Portal:Current events/2012 June 24

Current events of June 24, 2012 (2012-06-24) (Sunday)

Armed conflicts and attacks At least 16 Syrian soldiers are killed in clashes with rebels in Aleppo. (BBC) War in North-West Pakistan: Seven Pakistani soldiers are beheaded and four others remain missing after being seized by Taliban militants close to the Afghan border.(BBC) Ousted President of Paraguay Fernando Lugo condemns the "coup against the citizenry and democracy" that ousted him from his office. (BBC) Business and economics Ulster Bank opens branches on a Sunday for the first time as the payments crisis affecting the bank continues unabated. (BBC) Disasters Tropical Storm Debby continues to organize off the coast of Florida, lashing the state with high winds and heavy rains. The outer bands of the storm spawn two tornadoes, killing one person near Sarasota. (CNN) Rescue efforts end after a boat capsized near Christmas Island, with more than 90 people still missing. (Al Jazeera) Manitou Springs in the U.S. state of Colorado is evacuated due to a raging wildfire just three miles from the popular vacation town. (ABC) The roof of the Algo Centre Mall in Elliot Lake, Ontario, Canada collapses killing at least one person and trapping several others in the debris. (CBC) Entertainment Canadian-American game show personality Alex Trebek suffers a mild heart attack, but is expected to "fully recover". (Hollywood Reporter) International relations Pope Benedict XVI chooses Fox News reporter and Opus Dei member Greg Burke to take a strategic communication role in the Vatican's most important government department, the secretariat of state. (The Guardian) Antonis Samaras, the Prime Minister of Greece, is to miss a European Union summit as he recovers from an eye operation. (BBC) NATO is to meet on Tuesday, based on a request from Turkey to consult them on what to do with Syria which shot down a Turkish jet after it had entered Syrian airspace. (Al Jazeera) The United States admits that it infected Iranian computers with Spyware. (Washington Post) Law and crime Imprisoned U.S. serviceman Bradley Manning's civilian lawyer argues the U.S. government is deliberately attempting to prevent his client from receiving a fair trial. (The Guardian) Politics and elections Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood is declared the winner of Egypt's presidential election run-off. (BBC) Tunisia extradites former Libyan Prime Minister Al Baghdadi Ali Al Mahmoudi. (BBC) Science China successfully carries out its first manual docking of a spacecraft between the Shenzhou 9 capsule and Tiangong-1 station. (BBC) Lonesome George, the last known Pinta Island Tortoise, is found dead in the Galapagos Islands. (BBC) Sport Miki Roqué, a defender of the Spanish football club Real Betis, dies of cancer at the age of 23. (ESPN) UEFA Euro 2012: England lose by a penalty shoot-out, with former West Ham player Alessandro Diamanti converting from the spot at the Olimpiyskiy National Sports Complex in Kiev to take Italy through to the semi-final against Germany. (BBC) (Al Jazeera) Philipp Lahm, captain of the Germany team due to meet the winner, concludes that Italy are "a bit stronger" than England. (BBC) France midfielder Samir Nasri criticises the media after his team's quarter-final exit to Spain, saying "you are always looking for shit, you write nothing but shit in your papers". His comments came after a L'Equipe journalist wrote an article that upset Nasri's mother. (AFP via NDTV) (BBC) (Al Jazeera) Several former Rangers players, including Steven Naismith and Steven Whittaker, lodge objections to their transfer from the old team to the new, saying they now consider themselves free agents. (BBC) Saudi Arabia allows its women athletes to compete in the Olympics for the first time. (BBC) In single-seater auto racing, the Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso wins the 2012 European Grand Prix at the Valencia Street Circuit, becoming the first driver this season to win two races. (BBC) (Al Jazeera)