Portal:Current events/2011 July 25

• 2011 Syrian uprising: State media announce a new law permitting the formation of political parties. (BBC)
• 2011 Bahraini uprising: A panel begins work an inquiry into the crackdown on protests. (Al Jazeera)

• Greek-Cypriot filmmaker Michael Cacoyannis who was nominated for five Academy Awards for his films including Zorba the Greek dies in Athens aged 89. (AFP via Google News)

• Moody's cuts Greece's credit rating further to Ca on the grounds that a proposed debt swap is equivalent to a default. (BBC)

• 2011 Horn of Africa famine: The World Bank promises $500 million in aid to drought victims in East Africa as a United Nations agency hosts an emergency meeting aimed at fighting famine. (CBC News)

• South Korea and the People's Republic of China will hold inaugural defense strategic meetings this week. (Yonhap)
• Australia and Malaysia sign a pact to exchange asylum seekers in Kuala Lumpur. (Associated Press)

• 2011 Norway attacks
  • Anders Behring Breivik attends court for the first time in connection with the attacks. (AFP via France24)
  • Trond Berntsen, the stepbrother of Mette-Marit, Crown Princess of Norway, was among the 68 people killed in the attack on the island of Utøya. (AP via Miami Herald)
  • Police revise the death toll from the attack down to 76. (The Telegraph)
• An Egyptian court decides to try former President of Egypt Hosni Mubarak and Interior Minister Habib el-Adly together on charges relating to the death of protesters in the 2011 Egyptian revolution. (AFP via Maan News)

• 2011 US debt ceiling crisis
  • United States President Barack Obama cancels fundraising dinners due to the ongoing debt crisis. (CNN)
  • President Obama gives a televised address to the United States warning of "incalculable damage" if the debt limit is not raised. (AFP via Sydney Morning Herald)
  • Republican Speaker of the United States House of Representatives John Boehner puts forward a plan based on spending cuts. (Washington Post)
• Canada's Leader of the Opposition Jack Layton announces that he will take a medical leave of absence and an interim leader of the New Democratic Party will be appointed. (CTV News)
• The Obama Administration released a Strategy to Combat Transnational Organized Crime (whitehouse.gov)
• Trương Tấn Sang becomes the new President of Vietnam. (Associated Press)

• In American football, the NFL Players Association executive unanimously accepts a 10 year pay deal with team owners in the US National Football League. (ESPN)
• In softball, the United States defeats Japan 6-4 to win its fifth straight World Cup. (ESPN)