Portal:Current events/2015 July 8

Current events of July 8, 2015 (2015-07-08) (Wednesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks Boko Haram insurgency, Timeline of Boko Haram insurgency Suspected militants from the Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram killed 26 people in attacks on two villages on Lake Chad, Chad. (Daily Star via Reuters) Yemeni Crisis (2011–present) The Yemeni government in exile announces that it has reached a truce with the Houthi rebels. (Al-Arabiya) At least 22 people are killed in clashes between Arab and Berber communities in Ghardaia, Algeria. (BBC) Business and economy The British bank Barclays fires Chief Executive Antony Jenkins for his failure to reduce head count and the pace of cost cutting with Chairman John McFarlane to act as interim CEO until a replacement is appointed. The bank was recently convicted of earning billions through fraud as part of the LIBOR scandal (BBC), (The Guardian) Chinese stock market collapse: The Shanghai stock market falls 30% over the past three weeks as 1,400 companies, or more than half listed, file for a trading halt in an attempt to prevent further losses. (The Guardian) Microsoft announces another 7,800 job cuts primarily in its struggling phone division acquired from Nokia. (Wired) The New York Stock Exchange stops trading for nearly four hours due to a technical error. (CNN) Staff workers for the London Underground begin a 27-hour strike after management and labor unions were unable to reach a deal regarding overnight train services. (BBC) Disasters and accidents A ground stop of all U.S. airport-based United Airlines (UAL) mainline flights following a system-wide network connectivity issue is lifted after a 1 hour, 21 minute suspension of morning service. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which is also investigating, says all of United Continental Holdings Inc. regional airlines are now unaffected. This follows a similar issue on June 2, 2015 due to automation problems. (Reuters, via MSN) (Los Angeles Times) 2015 Pacific typhoon season Typhoon Chan-hom (Falcon) hits the Philippines with two people killed and two people injured. (Xinhua) International relations Russia vetoes a UN resolution that would have condemned the July 1995 Srebrenica massacre of more than 8,000 Bosniaks as a genocide. (Reuters) Tens of thousands of people are being evacuated from western Canada as firefighters continue to battle wildfires in Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia. (AP via Star Tribune) Law and crime 1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal Malaysian police raid the offices of government owned by 1Malaysia Development Berhad in relation to a corruption scandal. (The Star) Gunmen kill three, wound one, Tuesday evening near the University of Maryland, Baltimore campus in what police report was an apparently targeted shooting unrelated to the college. (AP via The Globe and Mail) (NBC News) (Reuters) 2015 Baltimore protests The Mayor of the US city of Baltimore, Maryland Stephanie Rawlings-Blake fires the Commissioner of the Police Department, Anthony Batts. (Baltimore Sun) Sports Gerald Bruce Lee, a United States District Court judge for the Eastern District of Virginia, cancels the trademark of the Washington Redskins in the National Football League on the grounds that the team name may be offensive to native Americans. (AP) Cuban international footballer Keiler García defects to the United States while in Chicago – the day before Cuba's match against Mexico at Soldier Field.(ESPN (UK))