Current events of 22 October 2009 (2009-10-22) (Thursday) edit history watch

Sweden's Lutheran Church decides to conduct same-sex marriages, becoming the first major church to do so. (Reuters) China's economy grows at 8.9% in the third quarter from a year earlier, the fastest pace in a year. (Bloomberg) (AFP) (CNN) In a change of policy, the British Broadcasting Corporation controversially gives a platform on Question Time to the far right British National Party (BNP) leader Nick Griffin. (BBC) (Associated Press) The Microsoft operating system Windows 7 goes on retail sale worldwide. (CNET News) The Russian civil rights society Memorial is awarded the 2009 Sakharov Prize for freedom of thought. (EP press release) (RIA Novosti) (euronews) Ethiopia appeals for food aid for 6.2 million people facing starvation. (AFP) (CBC) Nearly 6,000 Tamil refugees are released from Sri Lanka's main camp for war-displaced people, to be re-settled over the next few weeks. (BBC) A U.S. State Department report to Congress alleges that war crimes were committed by the Sri Lankan Military and the rebel Tamil Tigers in the final months of the Sri Lankan Civil War. (AFP) (Guardian) (BBC) The U.S. Department of Homeland Security will allow Chinese and Russian tourists to travel to the Northern Mariana Islands without a visa. (Saipan Tribune) The Olympic Flame was lit during a ceremony in Olympia,Greece to start the 2010 Winter Olympics Torch Relay.(Gamesbids.com) The U.S. House Financial Services Committee approved a measure establishing a Consumer Financial Protection Agency.(Washington Post)