Portal:Current events/2012 September 1
September 1, 2012 (Saturday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Syrian civil war:
- The Syrian government states that it has repelled a major attack on an air base near Aleppo; 341 detainees are released across the country. Rebels claim the capture of an airforce building in Deir ez-Zor. (BBC) (SANA)
- War in Afghanistan:
- Two suicide bombings near a NATO base kill at least 12 people and wound 50 others in the Sayed Abad district of Afghanistan's Wardak province. (USA Today)
- A drone strike conducted by the United States kills at least five suspected militants in North Waziristan, Pakistan. (AP via The Washington Post)
- Pakistani media say the Taliban have unveiled a videotape showing only the heads of 12 of the 15 Pakistan Army soldiers missing after this week's combat in Bajaur. An anonymous official confirms the missing's deaths. (Daily Bhaskar) (Pakistan Observer)
- Mexican Drug War:
- Eduardo Arellano Félix, a former drug lord of the Tijuana Cartel, is extradited to the United States from Mexico. He is the last brother of the cartel in a 2003 indictment to be extradited. (Los Angeles Times)
- 2012 northern Mali conflict:
- An unidentified man throws a grenade to spectators of a festival in Paquibato district near Davao City, Philippines, wounding 41 people. (Inquirer)
Arts and culture
- Former progressive Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini describes the Catholic Church as "200 years behind the times" in an interview published the day after his death. (CNN)
- American songwriter Hal David, who was best known for his collaborations with composer Burt Bacharach, dies in Los Angeles, California, at the age of 91. (BBC)
Environment and health
- Tent cabins in Yosemite National Park, U.S., are closed after officials notify 3,100 recent visitors of an outbreak of Hantavirus. (Los Angeles Times)
- A nuclear reactor in Belgium shows up to 0.3 m-depth signs of erosion weakening the 1.2 m outer reinforced concrete mantle, three times deeper than previously reported. The owner and the nuclear regulator deny any risk since the reactor was already shut down due to another issue. (Le Soir)
- Now middle-aged victims of Thalidomide (Softenon, Contergan)'s mutilating effects on embryos say the first ever apologies from the manufacturer Grünenthal GmbH are "insulting". (AFP via The Globe and Mail)
International relations
- 16th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement in Tehran:
- The summit is closed with accepting a 600-page final document that mainly focuses on the Palestinian issue as well as on Iran's nuclear energy program, but makes no mention of the Syrian civil war. A Chinese state commentary qualifies the summit as an "important" diplomatic "accomplishment from Iran", having hosted "leaders and delegates of over 100 countries". (PressTV) (AP via Times Online) (Xinhua)
- The closing document reaffirms the determination of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) to transform the global management system based on the principles of justice, peace and amity. (PressTV) (SunStar)
- The seventeenth summit is to be held in Venezuela. (The Himalayan Times)
Politics and elections
- The ruling People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola wins the Angolan general election with a preliminary 74.46% of the vote. (Al Jazeera)
- U.S.environmentalists vow to legally fight the federal end of protecting the wolf in Wyoming, saying the species still needs protection to maintain its successful recovery. (AP via WindstreamBusiness.net)
- Ten days after public remarks, U.S. presidential running mate Paul Ryan's personal record on the marathon run goes from less than 3 to over 4 hours. (The Huffington Post)
Science
- Scientists find that middle-class children in Flanders are 15 times more often diagnosed with a learning disorder than poor children. (De Morgen)