Portal:Current events/2008 September 15
September 15, 2008 (Monday)
- The government of Samoa recognizes the independence of Kosovo. (New Kosova Report)
- Morelia Bomb Attacks: Eight people are killed and 100 injured in a presumed terrorist attack at El Grito Independence Day celebrations in the main square of Morelia, Michoacán. (BBC News) (El Universal)
- Hewlett-Packard announces plans to cut 24,600 jobs. (Reuters)
- Shots are fired into the air in a confrontation between US and Pakistani forces; US forces retreat; Pakistan denies involvement of their forces. (BBC News)
- Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, the Secretary General of NATO, visits Georgia in a show of support. (AP via USA Today)
- Richard Wright, a founding member of the English rock group Pink Floyd, dies at the age of 65 after a long battle with cancer. (CNN)
- At least 11 spectators die in a stampede at a club football match in Butembo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, following a riot incited when a goalkeeper used an animist spell in an attempt to rally his team. (Radio Okapi via ESPN)
- Twelve tourists are killed and 37 injured when a coach collides with a delivery truck outside of Ras Sidr in Egypt. Reports suggest 7 of the 12 dead are foreign nationals. (Sky News)
- A power-sharing agreement between Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai is officially signed, making Tsvangirai Prime Minister of Zimbabwe and chair of cabinet meetings. Mugabe maintains his position as president and remains in control of the country's army. (The Telegraph)
- Nigerian Oil Crisis: Nigeria's main rebel group claim to have destroyed an oil installation owned by Shell in the Rivers State region in the south of the country. (BBC News)
- A stampede in the Indonesian town of Pasuruan leaves 21 people dead, most of whom are thought to be women. (BBC News)
- At least one person has died and 26 are missing after a Ro-ro ferry sinks near the Turkish city of Bandirma. (Sky News)
- Subprime mortgage crisis
- Lehman Brothers files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy resulting from the subprime mortgage crisis. (The New York Times)
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average falls by over 500 points as the New York Stock Exchange responds to events over the weekend. (The New York Times)
- Six men have been found guilty of terrorism-related offences in Melbourne, Australia. Abdul Nacer Benbrika was found guilty of intentionally directing the activities of a terrorist organization while five other men were found guilty of being members of the same organisation. Four other men were acquitted and the jury is still considering its verdict on two men. (ABC News Australia)
- Hurricane Ike (2008)
- The remnants of Ike are blamed for 13 more deaths in the Midwestern United States. (Boston Herald)
- More than one million households in the Midwestern United States are left without electricity due to high winds. (Columbus Dispatch)
- President George W. Bush warns that motorists will face a "pinch" from rising costs caused by Hurricane Ike. (AP via Fox News)
- NASA scientists report that the ozone hole over the Antarctic has reached its largest expanse, 27 million square kilometers, vs 26 million square kilometers in 2006. (NASA) European Scientists at ESA concur. [1]