Portal:Current events/2012 October 24

October 24, 2012 (Wednesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Siege of Bani Walid (2012): Militias loyal to the Libyan government capture the town of Bani Walid after days of battle, with locals claiming that 130 civilians have died under artillery shelling attacks from militia forces. (The Daily Beast) (Reuters)
Israel targets rocket launching sites in Gaza in response to over 80 rockets being fired into Israeli territory by militants, causing deaths and injuries. (BBC) (The Times of Israel)
Sudan blames the explosion at a munition factory south of Khartoum on an Israeli airstrike. (Al Jazeera)
Syrian civil war: The UN peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi states in Cairo that the Syrian government has agreed to a ceasefire during the four-day Muslim holiday, Eid al-Adha. (The Telegraph)
A journalist based in Somaliland is killed by gunmen while returning home from work. (BBC)

Innovation and technology

The analogue television service in the Republic of Ireland is switched off at 10.00am. (RTÉ) (Irish Independent)
An administrative law judge with the U.S. International Trade Commission issues a preliminary decision on a long-running Samsung/Apple dispute, in favor of Apple's complaint on four of the six patents in dispute. (ThomsonReuters)

International relations

After years of delays and disputes over cost and design, and amid references in newspapers to Germany's rejection of asylum applications by Roma from Kosovo and comments from the country's interior minister alleging "increasing abuse of asylum from countries in the Balkans", Angela Merkel unveils a memorial near the Reichstag to members of the Roma community killed during the Nazi Holocaust. (BBC)

Law and crime

Sir Norman Bettison resigns as Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police as his role in the aftermath of the 1989 Hillsborough disaster is being investigated. (BBC)
Following a landmark hearing at the Supreme Court of England and Wales, 174 women formerly employed by Birmingham City Council are given permission to seek compensation under Equal Pay legislation for missed bonuses. The ruling extends the time window for such claims from six months to six years. (BBC) (The Daily Telegraph)
The UK's Director of Public Prosecutions is to review a 2009 decision by the Crown Prosecution Service not to prosecute Jimmy Savile over allegations of sexual abuse. (Belfast Telegraph) (The Daily Telegraph)
Former Société Générale trader Jérôme Kerviel loses his appeal against a five-year prison sentence for forgery and breach of trust, handed down in 2010. (BBC)
A former maintenance worker at Creflo Dollar's World Changers Church International in the Atlanta suburb of College Park, Georgia has fatally shot a 39-year-old church volunteer. (Chicago Tribune)^{[permanent dead link]}
Police in the Denver suburb of Westminster, Colorado arrest a 17-year-old resident who was allegedly involved in an attempted abduction in the killing of 10-year-old Jessica Ridgeway. (NBC)
Three people are shot dead, two are critically wounded, and a gunman is at large after shootings at two locations in the Los Angeles suburb of Downey, California: a business next to a Coca-Cola plant, and a residence. (NBC)

Politics

The Welsh government reaches an agreement with the British government giving Wales limited powers to borrow money to finance major projects. (BBC)

Religion and diplomacy