Portal:Current events/2016 June 24

June 24, 2016 (Friday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Moro conflict
- Seven Indonesian sailors are kidnapped off the coast of Sulu near Mindanao in the southern Philippines raising terrorism fears. (The New York Times) (Philippine Daily Inquirer)
War in North-West Pakistan
- At least three people are killed and 32 more are wounded by a bomb blast in Quetta. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
Syrian Civil War, Manbij offensive (2016)
- The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reports ISIL militants have kidnapped about 900 Syrian Kurdish civilians from Aleppo over the past three weeks in retaliation for the Kurdish and US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces attack on Manbij. The captives are being forced to build fortifications for the extremists. At least 26 of those abducted reportedly have been killed for refusing to follow ISIL orders. (Fox News) (AP via The National)

Business and economy

Brexit impact
- The British pound and FTSE 100 Index for the London Stock Exchange both fall in trading as early results from the United Kingdom European Union membership referendum show a stronger than expected result for Leave. (Bloomberg), (The Telegraph)
- Asian markets drop as Leave campaign continues to lead in the Brexit referendum. (New York Times)
- U.S. futures markets fall by 650 points as the UK votes to leave. (CNBC)
- The Dow Jones ends the day down 611.21 points to 17,399.86, marking the biggest drop in 10 months. (NBC)(CNBC) (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

2016 West Virginia flood
- West Virginia police report powerful flash floods last night killed at least 26 people and swept away a toddler from Ravenswood. Up to 10 inches (25 cm) of rain fell in White Sulphur Springs in the southern part of the state. A state of emergency had been declared in 44 counties. Almost 500,000 customers are without power including thousands in Virginia. (NBC News) (Good Morning America via Yahoo News) (USA Today)

International relations

Pope Francis, in his first speech upon arrival at the presidential palace of Serzh Sargsyan in the Armenian capital Yerevan, denounces the planned genocide of Armenians by Ottoman-era Turks a century ago, though the word "genocide" was not included in his prepared speech. (AP) (NPR)
Brexit impact
- Spain's Foreign Minister José García-Margallo y Marfil says Spain will seek to jointly govern Gibraltar with Britain. Gibraltar, which is at the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula bordering Spain, overwhelmingly voted in favour of Britain remaining in the EU. (Reuters)
Indonesia–Philippines relations
- Indonesia restricts the exports of coal to the Philippines after the abduction of Indonesian sailors by the Abu Sayyaf. (Reuters)

Law and crime

Volkswagen emissions scandal
- South Korea issues an arrest warrant for a Korean-based Volkswagen AG executive in relation to the emissions scandal. (Reuters via Daily Mail)
Crime in the Philippines; Philippine Drug War
- More than 50 people accused of dealing in illegal drugs have been murdered in the Philippines within a month after incoming president Rodrigo Duterte called for more extrajudicial killings against suspected criminals. (Rappler)
- Duterte wants to return capital punishment in the country so he can hang people. (Rappler)

Politics and elections

United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, 2016
- The United Kingdom votes, 52% to 48%, to leave the European Union. Prime Minister David Cameron, who called the referendum three years ago, announces his resignation indicating he will leave office by October. (BBC) (BBC²) (Newsweek) (Reuters)
The price of nickel is expected to skyrocket after the incoming Philippine government appoints an anti-mining bureaucrat Gina Lopez to the national cabinet. The Philippines is the biggest exporter of nickel to China. (South China Morning Post)
2016 United States presidential election
- American conservative columnist George Will tells the Federalist Society that he is no longer a Republican because of Donald Trump, and has officially changed his Maryland voter registration from the GOP to unaffiliated. (New York) (Politico)