Portal:Current events/2008 January 31

Current events of January 31, 2008 (2008-01-31) (Thursday)

Armed conflicts and attacks War in Afghanistan: A suicide bomber at a mosque in Lashkar Gah, Afghanistan kills the deputy governor of Helmand Province, Pir Mohammad, and five others. (AP via the San Jose Mercury News) Western officials and al-Qaeda websites claim Abu Laith al-Libi, a senior al-Qaeda leader in Afghanistan, has been killed in recent fighting. (BBC News) Disasters and accidents Internet failure affects parts of Asia and Africa after two undersea cables, SEA-ME-WE 4 and FLAG, are damaged. (CNN) Health A new disease, progressive inflammatory neuropathy (PIN), is found in pig slaughterhouse workers in southeastern Minnesota. (CDC) Law and crime All government ministers in French Polynesia resign en masse in solidarity with one of their colleagues, who was fined for corruption. (Radio New Zealand) Politics and elections United States presidential election, 2008: Democratic Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama hold the first two-person debate. (CNN)