Portal:Current events

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

Regional

World • Africa | Bangladesh | Canada | China | Europe | India | Israel | Latin America | Middle East | Pakistan | Poland | Asia | United Kingdom | United States

Topic-specific

Science and technology | Sports

Topics in the news

The British Government announces details of a financial rescue package aimed at restoring confindence and creating stability in the banking sector.
Osamu Shimomura, Martin Chalfie, and Roger Y. Tsien are announced as winners of the 2008 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the discovery and development of the green fluorescent protein (GFP).
The meteoroid 2008 TC₃ hits Earth, becoming the first such object to be discovered prior to impact.
Yoichiro Nambu (pictured), who discovered the mechanism of spontaneous symmetry breaking in subatomic physics, and Makoto Kobayashi and Toshihide Maskawa, who discovered the origin of the broken symmetry which predicts the existence of at least three families of quarks in nature, are announced as winners of the 2008 Nobel Prize in Physics.
Luc Montagnier and Françoise Barré-Sinoussi, who discovered the human immunodeficiency virus, and Harald zur Hausen, who discovered that human papilloma viruses can cause cervical cancer in women, are announced as winners of the 2008 Nobel Prize in Medicine.

Wikinews – Recent deaths – More current events...

October 8, 2008 (Wednesday)

Former South African Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota says that it is "inevitable" that South Africa's ruling African National Congress (ANC) will split.(BBC News)
The United States Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon seeks assistance in finding two US journalists missing in Lebanon. (CNN)
Nobel Prize:
- The 2008 Nobel Prize in Chemistry is awarded Osamu Shimomura, Martin Chalfie, and Roger Y. Tsien for the discovery and development of the green fluorescent protein (GFP).(Nobel Foundation)
A Yeti Airlines plane crashes in the Everest region of Nepal killing 18 passengers. (AFP via Google News)
Subprime mortgage crisis:
- Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling releases details of a rescue package aimed at restoring confidence in British Banks. As part of the deal the British Government will provide £50bn of investment, provide a further £200bn in short term loans and guarantee up to £250bn of intra-bank loans (BBC News)
- The United States Federal Reserve Board cuts interest rates by half a percentage point to 1.5%. (Los Angeles Times)
- Ford Motor's Volvo subsidiary tripled the number of jobs it planned to cut to 6,000 positions, or 25 percent of its work force, citing a "rapidly deteriorating" auto market.(CNN)
2008 Russian financial crisis:
- The RTS and MICEX stock exchanges halt trading until Friday after opening for just more than half an hour as prices plummeted in tune with the overall situation in the world's stock markets and falling oil prices. (Interfax via Onet.pl)

October 8, 2008 Wikinews articles

October 7, 2008 (Tuesday)

War on Terrorism in Afghanistan:
- In talks brokered by Saudi Arabia, the Taliban renounces its ties to al-Qaeda and sues for peace with Afghanistan. (CNN)
Nobel Prize:
- The 2008 Nobel Prize in Physics is awarded Yoichiro Nambu for the discovery of the mechanism of spontaneous broken symmetry in subatomic physics, and Makoto Kobayashi and Toshihide Maskawa for the discovery of the origin of the broken symmetry which predicts the existence of at least three families of quarks in nature.(Wall Street Journal)(Nobel Foundation)
2008 Thai political crisis: The anti-government protester group were injured as police attacked barricades outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok injuring over 400 people, 2 found dead. (BBC News) (Reuters)
Subprime mortgage crisis:
- Russia agrees to provide Iceland with emergency loans of 4 billion euros ($5.4 billion).(Reuters)
- Iceland's Financial Supervisory Authority takes control of troubled Landsbanki Bank.(MarketWatch)
- The Reserve Bank of Australia reduces interest rates by 100 basis points to 6.0 per cent to combat the effect of the subprime mortgage crisis. (Financial Times)
- The United States Federal Reserve announces plans to buy billions of dollars of short-term commercial paper to restore liquidity to the money market. (Los Angeles Times)
- The Chairman of the Federal Reserve Ben Bernanke warns that the crisis will weaken the United States economy well into 2009 and expressed a willingness to cut interest rates. (CNN Money)
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average falls by 500 points following Bernanke's comments. (New York Times)
2008 Russian financial crisis:
- President Dmitry Medvedev announces an extra 950 billion roubles ($36.4 billion) of new emergency credit for banks at a Kremlin meeting. (Reuters)
A Hungarian plane is forced to land in Iran, countering earlier reports of a US military jet being forced to land for violating Iranian airspace. (BBC News)

October 7, 2008 Wikinews articles

October 6, 2008 (Monday)

The MESSENGER spacecraft makes its second pass of the planet Mercury.(NYT)
An earthquake of magnitude 6.6 hits near the border between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, killing 60 people. (USGS) (CNN)
Another earthquake of magnitude 6.4, with two magnitude-5 aftershocks, hits Damxung, Tibet, People's Republic of China, with conflicting casualty reports anywhere from 9 to 30 deaths. (USGS) (CNN)
Nobel Prize:
- The 2008 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine goes to Harald zur Hausen of Germany for his discovery of the human papilloma viruses that can cause cervical cancer in women, and Françoise Barré-Sinoussi and Luc Montagnier of France for their discovery of human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV. (BBC News)
Subprime mortgage crisis:
- The Dow Jones industrial average falls by as much as 800.06 points, its biggest intraday drop on record; the Dow closed below the 10,000 mark for the first time since October 26, 2004. (MarketWatch)
- Speaking before a U.S. House Committee, Richard Fuld, CEO of failed Lehman Brothers says that he believed all his decisions "were both prudent and appropriate" given the information he had at the time.(New York Times)
- Significant losses are marked on stock exchanges world-wide: São Paulo Stock Exchange suspended trading after a 15 percent drop in its benchmark index. (Reuters)
- The UK's leading share index, the FTSE 100 closes down 391.1 points (7.85%), the largest single day points fall since it was launched in 1984. The French CAC 40 also recorded a record drop of 9.04%, whilst Germany's DAX finished down 7.09%. (BBC News)
- United States Secretary of the Treasury Henry Paulson announces that Neel Kashkari will be in charge of administering the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008.(NASDAQ)
2008 Russian financial crisis:
- Trading is suspended on Russia's leading stock exchanges after shares plunged nearly 20 percent amid a backdrop of falling oil prices and fears over the global economy. (International Herald Tribune) (MarketWatch)
A suicide blast in the Sri Lankan town of Anuradhapura has killed 25 people, including the former army general Janaka Perera. (BBC News)
Nancy Kissel loses an appeal against her conviction of murdering her husband Robert Kissel in Hong Kong in 2003. (Bloomberg via Hong Kong Standard)
U.S. to rely on Russia for manned space flights between 2010 and 2015. (International Herald Tribune)
Human Rights Watch says Somalia is "most ignored tragedy" and the international community has "completely failed Somali civilians" regarding destruction of Mogadishu. (BBC News)
Thousands of anti-government protesters march in Bangkok as People's Alliance for Democracy demand elected government step down. (Agence France Press)

October 6, 2008 Wikinews articles

October 5, 2008 (Sunday)

Subprime mortgage crisis:
- The German government moves to back troubled Hypo Real Estate with a 50 billion euro rescue plan. (MarketWatch)
- German Chancellor Angela Merkel announces that Germany will explicitly guarantee the deposits in banks held by its citizens. (MarketWatch)
Rugby League: The Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles win the 2008 NRL Grand Final, defeating the Melbourne Storm 40-0. (AAP via the Melbourne Age)
Thai police arrest former mayor of Bangkok and protest leader Chamlong Srimuang on charges of insurrection. (AP via Newsday)
2008 South Ossetia war
- Russian President Dmitry Medvedev ordered the Defense Ministry, law enforcement agencies and the Foreign Ministry to investigate a bombing in the South Ossetian capital, Tskhinvali, on 3 October, 2008. A car, carrying weapons, was detained by Russian peacekeepers in Georian village and transported to Tskhinvali, where it exploded. EU and OSCE earlier condemned this 'act of terrorism'. Georgian authorities claimed 'Russian special servises' 'were behind' the blast that left 7 servicemen of Russian peacekeeping forces dead. (Rustavi 2) (RIAN) (NY Times)
  - Earlier, on October 2, an attempt of assasination of head of the Akhalgori Ossetian administration, Anatoli Margiev failed. He survived the explosion of a bomb planted on a road in Georgian village while driving to Tskhinvali, South Ossetia. (Rustavi 2)
- Russian troops are dismantling positions in security zones on the border of South Ossetia and Georgia created after the war, a Georgian Interior Ministry official said. (AP via Google News).
Authorities detain separatist leader and impose curfew in anticipation of a separatist rally to be held on Monday in Kashmir. (BBC News)
Apirak Kosayothin is re-elected as Governor of Bangkok. (Thai News Agency)
Pakistani president Asif Ali Zardari acknowledges his government's consent to US air strikes in Pakistan and says India has never been a threat. (BBC News)
Senior British Commander says military victory in Afghanistan is impossible. (CBC News)

October 5, 2008 Wikinews articles

October 4, 2008 (Saturday)

Police find nine more dead bodies around the Mexican city of Tijuana with 50 people having died over the past week as a result of a week of drug trade related violence. (AP via Google)
Mahir al-Zubaydi, senior commander for al Qaeda in Iraq for Bagdad east of the Tigris River, is killed by U.S. troops. (BBC News)
2008 South Ossetia war:
- Colonel Ivan Petrik, chief of staff of the Russian ground force in South Ossetia, is confirmed dead from wounds he suffered in the Friday blast in Tskhinvali.(Reuters)
- Switzerland will represent Russian interests in Georgia (Rustavi 2). Sweden will represent Georgian interests in Russia.(Stockholm News)
- After 35 days captivity four ethnic Georgians, residents of the village of Savaneti - Roman Kimadze, Alika Kimadze, Gia Guliashvili and Imeda Tabatadze - kidnapped by representatives of paramilitary units of the separatist regime of South Ossetia, have been freed (Rustavi 2).

October 4, 2008 Wikinews articles

October 3, 2008 (Friday)

2008 South Ossetia war aftermath:
- An attempt of assasination of head of the Akhalgori Ossetian administration, Anatoli Margiev failed. He survived the explosion of a bomb planted on a road in Georgian village while driving to Tskhinvali, South Ossetia. (Rustavi 2)
- Two teenagers are injured after blowing up a landmine at the territory of the military base in Gori, Georgia. (Rustavi 2)
- Seven Russian soldiers die from an explosion in breakaway South Ossetian capital, Tskhinvali. (Bloomberg) (Civil Georgia) (CNN)
- PACE calls for international probe into the 2008 South Ossetia war. (Civil Georgia)
Subprime mortgage crisis:
- U.S. President George W. Bush signs the US$ 700,000,000,000 bailout bill after it is passed by the House. (NPR News)
In response to the 2008 Chinese milk scandal, Australia begins withdrawing Chinese-made Kirin milk tea from shops after discovering it contained melamine in tests. (The Australian)
Greece announces it will follow Ireland's lead and guarantee all bank deposits in the country. (RTÉ)
2008 Russian financial crisis:
- Both of Russia's main stock exchanges, the MICEX and RTS, suspend trading of stocks "for technical reasons" as the markets rally after a 1-1/2 day trading halt that ended earlier in the morning. (Financial Times)
- Trading is suspended for a second and a third time in the same day at the RTS stock exchange as Russian equities tumble. The dollar-denominated stock index was last down 7.8% in intraday trading. At MICEX, index fell 6.2% in intraday trading. (MarketWatch)
Investigators in the United States announce that they have found human remains in what is believed to be the wreckage of Steve Fossett's plane, which went missing over California a year ago. (BBC News)
United States government announces sale of billions of dollars of arms to Taiwan to keep a balance with China's massive arms buildup aimed at Taiwan. (CBC News)
Russia's foreign minister calls for international action to halt piracy in Somalia. (BBC News)
The remains of a Viking-era stave church, including the skeletal remains of a woman, is uncovered near the cemetery of the Lännäs church in Odensbacken outside Örebro in central Sweden. (The Local)
A jury convicts retired American football player O.J. Simpson of armed robbery and kidnapping, 13 years to the day after he was acquitted of killing his ex-wife and her friend in Los Angeles. (New York Times)

October 3, 2008 Wikinews articles

October 2, 2008 (Thursday)

Sarah Palin and Joe Biden have their only scheduled debate for the vice presidency of the United States. (ABC)(WP)
Ukrainian President, Viktor Yushchenko may face impeachment on charges of undermining national security, and illegal arms trade with Georgia months before the attack on Tskhinvali, South Ossetia, says Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko. Yushchenko earlier said the arms trade charges are "unsubstantiated". (USA Today) (Bikilar.Az) (The Times) (France24) (BBC News) (Izvestia)
The commisioner of the Metropolitan Police Service and the most senior policeman in the United Kingdom, Sir Ian Blair, announces that he will stand down from his post in December of this year, citing a lack of support from London Mayor Boris Johnson. (BBC News)
A search team finds the wreckage of the airplane flown by adventurer Steve Fossett in the mountains of Madera County, California, and what appears to be some of his personal effects nearby. Fossett had disappeared on September 3, 2007. (Sydney Daily Telegraph)
Subprime mortgage crisis:
- The United States Securities and Exchange Commission says it would extend the short-sale ban to as long as October 17 or up to three business days after the passage of the proposed bailout plan, but will not make it permanent. (MarketWatch)
- The Wall Street Journal reports that the short-sale ban fails to prevent stock-price declines, increases the volatility in the stock market and makes trading more expensive for investors. (MarketWatch)
- U.S. House of Representatives Majority Leader Steny Hoyer says that no Democrats who opposed the proposed bailout plan earlier this week have pledged to back it. (Bloomberg)

October 2, 2008 Wikinews articles

More September 2008 Events...

Time: 19:31 UTC \| Date: October 8, 2008

<<	October 2008					>>
S	M	T	W	T	F	S

			1	2	3	4
5	6	7	8	9	10	11
12	13	14	15	16	17	18
19	20	21	22	23	24	25
26	27	28	29	30	31
More October 2008 events... edit box

News about Wikipedia • About this page Adding a new date • Suggest a headline

Ongoing events
Nobel Prize announcements Diplomatic response to Abkhazian and South Ossetian independence Diplomatic response to Kosovar independence Economic crisis Treaty of Lisbon ratification Subprime mortgage crisis World food price crisis Piracy in Somalia

Recent deaths
October 4: Mahir al-Zubaydi 2: Choi Jin-sil 2: Rob Guest 1: Nick Reynolds 1: Boris Efimov September 30: Joshua Benjamin Jeyaretnam 26: Paul Newman 25: Ralph Sazio 25: Glenn Andrews 24: Sonja Savić 23: William Woodruff 22: Thomas Dörflein 20: Nappy Brown 20: Ivo Žďárek 19: Earl Palmer 19: Dick Sudhalter 18: Mauricio Kagel 17: James Crumley 17: Ron Lancaster 16: Norman Whitfield 15: J. Patrick Rooney 15: Richard Wright 15: Marion Dewar edit sidebar

Ongoing conflicts
Acholiland insurgency Israeli–Palestinian conflict Colombian armed conflict Insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir Iraq War Insurgency in the Philippines Fatah–Hamas conflict War in Somalia Turkey-PKK conflict Second Chechen War Insurgency in Ogaden South Thailand insurgency Sri Lankan Civil War War in Afghanistan War in North-West Pakistan War in Darfur Civil war in Chad Sa'dah insurgency

Elections
Recent September 2 September: Vanuatu, Parliament 5–6 September: Angola, Legislature 6 September: Pakistan, Presidential election (indirect) 7 September: Hong Kong, Legislature 15–18 September: Rwanda, Parliament 19 September: Swaziland, Parliament 19 September: Mauritius, President (indirect) 21 September: Slovenia, Parliament 21 September: France, Senate (third of the seats) (indirect) 25 September: South Africa, President (by the parliament) 28 September: Ecuador, Constitutional referendum 28 September: Austria, Parliament 28 September: Belarus, Parliament Upcoming October 8 October: Maldives, President 12 October: Lithuania, Parliament 14 October: Canada, Parliament 15 October: Azerbaijan, President 15 October: Jersey, General (1^st Round) 16 October–: United Nations, Security Council 17/18 October and 24/25 October: Czech Republic, Senate (one third) 30 October: Zambia, President

Trials
Upcoming Austria: Josef Fritzl Canada: Larry O'Brien Estonia: Herman Simm Italy: Rudy Hermann Guede, Raffaele Sollecito, Amanda Knox Malaysia: Anwar Ibrahim Netherlands: ICTY Radovan Karadžić Singapore: Peter Lloyd U.S.: Aníbal Acevedo Vilá U.S.: Viktor Bout U.S.: Tom DeLay U.S.: Noshir Gowadia U.S.: William J. Jefferson U.S.: Kwame Kilpatrick U.S.: James Charles Kopp U.S.: Ehren Watada Ongoing Cambodia: Khmer Rouge Tribunal Iraq: Supreme Iraqi Criminal Tribunal Netherlands: ICC Thomas Lubanga Netherlands: ICTY Peru: Alberto Fujimori Sierra Leone: SCfSL Charles Taylor Thailand: Thaksin Shinawatra US: Jena Six US: Brian Nichols US: José Padilla US: Phil Spector US: Ted Stevens

Upcoming holidays and observances
October September 29-October 9: Ten Days of Repentance (Judaism) September 30-October 9: Navratri (Hinduism) September 30-October 14: Dasain (Nepal) 6-9: Durga Puja (Hinduism) 8: International Day for Natural Disaster Reduction 8: World Humanitarian Action Day 8: Independence Day (Croatia) 8: IAF Day (India) 8: Navy Day (Peru) 8-9: Yom Kippur (Judaism) 9: World Post Day 9: Dasara (Hinduism) 9: National Day of Commemorating the Holocaust (Romania) 9: Hangul Day (South Korea) 9: Army Day (Sri Lanka) 9: Independence Day (Uganda) 9: Leif Erikson Day (United States) 9: Valencia Day (Valencia) 15: Global Handwashing Day edit sidebar

Events by month

2008 · January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December
2007 · January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December
2006 · January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December
2005 · January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December
2004 · January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December
2003 · January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December
2002 · January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December
2001 · January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December
2000 · January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December
1999 · January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December
1998 · January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December
1997 · January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December

Content listings

Lists
Overviews · Topics (basic) · Academic disciplines · Glossaries · Portals · Categories
Countries · People · Timelines (centuries · decades) · 2008 · Anniversaries (today) · Current events · Deaths this year

Indices
Dewey classes · LOC classes · A–Z Index

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Current_events"

Categories: Current events portals • 2008 by day • 2008

Hidden categories: Semi-protected against vandalism • Current events

Views

Personal tools

Log in / create account

Search

Toolbox

Languages