Portal:Current events/2012 October 8

{{Current events|year=2012|month=10|day=8|content=

;Armed conflicts and attacks

• Mexican Drug War: Initial reports from the Mexican Navy indicate that Heriberto Lazcano Lazcano, the top leader of the most dangerous Mexican criminal organization known as Los Zetas, may have been killed in a shootout. The forensic tests are currently on their way to confirm his identity. [https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2012/10/09/mexico-drugs-zetas/1621921/ (USA Today)]

;Business and Finance

• The Tampa Tribune and sister site TBO.com are sold to Revolution Capital Group by Media General for $9.5 million. [http://www.baynews9.com/content/news/baynews9/news/article.html/content/news/articles/bn9/2012/10/8/tampa_tribune_tbo_co.html (Bay News 9)]

;Health

• Scientists warn of the dangers of using liquid nitrogen in drinks after a teenage girl from the United Kingdom required emergency surgery upon consuming a cocktail containing the substance. [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/9594000/Warning-over-liquid-nitrogen-drinks-after-girl-loses-stomach.html (The Telegraph)]

;Law and crime

• Partial replacement of members of the European Court of Justice takes place in Luxembourg. [http://curia.europa.eu/jcms/upload/docs/application/pdf/2012-10/cp120126en.pdf (Court of Justice)]
• Police in Nigeria arrest 13 people in connection with the lynching of four university students who were accused of stealing laptops and mobile phones in Rivers state. [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-19869492 (BBC)]
• Thirty five people are killed after the Nigerian military opened fire after a bomb struck their convoy in Maiduguri; both civilians and military personnel are believed to be among the dead after the suspected Boko Haram attack. [https://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/08/us-nigeria-violence-idUSBRE89717F20121008 (Reuters)]

;Politics and elections

• Hugo Chávez wins a fourth term as President of Venezuela with 54.47% of the votes and a historically high turnout.[https://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/08/world/americas/venezuela-presidential-election.html?hp (New York Times)]
• Mustafa A.G. Abushagur, the first elected prime minister of Libya, is elected out of office after the Libyan parliament passed a vote of no confidence; Abdurrahim El-Keib assumes the post again. [http://www.france24.com/en/20121007-libya-newly-elected-pm-dismissed-parliament-abushagur (France 24)]
• President Benigno Aquino of the Philippines announces that the Philippine government has reached an outline peace agreement with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front over the disputed Mindanao region. [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-19860907 (BBC)]
• Haitian Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe announces a new "sin tax" on gambling, alcohol, and cigarettes to pay for a new education fund. [https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/haiti-prime-minister-announces-2-percent-sin-tax-to-pay-for-improvements-in-education-system/2012/10/08/3b2c8574-11ae-11e2-9a39-1f5a7f6fe945_story.html (Washington Post)]

;Science

• British scientist John B. Gurdon and Japanese scientist Shinya Yamanaka win the 2012 Nobel Prize for Medicine for the discovery that end stage cells can be reprogrammed to become pluripotent. [https://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/08/us-nobel-medicine-idUSBRE8970AB20121008 (Reuters)]

;Society

• Strathclyde Police warns against use of the legal intoxicant Annihilation (or Mary Joy), which has previously been noted in the Shetland Isles, Lancashire and Tyneside. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_9757000/9757900.stm (BBC)]

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