October 12, 2011 (Wednesday)
Arts and culture
- Burmese comedian, actor and dissident Zarganar is released as part of an amnesty by the government of Myanmar for over 6,000 dissidents. (AP via Google News)
Disasters
- The Prime Minister of New Zealand John Key warns that the container ship MV Rena which ran agound on Astrolabe Reef a week ago could break up as oil slicks have appeared on beaches near Tauranga. (New Zealand Stuff)
- The death toll from the 2011 United States listeriosis outbreak reaches a total of 23 dead with 116 affected, making it the deadliest outbreak of foodborne illness in the U.S. in 25 years. (Minneapolis Star Tribune)
Law and crime
- At least eight people are killed and one is seriously injured in a shooting at a hair salon in Seal Beach, California, USA. (Los Angeles Times) (Associated Press)
- Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a Nigerian man also known as the "underwear bomber", pleads guilty to attempting to blow up an airliner on Christmas Day 2009 in a trial in the U.S. city of Detroit, Michigan. (AFP via Sydney Morning Herald)
Politics and elections
- Carbon tax in Australia:
- The House of Representatives of Australia passes the Gillard government's carbon tax legislation. (Sydney Morning Herald)
- More than 85 people are removed from the Parliament during Question Time while protesting at the passage of the legislation. (Herald-Sun)