in the Jammu and Kashmir peace process, and withdraws some troops from the region. (AFP) (New York Times ) The United States unofficially exits recession in the third quarter, growing at 3.5%. (Associated Press) (The Guardian ) (Al Jazeera)
Kenya is to carry out its first census on its gay population to combat HIV /AIDS , even though homosexuality is banned in the country. (BBC) Danish Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen says a deal at a UN climate change summit in December is unlikely. (Haveeru ) (BBC) (RTT News) 12 are killed by an IOC depot fire in Jaipur , Army is called. (The Times Of India )
A Thai cargo ship is hijacked in the Gulf of Aden off the coast of Somalia . (Xinhua) (IOL) (RIA Novosti)
South Korea arrests a college lecturer accused of spying for North Korea , saying he was recruited by North Korean agents in India . (Bangkok Post ) [permanent dead link (The Canadian Press) Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says the government is ready for a deal on its nuclear program . (Press TV) (Times of India ) (Jewish Telegraphic Agency) The African Union imposes a travel ban on the leader of Guinea 's military junta, Moussa Dadis Camara , and 41 of his colleagues and freezes their bank accounts. (BBC) (Reuters)
Rwandan man Désiré Munyaneza is given a life sentence in Canada for his role in the Rwandan genocide under the Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act . (BBC) (CTV) A gunman opens fire at the Adat Yeshurun Valley Sephardic synagogue in North Hollywood , Los Angeles , United States , and wounds two people. (San Francisco Chronicle )
The composer and pianist Elton John cancels his 30 October final date of The Red Piano Tour scheduled for The O2 , Dublin , due to declining health. (Irish Independent ) (Evening Herald ) (BBC)
Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto IV: The Ballad of Gay Tony was released.
European Union leaders agree a climate aid deal to help developing countries adapt to global warming . (CNN) (Xinhua) Typhoon Mirinae makes landfall in the Philippines . (Al Jazeera) (Philippine Inquirier ) Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) approves plans to allow non-Latin web addresses for the first time. (BBC) (CNET News) NASA reveals that a partial parachute failure resulted in damage to the Ares I-X test booster upon splashdown in the Atlantic Ocean following its test flight on Wednesday. (Spaceflight Now) A U.S. judge orders a trial for two doctors and a lawyer accused of providing American sex symbol Anna Nicole Smith with drugs. (AP via Minneapolis Star-Tribune ) [permanent dead link
African Union leaders agree to establish a hybrid court to end the Darfur conflict in western Sudan . (BBC) (Le Mali en ligne) (Sudan Tribune ) Native tribesmen in the Amazon Rainforest discover a downed Brazilian military transport plane, finding nine survivors. (news.com.au) (Taiwan News ) Former French President Jacques Chirac is ordered to stand trial on corruption charges. (France 24) (Deutsche Welle)
Honduras ' de facto leader Roberto Micheletti and ousted President Manuel Zelaya agree a deal to end the political crisis , reinstating Zelaya as President. (Times of India ) (The Guardian ) (Honduras This Week ) South Korea 's spy agency, the National Intelligence Service , names North Korea 's telecommunications ministry as responsible for a wave of cyber attacks in July. (Yonhap) (Mainichi Shimbun ) [permanent dead link A large fire at an oil depot on the outskirts of Jaipur , Rajasthan , India , leaves six people dead and around 135 injured. (Press Trust of India) (Associated Press)
Taiwan 's President Ma Ying-jeou calls on China to remove missiles targeting the island. (Radio Taiwan International) (Straits Times ) Burmese authorities arrest 50 people – including journalists, students and political activists, in a security crackdown, according to a Thailand based human rights group. (Reuters)