Portal:Current events/2011 July 16

July 16, 2011 (Saturday)

Armed conflict and attacks

Arab Spring
- 2011 Egyptian revolution: Protesters heckle Tareq al-Mahdi of the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces as he attempted to address crowds in Tahrir Square. (AFP via Google News)
- 2011 Syrian uprising: At least one person is killed as Syrian security forces open fire on protesters in the eastern town of Albu Kamal. (CNN)
- 2011 Libyan civil war:
  - Ten rebel fighters are killed and 172 injured during an attack on the eastern town of Brega. (Al Jazeera)
  - Heavy fighting takes place in the western mountains. (Arab News)
- 2011 Yemeni uprising: A coalition of protest groups form a transitional presidential council to prepare the country for when President Ali Abdullah Saleh is toppled. (Al Jazeera)
Two people are killed in a bombing near police headquarters in Bordj Menaïel, Algeria. (IOL)

Business and economy

Disasters

Ohi Nuclear Power Plant in Japan is being shut down due a technical fault, Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster. Only 18 out of 54 nuclear plants in Japan are currently producing electricity. (BBC) (CNN)
Nearly 5,000 people are evacuated after Mount Lokon in Indonesia erupts. (Jakarta Globe) (Economic Times of India)
Seven people are killed and two injured after a customs boat sinks near the coast of North Sumatra Province in Indonesia. (AFP via NewsInfo)

International relations

Quadriga is not to be awarded this year due to the backlash sustained by organisers for giving it to Prime Minister of Russia and former KGB spy chief Vladimir Putin. Among the upheaval Danish artist Olafur Eliasson gave back his award and Václav Havel was reported to be considering doing that too. (BBC) (Deutsche Welle) (The New York Times) (Reuters) (The Washington Post)
The President of the United States is set to meet with the Dalai Lama in Washington DC despite a warning from the People's Republic of China. (BBC) (AP via Yahoo! News)
Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez arrives back in Cuba for chemotherapy treatment. (UPI)

Politics and elections

News International phone hacking scandal:
- British Foreign Secretary William Hague defends Prime Minister David Cameron following revelations he has met senior News International executives on 26 occasions since becoming Prime Minister, and entertained Andy Coulson at Chequers following his resignation as Director of Communications. Hague says he is "not embarrassed" by the extent of Cameron's dealings with News International. (BBC)
- Several British newspapers run full page adverts with a signed apology from Rupert Murdoch for the News of the World's "serious wrongdoing" (BBC)
- The Telegraph reports that Metropolitan Police Chief Sir Paul Stephenson stayed at a luxury health spa courtesy of a former News of the World deputy editor. (The Telegraph)
The funeral of Otto von Habsburg, final heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, occurs in Vienna, attended by monarchs and members of the political elite; his corpse is to be buried in the Imperial Crypt. (BBC)

Sport