Portal:Current events/2011 September 15

Current events of September 15, 2011 (2011-09-15) (Thursday)

Business and economy Japanese automaker Toyota resumes full production at its North American plants, having finally overcome parts shortages caused by the March 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. (Bloomberg via Japan Times) A contract between the North American automaker Chrysler and the United Auto Workers expires at midnight while negotiations continue between the union and General Motors. (Detroit Free Press) Switzerland's UBS reports that it has lost US$2 billion on unauthorised deals by Kweku Adoboli, one of its London-based traders. (Reuters) (The Guardian) Stock markets in the United States and Europe rally after major banks, including the European Central Bank and the United States Federal Reserve, initiate a plan to help end the European sovereign debt crisis. (CNN) Disasters International aid group Oxfam sets up an emergency appeal for victims of the 2011 Sindh floods in Pakistan, which have so far killed more than 200 people. (ABC News Australia) Rescue efforts continue to release four miners trapped 90m (295ft) underground following an explosion at Gleision Colliery near Cilybebyll, Pontardawe in the Swansea Valley, Wales, on Thursday morning. (BBC) (AP via Sydney Morning Herald) Earthquakes hit off the coasts of Vancouver Island, Cuba, Japan, and New Zealand's north island. (MSNBC) Hurricane Maria passes Bermuda on its way to Newfoundland off the coast of Canada. (National Hurricane Centre) The Norwegian cruise ship Nordlys catches fire off Ålesund. Two people are killed and twelve are injured. BBC International relations The Prime Minister of Thailand Yingluck Shinawatra visits Cambodia in an effort to improve relations after the border clashes near the Preah Vihear Temple earlier this year which led to the deaths of twenty people. (Bloomberg) Israel withdraws its ambassador to Jordan due to fears of a violent protest in Amman. (Reuters) Senior NATO leaders including the President of France Nicolas Sarkozy fly to Libya to meet with Mustafa Abdul Jalil, the leader of the National Transitional Council, and other leaders. (BBC) UNICEF releases a child mortality report indicating that the number of children dying under the age of five has fallen from more than 12 million in 1990 to 7.6 million in 2010. (UNICEF) The United States designates the Indian Mujahideen as a terrorist organisation. (Indian Express) Law and crime The People's Republic of China sentences four people to death in the Xinjiang region following threats to crack down on terrorism in the far-western region. (AFP via Google News) Figures from the United Kingdom's Ministry of Justice indicate that three quarters of those charged with offences relating to the riots which occurred in August had previous criminal convictions. One quarter had committed more than ten previous offences. (BBC) The UK's Metropolitan Police arrest trader Kweku Adoboli after Swiss bank UBS says it lost $2bn (£1.3bn) as a result of unauthorised trading by a member of staff. (BBC) The Supreme Court of the United States halts the execution of Duane Buck for double murder in Texas while it reviews his case that the sentence was unfair because of a question asked about race during his trial. (AP) Politics and elections Danish election: Voters in Denmark go to the polls for parliamentary elections with a left-wing Coalition led by the Social Democrats winning enough seats to form Government. (Christian Science Monitor) (Wall Street Journal) Helle Thorning-Schmidt, the leader of the Social Democrats, looks set to become the first female Prime Minister of Denmark. (NPR) Australians will now be able to choose "indeterminate" as a gender on their passports together with male and female. (AP via Mercury News) Eight Flemish and Francophone parties represented in the Belgian Chamber of Representatives reach a breakthrough on the Bruxelles-Halle-Vilvorde which had been one of the issues holding up formation of a new government since an election in 2010. (Xinhua) Science Researchers at Australia's Monash University have identified a previously unknown species of bottlenose dolphin living in waters in and around Southeastern Australia, which they have named Tursiops australis. (BBC)