Portal:Current events/2010 May 29

May 29, 2010 (2010-05-29) (Saturday)

• BP's effort fails to plug the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, which is the worst in U.S. history, and is fouling marshland and beaches, as estimates of how much oil is leaking grow more dire. (AP) (USA Today)
• Roy Halladay pitches the 20th perfect game in Major League Baseball history in the Philadelphia Phillies' 1–0 win over the Florida Marlins. (AP at Yahoo!)
• Tens of thousands of Portuguese rally in central Lisbon against the government's austerity measures in one of the biggest protests in recent years. (Al Jazeera)
• Thousands of people are evacuated as Attabad Lake in Pakistan's Hunza Valley begins to overflow. (Al Jazeera)
• Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak meet in Jeju in a trilateral summit to discuss strengthening trade ties and the Cheonan incident. (Radio Australia) (Korea Times)
• Eurovision Song Contest 2010 at the Telenor Arena in Bærum, Oslo:
  • An audience member storms the stage during Daniel Diges performance. The Spanish entry has to be performed again. (Herald Sun) (Digital Spy)
  • With the song "Satellite", Germany's Lena wins the Eurovision Song Contest 2010, the first German victory since 1982. (ABC News) (RTÉ) (Reuters India)
  • The United Kingdom, represented by Josh Dubovie, finish last. (The Press Association) (BBC) (The Daily Telegraph)
• Israel rejects call to take part in a conference aimed at achieving a nuclear-arms free Middle East, citing the document agreed to at the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty talks in which Israel was singled out, but which did not mention Iran, widely suspected of having a nuclear-weapons program, or declared nuclear states India and Pakistan, who have not signed the treaty.(The Jerusalem Post) (BBC) (Philippine Daily Inquirer)
• Israeli–Palestinian conflict:
  • Gaza prepares a welcoming party to receive the flotilla of ships demonstrating against Israel's naval blockade, while the ships are delayed near Cyprus due to unsuccessful attempts to collect dozens of high-profile supporters from the island. (The Australian) (The Age) (Al Jazeera) (BBC)
  • Six people are killed and twelve others are injured after a gas canister blasts in an underground tunnel in Rafah. (Xinhua) (AFP)
• Thousands of people flee the Pacaya volcano in Guatemala and the Tungurahua volcano in Ecuador following eruptions. (BBC) (CBC)
• Two gay pride demonstrations are held in Moscow despite an official ban. It is the first time the event was not broken up by police since the initial attempt in 2006. (AP) (Russia Today) (Reuters)
• President of Malawi Bingu wa Mutharika pardons a gay couple sentenced to 14 years in prison for "gross indecency and unnatural acts". (BBC) (CNN) (Hindustan Times) (Xinhua)
• More than 50,000 Greeks with diabetes are left without insulin after Novo Nordisk, the world's leading supplier of the drug, withdraws from Greece in a "brutal capitalist blackmail" after being asked to reduce the cost of its medicine by the Greek government. (BBC) (euronews)
• At least 14 people are wounded after dozens of handball fans belonging to rival teams PAOK Thessaloniki and AEK Athens attack each other with petrol bombs, knives, bricks and furniture, leading to a street battle in Lamia. Police deploy tear gas to bring the city under their control. (BBC)
• Another riot occurs in Austria as the Serbia national football team meet the New Zealand national football team ahead of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. (The Times) (RTÉ)
• The leaders of Pakistan's Ahmadiyya religious minority ask the government to provide better protection for the group, as they bury those killed in yesterday's double mosque attack in Lahore. (Al Jazeera)
• Nepal's political leaders agree to extend the parliamentary term for another year following talks to avert a political crisis. (Al Jazeera) (The Rising Nepal)
• Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, winner of the 2010 parliamentary elections in Hungary, assumes office. (Reuters)
• Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva lifts a curfew in the capital Bangkok and 23 provinces in the aftermath of protests but a state of emergency would remain. (Bernama) (AP) (Bangkok Post)
• As part of the ongoing United Kingdom Parliamentary expenses scandal, Liberal Democrat MP David Laws resigns from his position as Chief Secretary to the Treasury after it is revealed he used expenses to cover rent for a non-marital partner, a practice banned in 2006. (BBC) (RTÉ) (Al Jazeera)

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