Portal:Current events/2011 December 8

Current events of December 8, 2011 (2011-12-08) (Thursday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• An oil pipeline near the Syrian city of Homs is blown up. (The Telegraph)
• Fighting breaks out in the Somali capital Mogadishu between militants and government troops. (UPI)
• An investigation by the Associated Press and German media uncovers a secret prison operated by the CIA in Bucharest, Romania. (BBC) (AP) (AFP) (Indian Express)

Business and economy

• The European Central Bank reduces interest rates to 1%. (BBC)
• Hundreds of workers continue a strike in southern China for a fifth day amid a labour dispute. (Straits Times)

Disasters

• A storm causes damage, flooding and power cuts across the north of the British Isles, particularly Scotland with winds up to 165 mph (264 km/h). (BBC)

International relations

• Philippines officials claim that the People's Republic of China has executed a Filipino man for drug trafficking despite a plea for clemency from the President of the Philippines Benigno Aquino III on humanitarian grounds. (Washington Post)
• Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin accuses the United States of sponsoring the opposition in the country, following protests over the outcome of the recent elections. (RIA Novosti)
• Iranian state television shows footage of a United States Lockheed Martin RQ-170 Sentinel drone that its forces claim to have shot down. (AP)
• The Government of Japan apologizes to Canada over the treatment of Canadian POWs during World War II. (AP)

Law and crime

• British serial killer Robert Black is sentenced to a minimum of 25 years imprisonment for the 1981 murder of Northern Ireland schoolgirl Jennifer Cardy. (BBC)
• A shooter rampages through Virginia Tech, the site of the worst mass shooting in US history, with at least two deaths. (MSNBC) , (Wires via Herald Sun)

Politics and elections

• Security is increased in the Congolese capital Kinshasa prior to the announcement of results from presidential and parliamentary elections. (Al Jazeera)
• Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe calls for elections in 2012 to replace the power-sharing government in place since 2008. (AFP via Google News)