October 4, 2011 (Tuesday)
Armed conflict and attacks
- Gunmen kill 12 Shiite Muslims near the Pakistani city of Quetta in an apparent sectarian killing. (AP via ABC News)
- At least 130 people are killed in a car bombing in the Somali capital Mogadishu. (Indo-Asian News Service via Hindustan Times)
Business and economy
- Regulators in the European Union are close to making a formal announcement that they object to a proposed merger of NYSE Euronext with Deutsche Boerse AG, according to an anonymous source cited by Reuters. (Reuters).
- Technology company Apple Inc. announces its much-anticipated iPhone 4S at Apple's Cupertino campus. (USA Today)
Disasters
- The death toll from the flooding of Cambodia's Mekong River and attendant flash floods reaches 164. (Xinhua via Philippines Star)[permanent dead link]
- The Pacific islands of Tuvalu and Tokelau declare a state of emergency due to a lack of drinking water caused by low rainfall. (The Telegraph)
- A helicopter crashes into the East River in New York City killing one person and injuring three after taking off from the East 34th Street Heliport. (New York Times)
Home Video
- The Lion King: Diamond Edition on Blu-ray and Blu-ray 3D
International relations
- Nine North Korean defectors arrive in South Korea after staying in Japan for three weeks. (Yonhap)
- Russia and the People's Republic of China veto a United Nations Security Council resolution condemning Syria for a crackdown on political protestors. (Al Jazeera)
Law and crime
- The European Court of Justice rules against "the imposition of national borders to sell broadcasting rights on a territory-by-territory basis", as this is in contravention of EU laws on free trade. It would allow members of the public to seek cheaper providers of Premier League football, whilst finding against a landlady who used Greek television to show live football in her public house. (The Guardian)
Politics and elections
- Voters in the US state of West Virginia go to the polls for a gubernatorial special election with acting Governor, Democrat Earl Ray Tomblin, being elected as Governor of West Virginia. (CNN) (Charleston Gazette)
- Voters in the Canadian province of Manitoba go to the polls for a general election, with the NDP led by Greg Selinger being elected to a fourth term. (CBC) (Montreal Gazette)
- The Haitian Senate finally approves the appointment of Garry Conille as the Prime Minister. (AP)
- The Italian Wikipedia shuts down in protest against a privacy law drafted by Silvio Berlusconi's government which would impose restrictions on newspapers and Internet pages. (Reuters) (Italian Wikipedia)
Science
- Saul Perlmutter, Brian P. Schmidt and Adam Riess share the Nobel Prize for Physics for work on the accelerating expansion of the universe. (Nobel Prize) (The Guardian)
Sport
- In basketball, the North American National Basketball Association cancels the remainder of the preseason due to the 2011 NBA lockout, with cancellation of games in the regular season occurring if the lockout continues for another week. (NBC Sports)
- In soccer, Seattle Sounders F.C. defeat Chicago Fire 2-0 to win the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup for the third year in a row, the first time a team has done this in over 40 years. (USA Today)