Portal:Current events/2012 February 24

Current events of February 24, 2012 (2012-02-24) (Friday)

Armed conflict and attacks Arab Spring: Aftermath of the Libyan civil war: Reporter Nicholas Davies and cameraman Gareth Montgomery-Johnson are seized by militia in Misrata while working for the English language Press TV news network. Two local residents are also seized. (AFP) (Press TV) 2011–2012 Syrian uprising: Representatives of more than seventy countries meet in Tunisia to discuss supporting the opposition in the Syrian uprising. (Voice of America) World powers demand an immediate ceasefire at the Tunis meeting. (DPA via Brisbane Times) 2011–2012 Bahraini uprising: A medic reveals that injured protesters are being treated by "underground medics" in fear of arrest. (BBC) A Palestinian man is shot and killed after clashes at an Israeli checkpoint near Ramallah in the West Bank. (BBC) At least 12 people are killed in the deadliest day of protests so far resulting from U.S. soldiers incineration of copies of the Koran in Afghanistan. (Al Jazeera) Suspected Boko Haram Islamist militants launch simultaneous gun and bomb attacks in the northern Nigerian city of Gombe. (Hindustan Times) The Taliban attacks a Pakistani police station in Peshawar killing four officers. (AP via Newsday) Business and economy Air Zimbabwe suspends all of its flights indefinitely. (IOL) A member of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission cautions against that agency's current draft of the Volcker rule, suggesting that it will have to scrap the rule as it stands and start over. (Reuters) Disasters and accidents Prince Friso of Orange-Nassau, who was buried under an avalanche in Lech, Austria, while skiing off piste, is reported to have suffered massive brain damage due to oxygen shortage; it remains unclear whether he will ever regain consciousness. (AFP) International relations The International Atomic Energy Agency reports that Iran is expanding its nuclear activities. (New York Times) Law and crime A fourth inquest begins into the disappearance of Azaria Chamberlain at Uluru in outback Australia in the Northern Territory. (AFP via Yahoo News) The trial begins of former US student Dharun Ravi, accused of spying on a homosexual encounter involving his room-mate, which resulted in his death. The case has triggered debate about the difficulties faced by young gay men in America. (BBC) Politics Haiti's prime minister Garry Conille resigns after a power struggle within the government. (BBC) Former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd announces that he will contest the leadership of the Australian Labor Party with current PM Julia Gillard on Monday. (Sydney Morning Herald) The Governor of the Mexican state of Nuevo León fires the states' public safety secretary General Jaime Castaneda following the Apodaca prison riot where 44 inmates were killed. (AP via Google News)