Portal:Current events/2012 June 15
June 15, 2012 (Friday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- The Yemeni army captures Shuqra, the third militant stronghold to fall in the last week. (BBC)
- Police officers attempting to evict landless farmers occupying a property in the Paraguayan department of Canindeyú turn into clashes, killing 16 officers and farmers. (BBC)
Arts and culture
- American singer Chris Brown and Canadian rapper Drake reportedly brawl with each other over fellow popstar Rihanna in a New York nightclub. (MTV)
Business and economy
- Italy announces it will sell off three state-owned business in hopes of reducing the country's debt problems. (BBC)
- Former Goldman Sachs director Rajat Gupta is convicted of three counts of securities fraud and one count of conspiracy related to insider trading in 2011.(Wall Street Journal)
- Credit downgrades:
- Moody's Investor Service downgrades the credit rating of five Dutch banks including ING Bank. (Reuters)
- Moody's also cuts the rating of Nokia's debt to "junk" status. (Reuters)
- Herman Van Rompuy, President of the European Council, convenes a conference call to discuss possible fall-out from the weekend's elections in Greece. (Reuters)
- Chinese manufacturer Yili Group recalls baby formula after some products are discovered with high mercury levels. (BBC)
- An Apple I computer sells at an auction in New York for $374,500, setting a new record. (BBC)
Disasters
- 2012 Pacific hurricane season:
- Hurricane Carlotta makes landfall on the coast of Mexico. (AlertNet)
International relations
- Canada and the U.S. state of Michigan announce a deal to construct a bridge between the U.S. city of Detroit and the Canadian city of Windsor, Ontario. (Reuters)
Law and crime
- Police in Japan arrest Katsuya Takahashi of the Aum Shinrikyo cult, the last fugitive wanted over the March 1995 sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway that killed 13 people. (BBC)
- China suspends three officials and the government of Ankang city apologizes to a woman, Feng Jianmei, 23, who is forced to undergo an illegal abortion seven months into her pregnancy after graphic photos of the mother and her dead baby are circulated online. (AP via The Star)
- Baker Atyani, Al Arabiya's TV bureau chief for southeast Asia, disappears with four other people on the restive southern Philippine island of Jolo where Muslim militants are active. (AP via TIME)
- Three employees of an armoured car company are reported dead and one injured in a shooting at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada. (CBC News)
Politics and elections
- Ukrainian prime minister Mykola Azarov is accused by the opposition of violating the law by drinking an alcoholic beverage in a government building. (Reuters)
- U.S. president Barack Obama announces that the U.S. will stop deporting some illegal immigrants. (The New York Times)
- The Congress of Colombia approves a law aimed at facilitating peace talks between the government and guerrilla groups. (BBC)
Religion
- The Holy See establishes the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of the Southern Cross, for former Anglicans in Australia. (Bollettino)
- Bulgarian remains believed by some to be John The Baptist are scientifically dated to the first century AD. (The Washington Post)
Sport
- UEFA Euro 2012:
- In an unprecedented development, the match between France and Ukraine at the Donbass Arena in Donetsk, Ukraine, is postponed for 55 minutes in the midst of a lightning storm and torrential rain. (BBC) (The Guardian)