Portal:Current events/2015 September 22
September 22, 2015 (Tuesday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- 2015 Burkinabé coup d'état
- The army of Burkina Faso arrives in Ouagadougou to seek the surrender of the Presidential Guard that staged the coup. (BBC)
- The coup leaders free President Michel Kafando and Prime Minister Yacouba Isaac Zida after the army entered the capital, Ouagadougou. Negotiations seeking a peaceful resolution between the chief of the army and the leader of presidential guard continue. (DW Akademie)
- Moro conflict
- Filipino troops stage raids to attempt to free six overseas-born hostages held by Abu Sayyaf militants. (AP)
- Syrian Civil War, Russia's role in the Syrian Civil War
- IHS Jane's reports satellite photos, taken in mid-September, show Russian forces developing two additional military facilities near Syria's Mediterranean coast. (Reuters)
- U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry says the type of Russian aircraft in Syria is consistent with that needed to protect their own forces. However, it is still not clear what Russia's long-term intentions are. (Voice of America), (Reuters)
Arts and culture
- Pope Francis' visit to the United States
- Pope Francis arrives in the U.S. from his last stop in Cuba, Santiago de Cuba, at Joint Base Andrews (formerly, Andrews Air Force Base), near Washington D.C., to start his first tour of the United States. He is received by U.S. President Barack Obama, his wife, U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama, Malia and Sasha Obama, Marian Lois Robinson, U.S. Vice President Joseph R. Biden, his wife, U.S. Second Lady Dr. Jill Biden, two Biden granddaughters, the Apostolic Nuncio to the U.S. Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, military and base leaders, and Washington's Cardinal Donald Wuerl. He will be received tomorrow morning in a second arrival ceremony, at the White House, and will meet with the President there. (The Guardian)
- U.S. District Judge of California George H. King rules that Warner/Chappell Music does not hold the copyright to the song Happy Birthday to You. (Hollywood Reporter), (NBC News)
Business and economy
- Volkswagen emissions violations
- Volkswagen says that 11 million vehicles could have suspect emission control software and it has set aside 6.5 billion euros ($7.2 billion US dollars) for possible fines, repairs, and litigation. (NBC News)
- Xi Jinping begins his first visit to the United States as President of the People's Republic of China, meeting with technology company leaders and representatives in Seattle, Washington. (USA Today)
Disasters and accidents
- 2015 Southeast Asian haze
- The haze from Indonesian forest fires worsens leaving Singapore and parts of Indonesia and Malaysia covered in smog. (Bloomberg via Business Times)
- 2015 California wildfires
- The President of the United States Barack Obama signs a disaster declaration for the Valley Fire which has claimed three lives in Lake County, California. (KCRA)
International relations
- The President of Venezuela Nicolás Maduro and the President of Colombia Juan Manuel Santos agree to gradually reopen their common border which had been closed following a Venezuelan crackdown on smuggling. (BBC)
- European migrant crisis
- European Union ministers meet in Brussels and reach agreement on a plan to distribute asylum seekers. (The New York Times), (AP via Fox News)
- Two Cabinet ministers from the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) in Turkey’s interim government resign over the increased violence in Kurdish areas of the country. Their exit leaves no opposition figures in the government. (Reuters), (Al Arabiya)
Law and crime
- 1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal
- The United States Justice Department launches an investigation of money laundering associated with the 1Malaysia Development Berhad sovereign wealth fund, as well as the purchase of luxury properties in New York involving shell companies linked to Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak's step-son Riza Aziz and businessman Jho Low. (Economic Times-India)
- Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos announces a new anti-drug plan involving the substitution of legal crops for coca plantations. In July, the National Narcotics Council suspended the United States-backed aerial spraying of the crop after the World Health Organization reclassified glyphosate, the herbicide used, as a probable carcinogen. (AP via ABC News), (EFE via Fox News Latino), (COHA)
- Angola joins the Chemical Weapons Convention becoming the 192nd state to join the convention aimed at eliminating the use of chemical weapons in armed conflict. (US State Department)
Sports
- American Major League Baseball Hall of Fame catcher, manager, and coach Lawrence Peter "Yogi" Berra, who played almost his entire 19-year baseball career (1946–65) for the New York Yankees, dies at the age of 90. (NBC News)