Portal:Current events/2012 September 15

• War in Afghanistan:
  • An Afghan policeman kills two British soldiers in Girishk, Helmand. (Washington Post)
• Mexican Drug War:
  • Eduardo Castro Luque, the deputy-elect of Ciudad Obregon, Sonora, is assassinated by gunmen two days before joining office. (The Huffington Post)
• 2012 Sydney Islamic riots: Muslim protesters shouting anti-American slogans clash with police outside the US embassy in Sydney, Australia. (France 24) (ninemsn) (AdelaideNow)

• Syrian civil war:
  • One of Assad's relatives, who was a Syrian Air Force officer, defects from the Syrian government. (Ynet News)
  • Special envoy Lakhdar Brahimi says the Syrian crisis is a "very, very serious and dangerous" threat of breaching world peace. (Ynet News)

• The Irish Daily Star becomes the second tabloid newspaper to publish topless photographs of Kate Middleton, prompting media boss Richard Desmond to close down the joint venture between Independent News and Media and his Northern and Shell group that published the paper. (RTÉ News)

• Following the decision of Irish Daily Star editor Michael O'Kane to publish topless photographs of The Duchess of Cambridge, Northern & Shell chairman Richard Desmond immediately closes down his joint venture with the tabloid. (BBC) (RTÉ News) (The Journal)

• Mass protest grows against Kudankulam nuclear power project in Tamil Nadu, India. (Wikinews)
• In the wake of the Fukushima nuclear disaster, Japan declares that it will phase out dependence on nuclear energy by the 2030s. (Kyodo News via Mainichi Shimbun)

• Senkaku Islands dispute:
  • Anti-Japanese protests spread in China over the disputed Senkaku Islands. (Al Jazeera)
  • Reports surface of Japanese nationals in China being physically assaulted by Chinese protesters. (Kyodo News via The Japan Times) (Associated Press)

• Gambia's President Yahya Jammeh orders an immediate halt to executions on death row. (BBC)
• The alleged filmmaker of the film at the heart of the controversy agrees to a "voluntary interview" with federal probation authorities. (Los Angeles Times) (Associated Press)

• Chinese Vice President and Paramount Leader-designate Xi Jinping is shown on television for the first time in weeks, debunking rumours of serious illness. (Xinhua) (AFP via Google News)
• Tens of thousands protest against Putin in Moscow. (Businessweek)

• In horseracing, Encke stops Camelot's Triple Crown mission in the St. Leger Stakes with a long-odds win. (BBC)
• Irish Rugby Union player Nevin Spence is killed along with his father and brother after they fell into a slurry tank at the family farm in Hillsborough, County Down. (BBC)