Portal:Current events/2015 October 8

Current events of October 8, 2015 (2015-10-08) (Thursday)

Armed conflicts and attacks Yemeni Civil War (2015), Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen Government forces and their allies, including troops from a Saudi Arabian-led coalition, capture the town of Sirwah, the last outpost of Houthi militants in the key Marib province. (The Australian) Yemeni military forces backed by Houthi militants reportedly destroy a Saudi warship off the coast of Yemen in the strategic Bab-el-Mandeb strait. (Press TV) (Fars News) (Independent) Syrian Civil War, Foreign involvement in the Syrian Civil War Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Arab states are reportedly 'stepping up' arms supplies to at least three Syrian rebel groups in response to the recent Russian intervention in the civil war. (BBC) Syrian troops and allied militia backed by a fresh wave of Russian airstrikes and naval cruise missiles attacked rebel forces as the government extended an offensive to recapture territory in central and northwestern Syria. (Reuters) (The Moscow Times) At least four Russian cruise missiles fired at Syria from the Caspian Sea landed in Iran, according to US officials. Damage or casualties are not yet known. Russia and Iran rejected these reports. (CNN) (Reuters) Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg says NATO will double its high-readiness force to 40,000, and may send ground troops to Turkey as a result of the escalation of Russian military activities in Syria, including violations of Turkish airspace. (Irish Times) (Hindustan Times) Arts and culture Belarusian author and journalist Svetlana Alexievich wins the 2015 Nobel Prize in Literature. (The Guardian) Business and economy Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) and the United Auto Workers (UAW) reach a new tentative four-year labor agreement, averting a threatened strike of the automaker’s U.S. operations. The agreement must be ratified by a vote of FCA's 40,000 U.S. union workers, who rejected the previous proposal earlier this month. If ratified, the UAW intends to use the pact as a template for negotiations with General Motors Co. and Ford Motor Company. (Reuters) (Detroit Free Press) Disasters and accidents 2015 Pacific typhoon season Thousands of people are evacuated on the Japanese island of Hokkaido as Typhoon Choi-wan approaches from the east. (AAP via SBS) 2015 Southeast Asian haze The President of Indonesia Joko Widodo announces that he will seek help from other nations in putting out illegally lit forest fires that have caused the haze. (Channel News Asia) Ecuador's restive Cotopaxi volcano erupts. (Fox News) International relations Israeli–Palestinian conflict Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prohibits all members of the Knesset (MKs) from visiting the Jerusalem site revered by Jews as the Temple Mount, and by Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary, in an attempt to calm several days of violence in the Old City. The prohibition applies to both Jewish and Muslim parliamentarians. (Washington Post) (Jerusalem Post) Law and crime Spencer Stone, one of the individuals involved in stopping the gunman in the August 2015 Thalys train attack, is stabbed in downtown Sacramento. Police said the incident is not related to a terrorist act; the assault occurred near a bar. He is in stable condition at a hospital with what are believed to be non-life threatening wounds. (MSN) Politics and elections European migrant crisis The German state of Bavaria plans "emergency measures" in response to the migrant crisis, including deporting migrants back to Austria and closing the border. An estimated 225,000 migrants have arrived in the southern German state in less than five weeks. (Yahoo) U.S. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, who had been the favorite to replace outgoing House Speaker John Boehner, withdraws from the race. (Fox News) Sports 2015 FIFA corruption case: FIFA suspends Sepp Blatter, Michel Platini and Jérôme Valcke from all football-related activities for 90 days amid allegations of corruption. (BBC)