2009–10 in French football, News, French football records
On 9 August 2009, Bordeaux established a record for most consecutive league wins with 12, surpassing Lille, who won 11 consecutive matches in 1949, winning their last four games of the 1948–49 season and their first seven in the 1949–50 season. Bordeaux's streak began during the 2008–09 Ligue 1 season on 14 March 2009 following a 2–1 victory over Nice. The club broke the record on the opening match day of this season defeating Lens 4–1. The record lasted for 14 matches before coming to an end on 30 August following the club's 0–0 draw with Marseille.


2009–10 in French football, News, French football records
On 31 October 2009, Grenoble set a record for most consecutive losses in French football following the club's 11th-straight league defeat, an 0–2 loss to Lille. The previous record of ten-straight defeats, held by Sète, had been intact since 1947. The losing streak came to an end the following week, on 7 November, following the club's 0–0 draw with Monaco.


2009–10 in French football, News, DNCG rulings
On 23 June, the Direction Nationale du Contrôle de Gestion (DNC) ruled that Arles-Avignon would not be allowed to play in Ligue 2 following their promotion from the Championnat National, due to irregularities in the club's management. On 3 July, following an appeal, the DNCG reversed its decision, reinstating Arles' Ligue 2 status.


2009–10 in French football, News, DNCG rulings
Following the DNCG's annual report on clubs, on 25 June it was announced that six clubs had been relegated from the National to lower divisions: AS Beauvais, SO Cassis Carnoux, CS Louhans-Cuiseaux, and FC Libourne Saint-Seurin were relegated to the Championnat de France Amateurs. Meanwhile, Besançon RC, US Luzenac, and FC Rouen, who were all recently promoted, were relegated to Championnat de France Amateurs 2, while Sète and Calais RUFC were relegated to the Division d'Honneur. All clubs relegated were allowed to appeal the decision.


2009–10 in French football, News, DNCG rulings
Following an appeal from the aforementioned clubs, Rouen, Beauvais and Luzenac had their appeals successfully overturned, meaning they will remain in the Championnat National. Some clubs were, however, unsuccessful. For example, Sète's appeal was upheld relegating them to the Division d'Honneur; Stade Plabennecois will replace them in the Championnat National. Libourne Saint-Seurin, Besançon and Calais' appeals were also rejected by the DNCG, though all three clubs have decided to take their case to the CNOSF, the National Sporting Committee of France which governs sport in France. Both Calais and Besançon's rulings were determined on 23 July. The CNOSF determined that Besançon should be relegated to the CFA and not CFA 2, while Calais should respect and oblige the DNCG's ruling relegated them to CFA 2.


2009–10 in French football, News, DNCG rulings
Libourne's ruling was determined on 27 July, when the CNOSF informed the club that they should honor the DNCG's ruling and suffer relegation to the CFA. Libourne's chairman Bernard Layda responded by announcing the club will file for bankruptcy, restructure the club and oblige the ruling. Besançon and Libournce are slated to be replaced by ES Fréjus and AS Moulins.


2009–10 in French football, News, DNCG rulings
Both Louhans-Cuiseaux and Cassis Carnoux had their appeals heard by the DNCG on 9 July. On 10 July, the DNGC ruled that both Louhans-Cuiseaux and Cassis-Carnoux rulings had been overturned, meaning they will play in the Championnat National this season.


2009–10 in French football, News, DNCG rulings
On 6 August, just three days before the start of the season, the CNSOF ruled that CFA 2 club Olympique Saumur would be allowed promotion to the CFA on the assumption that the club was ranked second behind Les Herbiers VF in terms of the promotion chart following a current CFA club's relegation by means of a federation ruling. With Besançon's relegation to the CFA, it has been determined that two groups will have an allocation of 20 clubs, while one group will have an allocation of 19 clubs.


2009–10 in French football, News, DNCG rulings
Due to the sudden circumstances, on 7 August the France Football Federation (FFF) devised a brand new schedule for the CFA. The FFF also announced that they had rejected the CNOSF's proposal for integrating Saumur into the CFA. Saumur responding by announcing their intent to appeal the judgment in Administrative Court.


2009–10 in French football, News, Turmoil at 2010 FIFA World Cup
On 19 June 2010, France international striker Nicolas Anelka was dismissed from the national team at the 2010 FIFA World Cup after reportedly having a dispute, in which obscenities were passed with team manager Raymond Domenech during the team's 2–0 loss against Mexico. The FFF condemned the actions and, following a meeting with Anelka, Domenech and team captain Patrice Evra, the FFF agreed to send the player home. The following day, Evra engaged in a heated confrontation with team trainer Robert Duverne, with Duverne having to be restrained by Domenech.


2009–10 in French football, News, Turmoil at 2010 FIFA World Cup
The resulting confrontation led to the players returning to the team bus and canceling practice. The team's managing director, Jean-Louis Valentin, announced his resignation from his position and the FFF the same day, stating he was "sickened and disgusted" by the actions of the team. The team, through Domenech, later released a statement criticizing the FFF for sending Anelka home based on reports from the media. The FFF responded to the statement by declaring the player's boycott "unacceptable" and apologizing to the world for the conduct of the players. The FFF also announced that following the World Cup, the Federal Council would convene to discuss the current state of the team.


2009–10 in French football, News, Turmoil at 2010 FIFA World Cup
Five players were identified as having been key to the embarrassing events at the World Cup – Nicolas Anelka, Patrice Evra, Franck Ribéry, Jérémy Toulalan and Eric Abidal – and all were summoned to a hearing before the FFF disciplinary committee on 17 August 2010. After the expulsion of Anelka and ensuing training strike, Evra and Ribéry were summoned for failing in their duties as captain and vice-captain respectively; Toulalan was seen as the originator of the statement read out by coach Domenech to the media; while Abidal was accused of refusing to play in the final group match. After the hearing, Anelka was banned from playing for France for 18 games, Evra was banned for five, Ribéry for three and Toulalan for one, while Abidal was not punished. Anelka dismissed the sanction as irrelevant, considering himself already retired from international football.


2009–10 in French football, Promotion and relegation
1Saint-Raphael finished as Champions, but won't participate in next season's CFA because the club will fuse with ES Fréjus to form a new club. As such, Le Pontet was allowed to take their promotion spot.


2009–10 in French football, Promotion and relegation
2Tours B finished as Champions, but won't participate in next season's CFA because the DNCG deemed the formation structure of the reserves inadequate. Les Herbiers were allowed to take their promotion spot.


2009–10 in French football, Transfers, Notable transfers
Bordeaux completes the signing of midfielder Yoann Gourcuff after the player spent the entire 2008–09 season on loan from Italian club Milan. The transfer fee was priced at €15 million.


2009–10 in French football, Transfers, Notable transfers
Defending Portuguese Liga champions Porto lose four players to three Ligue 1 title chasers, with Marseille signing midfielder Lucho González for €18 million, Lyon signing both striker Lisandro López for €24 million and defender Aly Cissokho for €15 million, and Toulouse signing Paulo Machado for a modest €3.5 million. Porto also lost veteran defender João Paulo to Le Mans for a fee of €1.5 million.


2009–10 in French football, Transfers, Notable transfers
Guingamp striker Eduardo, who wrote his name into French football history by scoring both his team's goals in a 2–1 triumph in the Coupe de France final against Rennes, moves to recently promoted Lens for approximately €3 million.


2009–10 in French football, Transfers, Notable transfers
Four French national team goalkeepers move clubs, with Cédric Carrasso joining Bordeaux for €8 million, Mickaël Landreau joining Lille from Paris Saint-Germain for €2 million, Yohann Pelé moving to Toulouse from Le Mans on a Bosman transfer, and Grégory Coupet makes his return Ligue 1 signing with PSG from La Liga side Atlético Madrid.


2009–10 in French football, Transfers, Notable transfers
PSG sign two Ligue 1 stars for a total on €12 million, committing four years to both Turkish striker Mevlüt Erdinç and Lorient midfielder Christophe Jallet.


2009–10 in French football, Transfers, Notable transfers
Nancy recruits three Bordeaux youngsters: Malian striker Cheick Diabaté, French defender Florian Marange and the Togolese midfielder Floyd Ayité. All join the club, with Diabaté and Ayité joining on loan for the entire season and Marange signing a one-year contract.


2009–10 in French football, Transfers, Notable transfers
Saint-Étienne sign two Argentine internationals from the Primera División of Argentina. The first signing being striker Gonzalo Bergessio, formerly of San Lorenzo, for an undisclosed fee, and midfielder Augusto Fernández, who joins the club on loan for the entire season from River Plate.


2009–10 in German football
The 2009–10 season was the 100th season of competitive football in Germany. The season began on 1 July 2009 and concluded in May 2010.


2009–10 in German football, Diary of the season
24 July 2009 – The first 3rd Liga matches of the season are played.


2009–10 in German football, Diary of the season
3 August 2009 – Mainz sack coach Jørn Andersen in a surprise move after a Round 1 cup defeat against fourth-level side VfB Lübeck. U-19 coach Thomas Tuchel is appointed as his successor.


2009–10 in German football, Diary of the season
7 August 2009 – Defending Bundesliga champions Wolfsburg open the new Bundesliga season with a 2–0 win over Stuttgart. The first 2nd Bundesliga matches of the season are also played.


2009–10 in German football, Diary of the season
19 August 2009 – Edmund Becker is sacked as head coach of 2nd Bundesliga sides Karlsruher SC after four-and-a-half years. Reserves coach Markus Kauczinski is appointed as a caretaker. Just a few hours later, Dieter Hecking resigns as Hannover 96 head coach after a series of bad results during the preparation and early season stages. Hecking was in charge of Hannover since September 2006.


2009–10 in German football, Diary of the season
30 August 2009 – After acting as an interim coach for two matches, Andreas Bergmann is appointed as head coach for Hannover 96. Bergmann previously led the reserves team of the club.


2009–10 in German football, Diary of the season
3 September 2009 – Markus Schupp is appointed as new head coach of Karlsruher SC. Schupp signs a two-year contract with the club.


2009–10 in German football, Diary of the season
5 September 2009 – Jürgen Seeberger is sacked as head coach of Alemannia Aachen after 20 months. The club board cites "a situation where we had to act in order to save Alemannia from harm" as a reason. Assistant coach Willi Kronhardt is assigned as a caretaker.


2009–10 in German football, Diary of the season
10 September 2009 – The women's national football team wins the UEFA Women's Euro 2009. The team clinches its fifth title in a row and seventh overall by beating England, 6–2, in the Final at Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, Finland.


2009–10 in German football, Diary of the season
20 September 2009 – Women's Bundesliga seasons kicks off with the first matches.


2009–10 in German football, Diary of the season
20 September 2009 – Marcel Koller is sacked as head coach of VfL Bochum after a little more than four years. Assistant coach Frank Heinemann is assigned as a caretaker. On the same day, Stefan Emmerling is also handed his working papers by Rot Weiss Ahlen after just five months with the club. U-19 coach Andreas Zimmermann is named as his successor.


2009–10 in German football, Diary of the season
22 September 2009 – Michael Krüger, former national coach of Sudan, is assigned as new head coach of Alemannia Aachen. Krüger signs a two-year contract with the club.


2009–10 in German football, Diary of the season
28 September 2009 – Lucien Favre is released from his duties as Hertha BSC coach after a series of bad results. Favre was in charge of the Berlin club since the beginning of the 2007–08 season. Karsten Heine is assigned as a caretaker.


2009–10 in German football, Diary of the season
3 October 2009 – Friedhelm Funkel takes the vacant head coaching position at Hertha BSC. Funkel signs a contract for the remainder of the season.


2009–10 in German football, Diary of the season
4 October 2009 – Tomas Oral resigns as head coach of FSV Frankfurt after two draws and six losses from the first eight matches of the 2. Bundesliga season. Oral was in charge of the club since the beginning of the 2006–07 season.


2009–10 in German football, Diary of the season
7 October 2009 – Hans-Jürgen Boysen signs a contract as FSV Frankfurt head coach for the remainder of the season after having stepped back as coach of nearby rivals Kickers Offenbach one day earlier.


2009–10 in German football, Diary of the season
10 October 2009 – The men's national football team qualifies for the 2010 FIFA World Cup after a 1–0 victory against Russia at Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow.


2009–10 in German football, Diary of the season
27 October 2009 – Heiko Herrlich replaces Frank Heinemann as manager of VfL Bochum who are in second to last in the Bundesliga.


2009–10 in German football, Diary of the season
30 October 2009 – MSV Duisburg and Peter Neururer mutually agree to end the 54-year-old's tenure as head coach of the team.


2009–10 in German football, Diary of the season
2 November 2009 – Milan Šašić assumes the vacant post as head coach of MSV Duisburg. Šašić had previously managed 1. FC Kaiserslautern and TuS Koblenz in the 2. Bundesliga.


2009–10 in German football, Diary of the season
10 November 2009 – Hannover 96 goalkeeper, Robert Enke commits suicide. Enke had been suffering from depression. As a mark of respect, the German national team cancels the friendly match against Chile scheduled for four days later.


2009–10 in German football, Diary of the season
6 December 2009 – VfB Stuttgart fires Markus Babbel who had been managing the club for just over a year. Swiss manager Christian Gross is hired to replace him.


2009–10 in German football, Diary of the season
13 December 2009 – The winter break in the Women's Bundesliga begins.


2009–10 in German football, Diary of the season
13 December 2009 – Facing relegation, TuS Koblenz relieves Uwe Rapolder of his duties as head coach. Rapolder had been at Koblenz since 2007.


2009–10 in German football, Diary of the season
20 December 2009 – The last matches before the winter break are played in the Bundesliga.


2009–10 in German football, Diary of the season
20 December 2009 – By mutual consent, Benno Möhlmann and SpVgg Greuther Fürth go their separate ways, ending Möhlmann's third spell as head coach in Fürth.


2009–10 in German football, Diary of the season
21 December 2009 – Having achieved only three wins and three draws in their first half season since returning to the Bundesliga 1. FC Nürnerg dismiss manager Michael Oenning, under whom they had earned promotion the previous season.


2009–10 in German football, Diary of the season
22 December 2009 – Former Hannover 96 manager, Dieter Hecking takes over the post vacated by Michael Oenning just a day earlier. 1. FC Nürnberg is Hecking's third managerial post in the Bundesliga.


2009–10 in German football, Diary of the season
27 December 2009 – Both TuS Koblenz and SpVgg Greuther Fürth hire new head coaches. Petrik Sander, who had led Energie Cottbus to promotion, takes over in Koblenz, while Greuther Fürth hires Mike Büskens who previously had served as interim coach of FC Schalke 04 twice.


2009–10 in German football, Diary of the season
1 January 2010 – The winter transfer window opens, allowing clubs to add new players to their squads.


2009–10 in German football, Diary of the season
15 January 2010 – The Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga resume after the winter break.


2009–10 in German football, Diary of the season
19 January 2010 – Hannover 96 sack manager Andreas Bergmann. Bergmann had assumed the post only five months earlier after the resignation of Dieter Hecking. Later the same day, Hannover announces that former FC Schalke manager, Mirko Slomka would replace Bergmann. Slomka had played for Hannover during his playing career, and had previously held positions as head coach of the youth team, and assistant coach for 96.


2009–10 in German football, Diary of the season
25 January 2010 – Defending German champions VfL Wolfsburg sack manager Armin Veh, after seven consecutive matches without a win. Reserve team manager Lorenz-Günther Köstner is appointed as interim coach.


2009–10 in German football, Diary of the season
1 February 2010 – With his team just one spot clear of the relegation zone, Jürgen Luginger resigns as manager of Rot-Weiß Oberhausen. Hans-Günter Bruns is appointed caretaker to replace him.


2009–10 in German football, Diary of the season
1 February 2010 – The winter transfer window closes. 44 players joined Bundesliga clubs, while 51 players left the top flight, and 12 players transferred from one bundesliga club to another. The 2. Bundesliga welcomed 42 new players, 37 players left the league, and four transferred internally.


2009–10 in German football, Diary of the season
22 February 2010 – After five straight games without a win and only three points clear of the relegation zone, F.C. Hansa Rostock sacks head coach Andreas Zachhuber. Zachhuber had been in charge of the club for just under a year. He is replaced by his assistant Thomas Finck.


2009–10 in German football, Diary of the season
11 March 2010 – With their chances of promotion diminishing, Arminia Bielefeld fires head coach Thomas Gerstner. Bielefeld had been Gerstner's first stint as head coach of a professional club. His asstants Frank Eulberg, and Jörg Böhme as well as Arminia sport director Detlev Dammeier take over the post in the interim.


2009–10 in German football, Diary of the season
16 March 2010 – Due to licensing irregularities the DFL deducts four points from Arminia Bielefeld.


2009–10 in German football, Diary of the season
26 April 2010 – Having won only one of their previous seven Bundesliga matches, Hamburger SV sack manager Bruno Labbadia, and places his assistant Ricardo Moniz in charge. Labbadia had assumed to post at the beginning of the season.


2009–10 in German football, Diary of the season
29 April 2010 – In 16th place and facing relegation, VfL Bochum sack manager Heiko Herrlich. The teams U-19 coach, Dariusz Wosz steps in as caretaker for the remainder of the season. Herrlich had replaced Marcel Koller earlier in the season.


2009–10 in German football, Diary of the season
8 May 2010 – The last Bundesliga matches are played. FC Bayern Munich win the championship, while VfL Bochum, and Hertha BSC are relegated.


2009–10 in German football, Diary of the season
8 May 2010 –  The last matches in the 3rd Liga are played. VfL Osnabrück, and FC Erzgebirge Aue are promoted to 2. Bundesliga. Borussia Dortmund II, Wuppertaler SV Borussia, and Holstein Kiel had already been guaranteed relegation since 27 April.


2009–10 in German football, Diary of the season
9 May 2010 – The 2. Bundesliga season concludes. 1. FC Kaiserslautern, and FC St. Pauli are promoted to the Bundesliga, while TuS Koblenz, and Rot Weiss Ahlen are relegated to the 3rd Liga.


2009–10 in German football, Men's national team
The home team is on the left column; the away team is on the right column.


2009–10 in German football, Men's national team, Friendly matches
Note: The opponent for this date was changed after Egypt could have been, and ultimately was involved in a decision match against Algeria for a spot in the 2010 FIFA World Cup at the same date.


2009–10 in German football, Men's national team, World Cup qualifiers
Germany qualified for the 2010 FIFA World Cup by finishing Group 4 of the UEFA qualification in first place.


2009–10 in German football, Women's national team
The home team is on the left column; the away team is on the right column.


2009–10 in German football, Women's national team, UEFA Women's Euro 2009
Germany qualified for the UEFA Women's Euro 2009 in Finland. The team was drawn into Group B and faced Norway, France and Iceland. After ending the group as first-placed team, Germany successively defeated Italy, Norway and England for their fifth straight and seventh overall UEFA Women's Championship.


2009–10 in Hong Kong football
The 2009-10 season in Hong Kong football, starting July 2009 and ending June 2010:


2009–10 in Hong Kong football, Representative team, Hong Kong Team, Asian Cup qualifiers
Hong Kong played in their Asian Cup 2011 qualifying campaign.


2009–10 in Hong Kong football, Representative team, Hong Kong Team, Guangdong-Hong Kong Cup
Hong Kong's 2–1 win to Guangdong in first leg, Julius Akosah scored two goals in his first game for Hong Kong. However, Guangdong scored two goals by Li Jian in second leg. Guangdong win the Guangdong-Hong Kong Cup. Hong Kong has been stopped to be crown-of-four.


2009–10 in Hong Kong football, Representative team, Hong Kong U-23, East Asian Games
2009 East Asian Games was held in Hong Kong form 2 December 2009 to 13 December 2009. The tournament was won by Hong Kong, who claimed their first international football tournament title. They defeated Japan 4–2 in a penalty shootout in the final, after extra time had finished in a 1–1 draw.


2009–10 in Hong Kong football, Representative team, Hong Kong U-23, Hong Kong-Macau Interport
Assistant referees:Ng Yik Kwun (Macau)Tang Yiu Fai (Macau)Fourth official:Wong Bing Kwun (Macau)


2009–10 in Hong Kong football, Asian clubs competitions, AFC Cup 2009, Eastern
Eastern have no game in 2009–10 season since eliminated in group stage.


2009–10 in Hong Kong football, Asian clubs competitions, AFC Cup 2009, South China
South China played AFC Cup 2009 from round of 16. The team eliminated in semi-final.


2009–10 in Italian football
The 2009–10 season was the 108th season of competitive football in Italy.


2009–10 in Libyan football
The 2009-10 season will be the 97th season of competitive football in Libya.


2009–10 in Scottish football
The 2009–10 season was the 113th season of competitive football in Scotland.


2009–10 in Spanish football
The 2009–10 season was the 106th season of competitive football in Spain.


2009–10 in Spanish football
The season began on 1 August 2009 for the Copa Federación, 22 August for Copa del Rey and 29 August 2009 for the La Liga. The season  finished on 16 May 2010 for La Liga, and 20 June 2010 for the other three Divisions.


2009–10 in Spanish football, National team
The home team is on the left column; the away team is on the right column.


2009–10 in Spanish football, National team, World Cup qualifiers
Spain was in Group 5 of the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification process.


2009–10 in Turkish football
The 2009–10 season was the 105th season of competitive football in Turkey.


2009–10 in Turkish football, Overview
Bursaspor became league champions for the first time in club history, as well as the second club outside of Istanbul to win the Süper Lig. Fenerbahçe were runners-up, while Galatasaray finished third. Diyarbakırspor, Denizlispor, and Ankaraspor were relegated. Ariza Makukula, on loan at Kayserispor from S.L. Benfica, finished top scorer with 21 goals. The season started with the Turkish Super Cup between Fenerbahçe (Turkish Cup runners-up) and Beşiktaş (Turkish Cup winners). Fenerbahçe won the match two to nil, with Alex scoring both goals.


2009–10 in Turkish football, Overview
Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray started out in pole position in the league by winning each of their first six matches. Beşiktaş did not fare as well as the other two Istanbul giants, winning one match, drawing three times, and losing twice. Eventual champions Bursaspor held seventh place six weeks into the season. The club found themselves in third place at the winter break, with Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray in first and second respectively. Kayserispor also held first place for a brief period of two weeks before the winter break started.


2009–10 in Turkish football, Overview
Fenerbahçe hit a wall after the winter break, falling to fourth place by the 25th week. This allowed Bursaspor to rise to the top of the table, a position they held for seven consecutive weeks from 8 March to 19 April. Fenerbahçe took back first place by the 31st week of the season. Entering the last match-day, the club sat a point above second placed Bursaspor. In order to win the league, Fenerbahçe had to either win outright against Trabzonspor, or draw while Bursaspor either draws or loses to Beşiktaş.


2009–10 in Turkish football, Overview
Bursaspor won 2–1, while Fenerbahçe drew 1–1, unable to recover from Burak Yılmaz's first half goal. Galatasaray finished third due to their positive head-to-head record against Beşiktaş. Bursaspor qualified for the group stage of the Champions League for the first time in club history. The club had previously competed in the 1974–75 and 1986–87 European Cup Winners' Cup, as well as the 1995 UEFA Intertoto Cup.


2009–10 in Turkish football, Overview
The 2009–10 Turkish Cup started on 2 September 2009, with group stage matches taking place during the winter break. Defending champions Beşiktaş were drawn into Group D alongside İstanbul B.B., Manisaspor, Kasımpaşa, and Konya Şekerspor. The club were unable to progress past the group stages after finishing fourth with three points. Meanwhile, Fenerbahçe, Bursaspor, Manisaspor, Denizlispor, Antalyaspor, Galatasaray, İstanbul B.B., and Trabzonspor progressed to the quarter-finals. Trabzonspor and Fenerbahçe met in the final at Şanlıurfa GAP Stadium on 5 May 2010. Trabzonspor won the final 3–1. The win marked Trabzonspor's eighth Turkish Cup trophy, tied for second most with Beşiktaş. It was also the ninth time Fenerbahçe lost in the final of the Turkish Cup. Arif Çoban of Tokatspor and Umut Bulut of Trabzonspor finished joint top scorers with seven goals each.


2009–10 in Turkish football, Overview
Ankaraspor were removed from the Süper Lig on 17 September 2009. The Turkish Football Federation released the following statement: "The Professional Football Disciplinary Committee (PFDK) decided to relegate Ankaraspor by one division over its relationship with Ankaragücü, ruling that it was contrary to sporting competitiveness." Ahmet Gökçek, son of Melih Gökçek, the mayor of Ankara and also honorary chairman of Ankaraspor, quit his post at Ankaraspor and was elected chairman of Ankaragücü soon after. He, along with Ankaraspor chairman Ruhi Kurnaz, were banned from the game for six months.


2009–10 in Turkish football, Overview
Karabükspor won the 1.Lig and Bucaspor finished second, earning successive promotions. In the 2.Lig, Güngören Belediyespor were crowned champions, with Akhisar Belediyespor and TKİ Tavşanlı Linyitspor also being promoted. Bandırmaspor won the 3.Lig, while Balıkesirspor finished second and Malatya Belediyespor won the promotion play-offs.


2009–10 in Turkish football, Overview
In continental competition, Beşiktaş and Sivasspor took part in the UEFA Champions League, while Fenerbahçe, Galatasaray, and Trabzonspor took part in the Europa League. Beşiktaş were drawn into Group B alongside Manchester United F.C., PFC CSKA Moscow, and VfL Wolfsburg. They finished last in the group with four points. Sivasspor were knocked out of the Champions League by R.S.C. Anderlecht in the second qualifying round, and were ousted out of the Europa League by reigning champions FC Shakhtar Donetsk in the first round.


2009–10 in Turkish football, Overview
Fenerbahçe made it to the group stages of the Europa League after defeating Budapest Honvéd FC and FC Sion. They were drawn into Group H alongside FC Twente, Sheriff Tiraspol, and Steaua București. The club finished first in the group, but lost to Lille OSC 2–3 on aggregate in the first knockout round. Galatasaray were drawn alongside Panathinaikos, Dinamo București, and Sturm Graz. They also finished first in their group, but were also eliminated in the first round, losing 2–3 on aggregate to eventual champions Atlético Madrid. Trabzonspor did not qualify for the group stages.


2009–10 in Turkish football, Overview
The Turkey national football team did not qualify for the 2010 FIFA World Cup after finishing third in their group. On 17 February 2010, it was announced that Guus Hiddink would replace Fatih Terim at the helm of the national team.


2009–10 in Uruguayan football, National teams, Senior team
This section covers Uruguay's senior team matches from 1 August 2009 until the end of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, on 11 July 2010.


2009–10 in Venezuelan football
This is the current revision of this page, as edited by BHGbot (talk | contribs) at 01:08, 20 June 2020 (WP:BHGbot 6 (List 5): eponymous category first, per MOS:CATORDER; fixed sort key; WP:GENFIXES). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this version.


2009–10 in Venezuelan football
The following article presents a summary of the 2009-10 football season in Venezuela.


2009–10 in Venezuelan football, Venezuela national team
This section will cover Venezuela's games from August 12, 2009 until June 2010.


2009–10 in Welsh football, Welsh Cup
Bangor City beat Port Talbot Town 3-2 at Parc y Scarlets.


2009–10 in Welsh football, Welsh League Cup
The New Saints beat Rhyl 3-1 in the final of the Welsh League Cup.


2009–10 in Welsh football, Welsh Premier League
In line with the restructuring of the league the bottom 8 teams were relegated:Haverfordwest County were relegated to the Welsh Football League Division One whilst Bala Town, Newtown, Connah's Quay, Porthmadog, Welshpool Town, Caersws and Cefn Druids were relegated to the Cymru Alliance.


2009–10 snooker season
The 2009–10 snooker season was a series of snooker tournaments played between 16 May 2009 and 8 May 2010. There were six ranking events, two less than in the previous season. The Bahrain Championship was not held again, and the Northern Ireland Trophy was removed from the calendar too. The Jiangsu Classic was held for the first time.


2009–10 snooker season, New professional players
Note: new means in these case, that these players were not on the 2008/2009 professional Main Tour.


2009–10 snooker season, Calendar
The following table outlines the results and dates for all the ranking and major invitational events.


2009–10 snooker season, Official rankings
The top 16 of the world rankings, these players automatically played in the final rounds of the world ranking events and were invited for the Masters.


2009–10 synchronized skating season
The 2009–10 synchronized skating season began on July 1, 2009, and ended on June 30, 2010. During this season, which was concurrent with the season for the other four disciplines (men's single, ladies' single, pair skating and ice dancing), elite synchronized skating teams competed on the International Skating Union (ISU) Championship level at the 2010 Senior World Championships and Junior World Challenge Cup. They also competed at various other international as well as national synchronized skating competitions.


2009–2010 ABL team rosters
This a list of Asean Basketball League team rosters for the inaugural season (2009-2010).


2009–2010 ABL team rosters
This list denotes the entire roster fielded in by ABL teams for the duration of the inaugural season. Flags denote the player's place of birth.


2009–2010 Israel Football League season
The 2009–2010 Israel Football League season was the third season of the Israel Football League (IFL). This season featured two expansion teams (Beersheva Black Swarm and Judean Rebels) and concluded with the Tel Aviv-Jaffa Sabres defeating the Jerusalem Lions, 26–22, in Israel Bowl III.


2009–2010 Israel Football League season, Regular season
The regular season began in October 2009 and consisted of a ten game schedule. The top six teams made the playoffs, with the top two seeds receiving a first round bye for the playoffs.


2009–2010 Israel Football League season, Playoffs
The Wild Card Round saw the Rebels defeat the Underdogs and the Lions defeat the Pioneers. In the Semifinals, the Sabres crushed the Rebels 70–30 while the Lions also picked up a huge win with their 50–6 upset of the Kings. Israel Bowl III took place on March 26, 2010 before a nationally televised audience, with the Sabres defeating the Lions 26–22 and Evan Reshef earning Israel Bowl MVP.


2009–2010 Israeli Final Four
The 2009–2010 Israeli Final Four, the fifth Israeli Final Four was held at Yad Eliyahu Arena, Tel Aviv, Israel on 25 and 27 May 2010 to determine the winner of the 2009–2010 Israeli League. The contestants were Maccabi Tel Aviv, the 2008–2009 Israeli League champion and the 2009–2010 Israeli State Cup winner, Hapoel Jerusalem, Gilboa/Galil and Elitzur Maccabi Netanya. Gilboa/Galil won their 2nd Israeli League crown, beating Maccabi Tel Aviv 90–77 in the final.


2009–2010 Israeli Final Four, Venue
The Yad Eliyahu Arena is an indoor sports arena in Tel Aviv, Israel. Opened in 1963 with its seating capacity varying from 5,000 to 11,700, it had hosted the 1971–1972 FIBA European Champions Cup final, the 1993–1994 FIBA European Championship Final Four, the 2003–04 Euroleague Final Four, and all previous Israeli Final Four.


2009–2010 Kaliningrad protests
The 2009–2010 Kaliningrad protests are social and political events in Kaliningrad, Russia in 2009–2010, a number of which were repeatedly discussed and commented on in the Russian and foreign media and were named as causing a significant public outcry. The protests included pickets and numerous rallies on October 24, 2009, December 12, 2009, and January 30, 2010, which became a systematic phenomenon.


2009–2010 Kaliningrad protests
The first protest rally against the increase in the transport tax within the framework of the All-Russian protest action was held on the square in front of the Mother Russia monument. It was organized by the Spravedlivost public organization, whose leader is Konstantin Doroshok. The rally lasted two hours, about 500 people were present, the action was supported by the Communist Party, the Left Front social movements, the Vanguard of the Red Youth, Solidarity, Our City, and the Patriots of Russia party. Despite protests, the Kaliningrad Regional Duma decided to raise the transport tax by an average of 25 percent.


2009–2010 Kaliningrad protests
The rally gathered an estimated 3000–5000 people. Near the monument to Mother Russia, representatives of parties and social movements made speeches. Following the meeting, a resolution of 11 points was adopted, including the resignation of the regional governor Georgy Boos and the regional Duma deputies from United Russia, on the transport tariff and technical regulations. At the end of the meeting, the central highway of the city, Leninsky Prospekt, was blocked for 40 minutes. The meeting adopted a resolution, sent to the authorities. The response to the demands of citizens was not received within the period established by law (30 days).


2009–2010 Kaliningrad protests
The next and final rally was held by around 5000 demonstrators, demanding democracy and democratic reforms, an end to the government, and a decrease in transportation fares. The police were present but didn't intervene in the uprising.


2009–2010 Kaliningrad protests
10,000–12,000 workers and peaceful demonstrators protested on 2 February, demanding the resignation of the government and better wages.


2009–2010 Kaliningrad protests
Anti -government protests led by 12,000 protesters began from 12 March and ended on 19 March, when the largest and final protest occurred.


2009–2010 Kurdistan Workers' Party ceasefire
The Kurdistan Workers' Party announced a ceasefire on the 13 April 2009, declaring they would only retaliate in self-defense. The ceasefire was encouraged by the electoral success of the Democratic Society Party (DTP) in the municipal elections of 2009. Then in May 2009, the president of the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) Murat Karayilan released a statement supportive of an eventual peace process. Later, the PKK prolonged the ceasefire on the 1 June until the 15 July 2009.


2009–2010 Kurdistan Workers' Party ceasefire
On the 15 July the DTP organized a manifestation in support of a peace process which was attended by tens of thousands of people in Diyarbakir, and the PKK again prolonged their ceasefire until the 1 September 2009. The Human Rights Association (IHD), Freedom and Solidarity Party and the Labour Party also supported a potential peace process.


2009–2010 Kurdistan Workers' Party ceasefire
This then made way for the Kurdish initiative (also called Kurdish Opening), which was announced on the 29 July 2009 by Interior Minister Beşir Atalay and became a very discussed topic on the Turkish political agenda. President Abdullah Gül and prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan both supported the process at the time, but their approach was different, while Gül met with the DTP leader leader to discuss the developments, Erdoğan refused to meet with representatives of the pro-Kurdish DTP. Atalay was assigned with the coordination of the initiative and began to organize meetings with the journalists and NGOs to discuss a solution for the Kurdish Turkish conflict.


2009–2010 Kurdistan Workers' Party ceasefire
In October 2009, more than 30 members of the PKK coming from the Makhmour refugee camp in Iraqi Kurdistan, crossed the Habur border crossing and turned themselves in to the Turkish authorities in support of the Kurdish opening by the Turkish government. The militants were questioned but released, which caused an uproar in the Turkish society.


2009–2010 Kurdistan Workers' Party ceasefire
On 13 November 2009, Beşir Atalay informed the Parliament about the initiative in more detail, and faced opposition by the CHP and its leader Deniz Baykal. Baykal mentioned the project would potentially bring division to the Turkish Republic. The Turkish Government wanted to achieve an amnesty for PKK members who repented according to article 221 of the Turkish Penal Code, for which it was in need of the support of the opposition parties CHP and MHP in addition to the one of the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP). But the project was met with opposition by the CHP and the MHP due to nationalist concerns.


2009–2010 Kurdistan Workers' Party ceasefire
On the 7 December 2009 an attack killing 7 Turkish soldiers in Resadiye, Tokat occurred, for which the PKK claimed responsibility.


2009–2010 Kurdistan Workers' Party ceasefire
On 11 December 2009, the Constitutional Court voted to close the DTP for being a center of activities against the unity of the state. The closure resulted in the banning of 37 DTP members from politics for five years, including two members of parliament. Between December 2009 and February 2010 dozens of Kurdish politicians in several districts were arrested.


2009–2010 Kurdistan Workers' Party ceasefire
By June 2010, the PKK announced the cease fire was over due to the continued persecution of the Kurdish population.


2009–2010 Massachusetts legislature
The 186th Massachusetts General Court, consisting of the Massachusetts Senate and the Massachusetts House of Representatives, met in 2009 and 2010 during the governorship of Deval Patrick. Therese Murray served as president of the Senate and Robert DeLeo served as speaker of the House.


2009–2010 Nigerien constitutional crisis
The 2009–2010 Nigerien constitutional crisis occurred in Niger due to a political conflict between President Mamadou Tandja and judicial and legislative bodies regarding the Constitutional referendum that opponents claimed was an attempt to extend his mandate beyond the constitutional maximum. It was held on 4 August 2009 before a parliamentary election which was mandated to take place by 26 August 2009. The crisis eventually led to a coup d'état by military leaders who overthrew President Tandja and formed a ruling junta.


2009–2010 Nigerien constitutional crisis
President Tandja dissolved the National Assembly of Niger on 26 May 2009 due to strong opposition from the National Assembly, civil society groups, and the courts regarding his referendum proposal. The Constitutional Court of Niger ruled on 12 June 2009 on a case brought by opposition deputies from the National Assembly that the proposed referendum was unconstitutional, and on 21 June 2009 the President announced he would not seek the 20 August vote. He left open the possibility he would propose future constitutional changes before the end of his mandate. On 26 June 2009 the President then dissolved the courts and announced he was assuming emergency powers.


2009–2010 Nigerien constitutional crisis
His ministers then announced the 4 August referendum would go forward, despite previous refusals of courts, political parties, and the independent electoral commission to carry out the election.


2009–2010 Nigerien constitutional crisis, Campaign for presidential term extension
The proposal for a referendum was first floated in May 2009. Beginning in late 2008, several supporters of President Tandja began a campaign to extend his term of office. Opposition from political opponents was swift, with dueling marches in Niamey in December 2008. Supporters of Tandja to the slogan of his 2004 re-election campaign, "Tazarché", which means "Continuation" or "Continuity" in Hausa: supporters were quickly dubbed "Tazarchistes" and opponents "Anti- Tazarchistes". Demonstrations were held throughout Niger, while political committees were created, headed by supporters of Tandja outside government.


2009–2010 Nigerien constitutional crisis, Campaign for presidential term extension
The Tazarche committee was headed by Niamey politicians Boubacar Mazou and Anassara Dogari, and Tahoua based businessman Aboubacar Dan Dubaï In January the Prime Minister asserted that all elections would go on as scheduled, including the Presidential election, which by law must take place before 22 December 2009, the five-year anniversary of Tandja's second five-year election as president. The 1999 constitution made the serving of more than two terms impossible (article 36), and the revision of that article illegal by any means (article 136). Prime Minister Seyni Oumarou reiterated on 22 January that all scheduled elections would go ahead before the end of 2009.


2009–2010 Nigerien constitutional crisis, Campaign for presidential term extension
In March, during his meetings with French President Sarkozy, Tandja explicitly stated that he would not seek a third term.


2009–2010 Nigerien constitutional crisis, Campaign for presidential term extension
Then, in early May 2009, when questioned by the press on his visit to Agadez to begin peace talks with Tuareg rebels, Tandja announced that "the people have demanded I remain." Thereafter it was announced he would seek a referendum to scrap the current constitution and create the Sixth Republic of Niger.


2009–2010 Nigerien constitutional crisis, Campaign for presidential term extension
A series of protests followed, led by opposition party PNDS-Tarayya, but crucially containing a number of parties which had previously supported the government. These included the CDS, a party which enabled the ruling MNDS to form a majority in the National Assembly. The CDS announcement of opposition—-the last of the major parties to weigh in on the plan—on also left the President open to National Assembly votes to sanction him, or bring down the current government. In May 2009, in response to their parties opposition to a proposed referendum to allow the President to seek a third term, the three members of RDP-Jama'a and ANDP-Zaman Lahiya were replaced with ministers drawn from the MNSD-Nassara. The CDS continued to support the government while opposing the referendum plan


2009–2010 Nigerien constitutional crisis, Campaign for presidential term extension
According to the 1999 Constitution of Niger, the President may call a referendum on any matter (except for a revision of those elements of the Constitution outlined in Article 136—including the presidential term limits). The Constitutional Court of Niger and the National Assembly of Niger must advise the president, but there is no provision that the president must heed their advice.


2009–2010 Nigerien constitutional crisis, Campaign for presidential term extension
On 25 May 2009, the Constitutional Court, made up of appointed judges, released a ruling that any referendum to create a new constitution would be unconstitutional, and further would be a violation of the oath the president had taken on the Koran (a serious matter in Niger, which is overwhelmingly Muslim). The week prior, two major parties had come out in their opposition to the referendum proposal as well. On 13 May, the ANDP-Zaman Lahiya, led by Moumouni Adamou Djermakoye, declared its opposition to any change in the constitution.


2009–2010 Nigerien constitutional crisis, Campaign for presidential term extension
On 15 May the CDS-Rahama, the party without which the MNSD could not have formed governments in 1999, 2004, and 2007, came out opposing the referendum, and calling the constitution unalterable. Neither party moved into the opposition, and both Ousmane and Djermokoye said they were willing to negotiate with the president.


2009–2010 Nigerien constitutional crisis, Campaign for presidential term extension
On 26 May, within hours of the Constitutional Court's statement, official media read out a statement that President Tandja had dissolved the National Assembly. Under the 1999 Constitution he is allowed to do this once every two years, but he must call parliamentary elections within three months.


2009–2010 Nigerien constitutional crisis, Referendum plan
The full details of the referendum proposal were not finalized, but elements of the proposed constitution were outlined by government spokesmen and by a commission set up by the president to draft a proposed document. Tandja would extend his term for a transitional mandate of three years, during which a new constitution would be written and approved. The system of government would be changed from a semi-presidential system to a full presidential system, which Tandja claims is more stable. There would be no limit to presidential terms, and a bi-cameral legislature would be created with an upper house, the Senate.


2009–2010 Nigerien constitutional crisis, Referendum plan
On 5 June, the President and the Council of Ministers of Niger approved plans for the referendum, titled Referendum on the Project of the VIth Republic. Campaigning would take place from 13 July 2009 to 2 August 2009. The President established a commission to create a draft constitutional law upon which the population would vote. The Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI) was ordered to oversee preparations for voting. Electors would be able to choose "yes" or "no" to the text "Do you approve of the Constitutional project submitted for your assent?"


2009–2010 Nigerien constitutional crisis, Protests
Large opposition rallies were held in May and June, attended by a broad coalition of political parties, civil society groups and trades unions. These included Former Prime Ministers Hama Amadou and Mahamadou Issoufou, former president and current President of the Assembly Mahamane Ousmane, and former President of the Assembly and party leader, Moumouni Adamou Djermakoye. Moumouni Djermakoye died of a heart attack during the second of these rallies, on 14 June. These were followed by a threatened general strike of all seven of the main Nigerien trades union bodies, the first time these groups had announced a joint strike action.


2009–2010 Nigerien constitutional crisis, Protests
On 31 May a pro-referendum rally at the Governor's residence in the southern town of Dosso was attacked by a mob, and rioting lasted for several hours in the city center. Opposition was also voiced by the governments of the United States, Canada, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), and the President of Niger's neighbour and regional power Nigeria. ECOWAS threatened economic sanctions should Niger change the constitution within six months of a national election, sent a commission led by the Nigerian President to consult with Niamey, and placed Niger on its upcoming meeting agenda, beside the coups in Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, and Mauritania.


2009–2010 Nigerien constitutional crisis, Protests
A 22 June announcement by the ECOWAS summit that member states would impose sanctions on Niger should the President attempt to revise the constitution before the next presidential election. Mahamane Toure, ECOWAS commissioner for political affairs, peace and security, was quoted by AFP saying that Tandja "has tried to keep himself in power by non-democratic means. For us, there is no legal alternative left for him."


2009–2010 Nigerien constitutional crisis, Legal block
On 12 June 2009, the Constitutional Court ruled against Tandja's referendum proposal, following a non-binding advisement to the President the month before. This time the ruling was in response to a case brought by a coalition of opposition groups, which included the CDS, a governing partner in the previous government, without which the MNSD could not gain a majority in the Assembly. In such cases, the Constitution specifies that rulings of the Constitutional Court are binding and may not be appealed. Thereafter, the Independent National Electoral Commission announced that National Assembly elections would take place on 20 August, and no referendum would be voted upon.


2009–2010 Nigerien constitutional crisis, Legal block
On 19 June President Tandja called Council of the Republic, a consultative body of all major government leaders. This was the first time this body was called. On 21 June President Tandja released a statement saying he would honor the Court and Electoral Commission rulings, and would suspend any effort to change the constitution until after the National Assembly elections on 20 August.


2009–2010 Nigerien constitutional crisis, Legal block
Despite the 21 June statement by the President, on the evening of 24 June, Minister of Communications Ben Omar released a statement by the President, demanding the Constitutional Court to rescind its decision, citing a 2002 statement by the same body that the President was able to call referenda. In apparent response, the Democratic and Social Convention (CDS) of former President Mahamane Ousmane announced its final break with the MNSD government, withdrawing from the government coalition and pulling its eight members from the Nigerien Council of Ministers.


2009–2010 Nigerien constitutional crisis, Legal block
In a statement, the CDS demanded the President definitively submit to the Court's decision. The party also announced the creation of its own opposition coalition, the MDD (Mouvement pour le défense de le démocratie) along with around five smaller parties such as the UDR and the PDP. This group appears in direct competition with the larger opposition front, the FDD (Front de défense de la démocratie), which is led by the PNDS and staged the two recent anti-referendum marches in Niamey.


2009–2010 Nigerien constitutional crisis, Legal block
On the same day, the Democratic Confederation of Workers of Niger (CDTN) trade union confederation led a 24-hour general strike across the nation to protest the President's referendum plans, after a previous strike had been indefinitely postponed on 18 June. All seven trade union confederations took part, in the first general strike since the creation of the Fifth Republic in 1999. The organizers provided skeleton staffs of union workers for hospitals, water and electric utilities, and airports.


2009–2010 Nigerien constitutional crisis, Presidential emergency powers
In a televised and radio speech to the nation on the following evening (26 June, after Friday prayers), President Tandja announced he was dissolving the government and would rule by decree. On 27 June, the leader of the main opposition party, Mahamadou Issoufou, denounced what he called a coup, and called on Nigeriens to resist by all legal means, citing Article 13 of the 1999 Constitution which mandates officials to ignore "manifestly illegal orders". The military, which had previously declared itself neutral, began patrolling the streets of the capital after 18:00 hours beginning on 23 June, prior to the President's declaration of emergency powers.


2009–2010 Nigerien constitutional crisis, Presidential emergency powers
The Chairman of the 66 member decentralized organization which operates and certifies all elections, the National Independent Election Commission (CENI), Moumouni Hamidou, stated following the 18 June Court decision that they would not hold the 4 August referendum and were preparing almost 7 million voting cards for the 20 August legislative election.


2009–2010 Nigerien constitutional crisis, Presidential emergency powers
Despite this, Minister of the Interior Albade Abouba announced on 28 June, following President Tandja's assumption of emergency powers, that both the 4 August referendum and the 20 August election would go ahead.


2009–2010 Nigerien constitutional crisis, Presidential emergency powers
On 29 June, Tandja again appeared on state media defending the state of emergency. Six of the seven CDS-Rahama members of the Council of Ministers officially stepped down, following their party's 25 June 2009 break with the President. Those leaving held relatively minor posts. CDS Minister of Defense Djida Hamadou chose to remain in government.


2009–2010 Nigerien constitutional crisis, Presidential emergency powers
Later the same day the government announced it had dissolved the Constitutional Court, "nullifing" the naming of its members and "suspending" articles 103, 104, and 105 of the Constitution which deal with the court. Shortly thereafter the High Council for Communication announced that opposition broadcaster Dounia Radio Television was suspended for "the broadcast of calls for insurrection against security forces", presumably for airing Mahamadou Issoufou's statements the day prior.


2009–2010 Nigerien constitutional crisis, Presidential emergency powers
On 3 July 2009, Tandja appointed a new constitutional court – a decision which was strongly criticised by civil society groups, unions, political parties and others. Lawyers declared a strike on 13 July 2009.


2009–2010 Nigerien constitutional crisis, 4 August 2009 referendum
The contested referendum was held on 4 August despite major criticism from international groups, and was overwhelmingly approved in part because of opposition boycotts. A regional director at the International Foundation for Electoral Systems said that this might put a halt in democratic development in the country and possibly force the opposition to encourage protests.


2009–2010 Nigerien constitutional crisis, Post referendum, Crisis talks
The political crisis in Niger appeared deadlocked since the disputed referendum and election. General Abdulsalami Abubakar of Nigeria, a mediator appointed by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), had been negotiating a power-sharing arrangement.


2009–2010 Nigerien constitutional crisis, Post referendum, Coup d'état
On 18 February 2010 President Mamadou Tandja was captured by soldiers while chairing a cabinet meeting. The Junta established a cabinet and promised to run the government during a short transition period before new elections.


2009–2010 Tamil Eelam independence referendums
During 2009-2010 a number of referendums were held in Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora communities to ascertain support for an independent Tamil Eelam, as reported by Tamil nationalist TamilNet the website also claims that the Sri Lankan government and its supporters to prevent them. To date referendums have been held in ten countries (Norway, France, Canada, Switzerland, Germany, Netherlands, United Kingdom, Denmark, Italy and Australia). Referendums are expected be held in other countries with significant Tamil diaspora population.


2009–2010 Tamil Eelam independence referendums, Details
The referendums, although organised by Tamil groups, have been conducted by independent organisations with independent observers. Voters have been asked their opinion on the following statement:


2009–2010 Tamil Eelam independence referendums, Details
"I aspire for the formation of the independent and sovereign state of Tamil Eelam in the north and east territory of the island of Sri Lanka on the basis that the Tamils in the island of Sri Lanka make a distinct nation, have a traditional homeland and have the right to self-determination."


2009–2010 Tamil Eelam independence referendums, Details, Norway
Voting took place on 10 May 2009 at 14 locations throughout Norway. The referendum was organised by the Utrop newspaper but conducted by independent Norwegian professionals. 99.11% voted for an independent Tamil Eelam.


2009–2010 Tamil Eelam independence referendums, Details, France
Voting took place on 12 and 15 December 2009 at 35 locations throughout France. The referendum was organised by The House of Tamil Eelam but conducted by French election officers coming from local government councils. 99.86% voted for an independent Tamil Eelam.


2009–2010 Tamil Eelam independence referendums, Details, Canada
Voting took place on 19 December 2009 at 31 locations throughout Canada. The referendum was organised by the Coalition for Tamil Elections Canada but conducted by Election Systems & Software. 99.82% voted for an independent Tamil Eelam. The low turnout was blamed on the need for all voters to register.


2009–2010 Tamil Eelam independence referendums, Details, Switzerland
Voting took place on 23 and 24 January 2010 at 50 locations throughout Switzerland. The referendum was organised by a Swiss Tamil diaspora organisation but conducted by independent journalists and politicians. 99.80% voted for an independent Tamil Eelam.


2009–2010 Tamil Eelam independence referendums, Details, Germany
Voting took place on 24 January 2010 at 110 locations throughout Germany. The referendum was organised by the International Human Rights Association of Bremen but conducted by independent teachers, NGO workers and politicians. 99.41% voted for an independent Tamil Eelam.


2009–2010 Tamil Eelam independence referendums, Details, Netherlands
Voting took place on 24 January 2010 at 15 locations throughout the Netherlands. The referendum was organised by a Dutch Tamil diaspora organisation but conducted by independent election officials. 99.67% voted for an independent Tamil Eelam.


2009–2010 Tamil Eelam independence referendums, Details, United Kingdom
Voting took place on 30 and 31 January 2010 at 65 locations throughout the UK. The referendum was organised by the Tamil National Council but officiated by independent observers, including councillors and Members of Parliament. 99.71 % voted for an independent Tamil Eelam.


2009–2010 Tamil Eelam independence referendums, Details, Denmark
Voting took place on 28 February 2010 at 33 locations throughout Denmark. The referendum was organised by the Denmark Tamils Forum but conducted by TNS Gallup. 99.49% voted for an independent Tamil Eelam.


2009–2010 Tamil Eelam independence referendums, Details, Italy
Voting took place on 21 March 2010 at 16 locations throughout Italy. The referendum was organised by independent election commission of Eelham Tamils but conducted by the Co-ordination of Non-governmental Organisations for International Development Co-operation, an Italian federation of NGOs. 98.79% voted for an independent Tamil Eelam.


2009–2010 Tamil Eelam independence referendums, Details, Australia
Voting took place on 17 and 18 April 2010 at 9 locations throughout Australia. The referendum was organised by the Tamil Referendum Council Australia but officiated by CPI Strategic, an independent body. 99.38% voted for an independent Tamil Eelam. Approximately 10,000 of the 15,000 eligible voters registered to vote.


2009–2010 Vale Inco strike
2009–2010 Vale Inco strike was a labour dispute in Port Colborne, Ontario and Sudbury, Ontario which lasted from July 13, 2009 to July 8, 2010. Striking workers were part of United Steel Workers Local 6500. It was the longest strike in Canadian history, surpassing the 1978 Inco strike.


2009–2010 West African meningitis outbreak
The 2009–2010 West African meningitis outbreak was an epidemic of bacterial meningitis which occurred in Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, and Nigeria since January 2009, an annual risk in the African meningitis belt. A total of 13,516 people have been infected with meningitis, and 931 have died. Nigeria has been the most adversely affected, with over half of the total cases and deaths occurring in the nation. The WHO reported on 27 March 2009 that 1,100 had died and there were 25,000 suspected cases. It is the worst outbreak in the region since 1996, and a third of the world's emergency vaccine stockpile for the bacterial form has been consumed. The GAVI Alliance has been trying to secure more vaccines.


2009–2010 West African meningitis outbreak, Background
West Africa is regularly struck by an annual meningitis epidemic, usually affecting between 25,000 and 200,000 inhabitants. However, this epidemic has been the deadliest outbreak since 1996. That year meningitis infected over 100,000 people and killed 10,000 during a three-month period.


2009–2010 West African meningitis outbreak, Background
According to Doctors Without Borders, up to 400 vaccination teams of five people each immunized thousands of people every day in the region for a few weeks. In total, 2.8 million people were vaccinated in Zinder, Maradi, and Dosso regions in Niger, and 4.5 million people in Katsina, Jigawa, Bauchi, Kebbi, Sokoto, Niger, Zamfara, Kaduna, and Gombe States in Nigeria. Vaccination campaigns continued at some sites in Nigeria for a total of 255,000 people.


2009–2010 West African meningitis outbreak, Countries affected, Burkina Faso
The outbreak has affected four departments in Burkina Faso: Batié Department, Manni Department, Solenzo Department, and Toma Department. About 15% of those infected have died from meningitis. In addition, a small measles outbreak occurred at the same time as the meningitis epidemic.


2009–2010 West African meningitis outbreak, Countries affected, Mali
In Mali, 54 people were infected with meningitis, six of whom died. At the time of the outbreak, several organizations were conducting clinical meningitis vaccine trials.


2009–2010 West African meningitis outbreak, Countries affected, Niger
The outbreak first began in late January with several cases reported in Zinder Region, in southern Niger. Compared to the meningitis epidemic in 2008, more cases have been reported, but with a lower fatality rate. Five districts in Niger have been seriously affected by the outbreak, and eight others are "on alert," according to the World Health Organization. A 1 May report from the remote towns of northern Niger described an increasing number of cases blamed on migrant workers from Nigeria and Ghana who travel through the region hoping to gain access to Algeria and Libya, and from there Europe. The Agadez Region directorate of public health report reported 189 cases with 16 death is the Region, 99 cases with 4 deaths in Agadez alone. In the even more remote areas further east, officials in Bilma and Dirkou reported 36 cases but with 10 of them resulting in death.


2009–2010 West African meningitis outbreak, Countries affected, Nigeria
Nigeria was struck especially hard, with 562 deaths in 9,086 cases. 333 deaths occurred in the country over a three-month period in twenty-two out of thirty-six states. 217 Local Government Areas also reported cases. Several states mounted large meningitis vaccination and information campaigns after the outbreak. Babatunde Osotimehin, the Nigerian Minister of Health said that his nation was prepared for the expected epidemic: "On 3rd September 2008, we alerted all the States in the meningitis belt to intensify surveillance, preposition drugs and laboratory materials and sensitise the public on preventive measures. Indeed, right from August 2008, the Ministry had prepositioned all the states in the meningitis belt with oily chloramphenicol as well as laboratory reagents and materials for confirmation of cases."


2009–2010 Winter Dew Tour
The 2009–2010 Winter Dew Tour was the second year for the event.


2009–2010 Winter Dew Tour, Stop 1: Breckenridge Ski Resort
The first stop took place at Breckenridge Ski Resort in Breckenridge, Colorado between December 18 and 20, 2009.


2009–2010 Winter Dew Tour, Stop 2: Snowbasin Resort
The second stop on the tour took place at Snowbasin Resort in Huntsville, Utah between January 15 and 17, 2010.


2009–2010 Winter Dew Tour, Stop 3: Mount Snow Resort
West Dover, Vermont's Mount Snow shifted to the third stop from last year's second and took place between February 5 and 7, 2010.


2009–2010 Winter Dew Tour, Results
The AST Winter Dew Tour ended with the Toyota Championship at Northstar-at-Tahoe event. Here are the final results from the 2008/2009 tour.


2009–2011 Catalan independence referendums
The 2009–2011 Catalan independence referendums, a series of non-binding and unofficial referendums, "popular votes" (consultes populars), took place in municipalities around Catalonia. In them voters indicated whether they supported Catalan independence from Spain. The first such referendum took place in Arenys de Munt on 13 September 2009: there followed votes in Sant Jaume de Frontanyà on 12 December and in 166 other municipalities on 13 December. Another vote ensued in April 2011 in Barcelona.


2009–2011 Catalan independence referendums
Provisional figures for the 13 December vote suggest a turnout of around 200,000 (30% of those eligible to vote).


2009–2011 Catalan independence referendums, Context
The referendum in Arenys de Munt was called by the municipality following a motion in the town council by councillors from the Popular Unity Candidates (CUP). It came a time of growing frustration in "catalanist" circles at the delays in implementing the Statute of Autonomy of 2006. In particular, more than one-third of the provisions of the Statute had been appealed to the Constitutional Court of Spain by the People's Party, the largest opposition party in the Cortes Generales (Spanish parliament). More than three years later, the Constitutional Court had still not decided the case, with the ten judges in an unprecedented and increasingly politicised deadlock.


2009–2011 Catalan independence referendums, Context
The relative success of the vote in Arenys de Munt, with a turnout of 41% and despite the efforts of the Spanish government to prevent the referendum, led to similar movements appearing in other Catalan municipalities.


2009–2011 Catalan independence referendums, Context
Given the difficulties of organising a vote without official support, the consultations were not all programmed for the same day: it had been hoped to organise votes in October 2009, but the date of 13 December was chosen for the next round of voting in 167 municipalities (Sant Jaume de Frontanyà, the smallest municipality in Catalonia with just 21 voters, decided to advance the poll by one day).


2009–2011 Catalan independence referendums, Legal Background in Spanish Constitutional Law
The Spanish Constitution of 1978 allows for consultative referendums on "political decisions of special importance" (Art. 92): however, the holding of such a referendum requires the approval of both the government and the Congress of Deputies (the lower house of the Cortes Generales).


2009–2011 Catalan independence referendums, Legal Background in Spanish Constitutional Law
Art. 2 of the 1978 Constitution also refers to "the indissoluble unity of the Spanish Nation, the common and indivisible homeland of all Spaniards," which would appear to imply that the de jure independence of any of the autonomous communities would have to come about, in the first instance, through a constitutional amendment to Article 2 itself.


2009–2011 Catalan independence referendums, Legal Background in Spanish Constitutional Law
Such an amendment process would, if undertaken, take place under the onerous provisions of Art. 168, requiring:


2009–2011 Catalan independence referendums, Phases
The consultations on the independence of the Catalan nation took place in several stages:


2009–2011 Catalan independence referendums, Beginning
A local referendum, in the town of Arenys de Munt, was the first vote ever held on the question of Catalan independence, and led to a series of parallel non-binding referendums on the independence question in late 2009 and early 2010. The process began on 4 June 2009, when the municipal council in Arenys de Munt voted in favour of a motion presented by Popular Unity Candidates (CUP), calling for a non-binding referendum on independence for Catalonia.


2009–2011 Catalan independence referendums, Beginning
The council sought to make locations available at which voters could cast ballots, and to facilitate the organization of the vote, but a court ruling overruled the Council's decision and the Council had to abandon its efforts to facilitate the referendum. The referendum organizing committee then rented the "Centre Moral" (a sort of social club, a private entity) of the village in order to be able to conduct the vote. The Council continued to support to the initiative in principle, even though it complied with the court ruling. The mayor of Arenys de Munt, Carles Móra, was particularly vocal in his support.


2009–2011 Catalan independence referendums, Beginning, Referendum of September 13 (Arenys de Munt)
Residents of the town of Arenys de Munt were asked the following question: Està d'acord que Catalunya esdevingui un Estat de dret, independent, democràtic i social, integrat a la Unió Europea? (Do you agree on Catalonia becoming an independent, democratic and social constitutional state, integrated in the European Union?). Despite the unofficial nature of the referendum, the relatively high participation rate (41%), which was higher than the one reached in the last European election and in the Spanish constitutional referendum of 1978, gave credibility to the exercise. The "Yes" side won a commanding 96.2% of valid votes, while the "No" obtained 2.3%.


2009–2011 Catalan independence referendums, Beginning, Reactions to the Arenys de Munt referendum
The Arenys de Munt referendum has been a historical precedent and many political parties, organizations and platforms showed their agreement.


2009–2011 Catalan independence referendums, Beginning, Reactions to the Arenys de Munt referendum
The same night of the query, there were councils all over Catalonia who were interested to follow the lead of Arenys de Munt such as Argentona or Seròs.


2009–2011 Catalan independence referendums, Beginning, Reactions to the Arenys de Munt referendum
In general, the initiative was criticized by the Spanish government, both Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) and PP, and following the vote was open conflict between the two parties, as the PP accused the PSOE of having allowed an illegal query.


2009–2011 Catalan independence referendums, Beginning, Reactions to the Arenys de Munt referendum
Internationally, the echo was also quite important: three hundred journalists were accredited to monitor the day, and several television stations were in Arenys de Munt to monitor the event.


2009–2011 Catalan independence referendums, Beginning, Referendums following the vote in Arenys de Munt
During the same night of the Arenys de Munt query, many municipalities in Catalonia showed up in favor of queries like the one that had organized the town of the Maresme. The following days, several consistories began to approve motions of support for queries on the independence promoted by entities of neighbors of the towns. Many separatist organizations supported the queries, until the Coordinator for the Consultation on Independence appeared, which will organize altogether. Thus began to emerge queries in the whole Catalan range that will be held in phases.


2009–2011 Catalan independence referendums, Query of 13-D, Course of the day
On 12 December, a day before the rest, Sant Jaume de Frontanyà, one of the less populous municipalities in Catalonia with only 21 voters, began the round of queries on independence.


2009–2011 Catalan independence referendums, Barcelona poll, April 2011
The April 10, 2011 poll in Barcelona had a 21% turnout with 9 out of 10 of those showing up to the unofficial poll favoring independence.


2009–2011 Catalan independence referendums, Institutional support
The queries on the independence of Catalonia have been carried out by civil society and the implications of public institutions for their organizations are persecuted by the Spanish State. But several city councils and comarcal councils have approved motions in favor of this referendum to be called a civil organization, supporting them in this way without violating the laws.


2009–2011 Catalan independence referendums, Institutional support, Comarcal councils
Five comarcal councils have spoken in favor and one against, covering a population of 630,000 and 10,000 respectively.


2009–2011 International Challenge Trophy
The 2009–11 International Challenge Trophy was the third edition of the International Challenge Trophy. Originally, 12 teams were expected to enter the competition. Hungary, however, withdrew before any draw was made. The draw for the competition took place on 28 August 2009 in Dublin. Teams were placed into three groups, two of four teams and one of three. The three group winners and the best runner up then qualified for the semi-finals. Portugal eventually emerged as the winners after defeating England C in the final.


2009–2011 International Challenge Trophy, Final
England C: Preston Edwards; Lee Vaughan, Connor Franklin (Matty Blair 65), Rob Atkinson, Max Porter, Michael Wilde (Josh Coulson 73), Andy Mangan, Danny Rose (Jack Byrne 81), George Donnelly, Josh Simpson (Reece Styche 71), Sean Clancy


2009–2011 International Challenge Trophy, Final
Portugal U-23  : Hugo Ventura; João Gonçalves, Daniel Carriço, Yohan Tavares, Tiago Pinto (André Marques 84); Nuno Coelho, Yannick Djaló (Rui Sampaio 90), André Castro (Yazalde Pinto 75), Carlos Saleiro (Vítor Gomes 75); André Santos, Pizzi (Daniel Candeias, 84)


2009–2011 News of the World phone hacking scandal investigations
The News of the World phone hacking scandal investigations followed the revelations in 2005 of voicemail interception on behalf of News of the World. Despite wider evidence of wrongdoing, the News of the World royal phone hacking scandal appeared resolved with the 2007 conviction of the News of the World royal editor Clive Goodman and the private investigator Glenn Mulcaire, and the resignation of editor Andy Coulson.


2009–2011 News of the World phone hacking scandal investigations
However, a series of civil legal cases and investigations by newspapers, parliament and the police ultimately saw evidence of "industrial scale" phone hacking, leading to the closure of the News of the World on 10 July 2011. However, the affair did not end there, developing into the News Corporation ethics scandal as wrongdoing beyond the News of the World (including the United States) and beyond phone hacking (including paying police for information) came to light.


2009–2011 News of the World phone hacking scandal investigations, Civil legal cases
The News of the World royal phone hacking scandal had raised evidence of victims being targeted outside the Royal Family, but this evidence did not lead to criminal proceedings. In lieu of criminal proceedings, several public figures commenced litigation against the News of the World's owner News International and against the private investigator Glenn Mulcaire. Those who began legal action included the football agent Sky Andrew, actress Sienna Miller, actor Steve Coogan, television presenter Chris Tarrant and football pundit Andy Gray. In December 2009, footballer Sol Campbell instructed his solicitor to contact the police in response to various media reports.


2009–2011 News of the World phone hacking scandal investigations, Civil legal cases
The Max Clifford case, which in early 2010 had appeared to make likely the disclosure of previously secret News of the World documents, was settled out of court in March 2010, keeping the documents secret. The next month, reports of further legal action against the News of the World emerged. Those considering litigation against the paper included a football agent and ten MPs. The legal action re-opened the possibility of details emerging that the settlement with Clifford had kept secret.


2009–2011 News of the World phone hacking scandal investigations, Civil legal cases, Max Clifford case, 2010
In March 2010 the News of the World settled out-of-court a case brought against it by publicist Max Clifford for intercepting his voicemail. After a lunch with Rebekah Brooks, the paper agreed to pay Clifford's legal fees and an undisclosed "personal payment" not described as damages, with the sum exceeding £1 million. The money was paid in exchange for Clifford giving the News of the World exclusive stories over the next several years.


2009–2011 News of the World phone hacking scandal investigations, Civil legal cases, Max Clifford case, 2010
The case had been expected to reveal the details of previous settlements the paper had made, including the £1 million spent in 2009, settling with three phone hacking victims, and the unfair dismissal claim won by Clive Goodman. Clifford had won court rulings in February earlier that year that meant that the News of the World would have had to disclose previously secret information regarding which journalists were involved in hacking voicemail messages. A judge ruled that Glenn Mulcaire had to disclose the names of all the journalists who targeted Clifford and also those who received transcripts of the messages. With the eventual settlement, however, the information was not made public.


2009–2011 News of the World phone hacking scandal investigations, Civil legal cases, HM Advocate v Sheridan and Sheridan
A report aired on Channel 4's Dispatches in October included remarks made by an unnamed source said to have been a former senior journalist at the News of the World who had worked alongside Coulson. The source alleged that Coulson had personally listened to messages obtained through phone hacking.


2009–2011 News of the World phone hacking scandal investigations, Civil legal cases, HM Advocate v Sheridan and Sheridan
In December 2010, Coulson – while under oath as a witness in HM Advocate v Sheridan and Sheridan – denied any knowledge of phone hacking at the News of the World or that he knew the private investigator Glenn Mulcaire. The following day, the Crown Prosecution Service said that it had determined that there was insufficient evidence to charge Coulson over allegations that he was aware of phone hacking at the publication. The CPS said that witnesses interviewed by the Metropolitan Police – including those who had previously made allegations through media outlets – had not been willing to provide admissible evidence.


2009–2011 News of the World phone hacking scandal investigations, Civil legal cases, Sienna Miller case
New allegations about the conduct of News of the World executives emerged in December 2010. Papers lodged in the High Court by lawyers acting for Sienna Miller claimed to have uncovered evidence of the involvement of Ian Edmondson, a senior editor at the paper, in work undertaken by Mulcaire.


2009–2011 News of the World phone hacking scandal investigations, Newspaper investigations, The Guardian, 2009
Beginning on 8 July 2009, The Guardian made a series of allegations that the phone hacking activities at the News of the World went far beyond the activities for which the News of the World royal editor Clive Goodman was jailed in 2007, those activities being limited to members of the royal household.


2009–2011 News of the World phone hacking scandal investigations, Newspaper investigations, The Guardian, 2009
The paper alleged that hacking victims included public figures such as former deputy prime minister John Prescott, Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson, Tessa Jowell when she was Olympics Secretary, Boris Johnson when he was the opposition's spokesman on higher education, publicist Max Clifford and even Rebekah Brooks, then editor of the News of the World's sister paper The Sun.


2009–2011 News of the World phone hacking scandal investigations, Newspaper investigations, The Guardian, 2009
In addition to this The Guardian reported that News Group - the News of the World's parent company - paid out more than £1m to settle legal cases that threatened to reveal evidence of News of the World journalists using criminal methods (accessing mobile phone voicemails of various public figures) to obtain stories. The article further reported sources as stating that News Group staff used private investigators to access several thousand mobile phone accounts.


2009–2011 News of the World phone hacking scandal investigations, Newspaper investigations, The Guardian, 2009
The News of the World denied The Guardian's claims, and its parent company, News Corporation, implored its competitor newspaper to share any evidence it had with police.


2009–2011 News of the World phone hacking scandal investigations, Newspaper investigations, The Guardian, 2009
Prescott in particular was outraged at the fact that the police did not inform him of the phone tapping, but Assistant Commissioner John Yates stated that there was no actual evidence that Prescott's phone had been tapped.


2009–2011 News of the World phone hacking scandal investigations, Newspaper investigations, The Guardian, 2009
Contrary to claims made by News of the World in 2007, The Guardian in July 2009 claimed that phone hacking activities were known to a range of staff at the tabloid including its then editor Andy Coulson. At the time The Guardian made these claims, Coulson had left News International and was director of Conservative Party communications and planning. Due to this, some claimed that the reporting was politically motivated. The Conservative Party was quick to stand by Coulson.


2009–2011 News of the World phone hacking scandal investigations, Newspaper investigations, The Guardian, 2009
The Guardian also reported that the News of the World had made payments in excess of £1 million to three people subject to phone hacking, including Professional Footballers' Association chairman Gordon Taylor, with the out-of-court settlements subject to secrecy clauses.


2009–2011 News of the World phone hacking scandal investigations, Newspaper investigations, The Guardian, 2009
Around the same time, Private Eye revealed that The Guardian had, in order to avoid "all out war" with the News of the World, chosen not to tell the same Culture, Media and Sport Committee that the £700,000 payment to Taylor was signed off in June 2008, by the directors of News Group Newspapers, the News International subsidiary owning the News of the World - thus showing awareness of the matter at the highest levels. The reports led the Press Complaints Commission to reopen its inquiry into the matter (finding that it had not been "materially misled", leading The Guardian's editor Alan Rusbridger to resign from the PCC) and the Culture, Media and Sport Committee to reopen its inquiry.


2009–2011 News of the World phone hacking scandal investigations, Newspaper investigations, The Guardian, 2010
In January 2010, The Guardian revealed the out of court payment to Goodman on grounds of settling an unfair dismissal case, and the later subsequent payment to Mulcaire. This started a new series of both newspaper stories, and subsequent further written questions from the Commons Select Committee on Culture, Media and Sport, to both News International and its executives. In February 2010, The Guardian reported that three mobile phone companies had discovered that the voicemails of over a hundred of their customers had been hacked.


2009–2011 News of the World phone hacking scandal investigations, Newspaper investigations, The Guardian, 2010
The companies identified the customers in 2007, after Scotland Yard disclosed numbers that had been accessed by Goodman and Mulcaire. A freedom of information request by The Guardian found that the police had recovered 91 PIN codes for accessing other people's voicemails in material seized from Mulcaire and Goodman. In April 2010, it was revealed from Crown Prosecution Service documents that although police had named only eight individuals in court, the Scotland Yard inquiry had actually uncovered over 4,000 names or partial names and nearly 3,000 full or partial telephone numbers from the materials seized from Mulcaire and Goodman.


2009–2011 News of the World phone hacking scandal investigations, Newspaper investigations, The Guardian, 2010
In February 2010 The Guardian revealed that under Coulson the News of the World had rehired a private investigator shortly after his release from a seven-year prison sentence for blackmail. The News of the World had used the investigator prior to his imprisonment, at a time when Coulson was deputy editor. In February 2010, The Guardian could not name Jonathan Rees as he was involved in a new criminal trial.


2009–2011 News of the World phone hacking scandal investigations, Newspaper investigations, The Guardian, 2010
In September 2010 The Guardian revealed that in 2009 plans by the Home Office to ask Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary to review the police investigation into the phone hacking scandal were cancelled "after intense internal lobbying", with a senior Home Office official warning that the Metropolitan Police would "deeply resent" an inquiry.


2009–2011 News of the World phone hacking scandal investigations, Newspaper investigations, The Guardian, 2010
Several days later the paper revealed comments by former News of the World journalist Paul McMullan on how widespread phone hacking had been under Andy Coulson; McMullan was one of six former News of the World journalists "who have independently told the Guardian that Coulson ... knew that his reporters were engaging in unlawful acts. ".


2009–2011 News of the World phone hacking scandal investigations, Newspaper investigations, The New York Times
In September 2010, The New York Times published the results of an investigation it had begun in March which revealed further details about the extent of the News of the World's phone hacking, and about editor Andy Coulson's alleged knowledge of it. The investigation also revealed that a journalist at the News of the World had been attempting to hack into the voicemail messages of a "television personality" in 2010. The journalist was suspended from reporting and faced legal action by the personality.


2009–2011 News of the World phone hacking scandal investigations, Newspaper investigations, The New York Times
The Times piece cited Sean Hoare, a former colleague, as saying that Coulson had "actively encouraged" phone hacking. Coulson denied the claims and indicated that he would allow himself to be questioned by the Metropolitan Police Service regarding the phone hacking affair.


2009–2011 News of the World phone hacking scandal investigations, Press Complaints Commission investigations
The Guardian's 2009 investigation led the Press Complaints Commission to reopen its inquiry into the matter (finding that it had not been "materially misled", leading The Guardian's editor Alan Rusbridger to resign from the PCC) and the Culture, Media and Sport Committee to reopen its inquiry.


2009–2011 News of the World phone hacking scandal investigations, Police investigations, 2009 review of original investigation
In light of the new allegations in The Guardian in July 2009, the Metropolitan Police Service commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson asked his assistant commissioner John Yates to review the original 2006 investigation for new evidence. In one 8-hour meeting, Yates reviewed the investigation and decided not to take any further action. In a public statement later, and in a July 2009, appearance at the Home Affairs Select Committee, he said of the initial investigation that he "found it to be satisfactory."


2009–2011 News of the World phone hacking scandal investigations, Police investigations, 2009 review of original investigation
In a direct response to John Prescott, who had been particular outraged at the fact that police did not inform him of his phone being hacked, Yates specifically stated that there was no material evidence that Prescott's phone had been hacked. Yates then passed his findings back to the Chief Constable, and in agreement with lawyers and the head of the Crown Prosecution Service Keir Starmer, agreed that no further action need be taken, and the case not re-opened. The Metropolitan Police hence declined to re-open their hacking inquiry in response to the claims in The Guardian stating that "no additional evidence has come to light" and it "therefore consider[ed] that no further investigation is required".


2009–2011 News of the World phone hacking scandal investigations, Police investigations, 2010
The original Metropolitan Police investigation attracted renewed attention in April 2010, when it emerged that Andy Hayman, an assistant commissioner and the officer responsible for overseeing the original 2006 Scotland Yard inquiry, had quit the police force to work for News International as a columnist.


2009–2011 News of the World phone hacking scandal investigations, Police investigations, 2010
In September 2010, with the opening of parliamentary inquiries following The New York Times investigation, the Metropolitan Police also indicated its intention to re-examine the allegations regarding the News of the World, saying that it would consider new information that it had received.


2009–2011 News of the World phone hacking scandal investigations, Police investigations, 2011
In January 2011, following evidence emerging from the civil case by Sienna Miller, the Crown Prosecution Service announced a review of the evidence collected during the Metropolitan Police's original investigation into phone hacking at the News of the World. The director of public prosecutions, Keir Starmer QC, said that the decision was motivated in part by developments in the civil courts.


2009–2011 News of the World phone hacking scandal investigations, Police investigations, 2011
In April 2011 the Metropolitan Police admitted that in the previous four years it had only contacted 36 people to warn them that they might have been victims of phone hacking.


2009–2011 News of the World phone hacking scandal investigations, Police investigations, Operation Weeting
The Metropolitan Police announced on 26 January 2011, that it would begin a new and fresh investigation into the phone hacking affair, following the receipt of "significant new information" regarding the conduct of News of the World employees. Operation Weeting would take place alongside the previously announced review of phone hacking evidence by the Crown Prosecution Service.


2009–2011 News of the World phone hacking scandal investigations, Parliamentary investigations
In December 2009, a parliamentary question was tabled about the possible tapping of minister Tessa Jowell's phone.


2009–2011 News of the World phone hacking scandal investigations, Parliamentary investigations, Select Committee report (2009 - February 2010)
Tom Watson, the Labour MP for West Bromwich East, played a key role in bringing the revelations about phone hacking into the open. Watson was concerned by alleged press misconduct, as were his colleagues Chris Bryant, the MP for Rhondda, Khalid Mahmood, MP for Birmingham Perry Barr, and Sion Simon, then MP for Birmingham Erdington.


2009–2011 News of the World phone hacking scandal investigations, Parliamentary investigations, Select Committee report (2009 - February 2010)
Watson joined the Culture, Media and Sport Committee in 2009, under the chairmanship of Conservative MP John Whittingdale, specifically to pose questions to leading figures in News International about the ethics at both The Sun and the News of the World, and allowing him to quiz Andy Coulson, who was director of communications for the Conservative Party, about his role at the News of the World.


2009–2011 News of the World phone hacking scandal investigations, Parliamentary investigations, Select Committee report (2009 - February 2010)
In July 2009, in evidence to the Culture, Media and Sport Committee inquiry into privacy and libel issues that also covered the phone hacking affair, News of the World editor Colin Myler placed on record that a sum of £700,000 was agreed to be paid to PFA chief Gordon Taylor by News International's head of legal affairs, Tom Crone. This was supported and agreed by Myler, with final approval given from News International executive chairman James Murdoch.


2009–2011 News of the World phone hacking scandal investigations, Parliamentary investigations, Select Committee report (2009 - February 2010)
On 24 February 2010, the Culture, Media and Sport Committee issued their report. It condemned the testimony of the News of the World witnesses, referring to "collective amnesia" and "deliberate obfuscation", and noted News International chief executive Rebekah Brooks' refusal to appear at all. The Committee concluded:


2009–2011 News of the World phone hacking scandal investigations, Parliamentary investigations, Select Committee report (2009 - February 2010)
We strongly condemn this behaviour which reinforces the widely held impression that the press generally regard themselves as unaccountable and that News International in particular has sought to conceal the truth about what really occurred.


2009–2011 News of the World phone hacking scandal investigations, Parliamentary investigations, Select Committee report (2009 - February 2010)
Other News International newspapers, including The Sun and The Times, downplayed the report, devoting minimal coverage to it and emphasising the News of the World's response.


2009–2011 News of the World phone hacking scandal investigations, Parliamentary investigations, New inquiries (September 2010)
In the wake of the renewed allegations in September 2010, from The New York Times, the Home Affairs Select Committee in London opened a new inquiry into phone hacking. Two days after the Home Affairs Select Committee announced its inquiry, the House of Commons voted to refer allegations of hacking against politicians to the Standards and Privileges Committee, with the power to compel witnesses to give evidence.


2009–2011 News of the World phone hacking scandal investigations, News International investigations, News Corporation internal re-investigation
News International started an investigation of the evidence within the companies files, headed by group general manager Will Lewis. Lewis quickly came across an email which referred to "the file" at the solicitors, and in December 2010, subsequently obtained all records held by Harbottle & Lewis regarding Clive Goodman's 2007 claim for unfair dismissal. Shocked at the content within the more than 200 emails, Lewis passed the file to another law firm, Hickman Rose.


2009–2011 News of the World phone hacking scandal investigations, News International investigations, News Corporation internal re-investigation
In January 2011, this firm engaged Ken Macdonald, Lord Macdonald QC, the former head of the Crown Prosecution Service, to provide a report to the board of News Corporation on the contents of the emails. Macdonald's report stated that he found evidence of indirect hacking, breaches of national security and serious crime; he closed on advising them to immediately call the police. After a board meeting in New York chaired by Rupert Murdoch in January 2011, when Macdonald's report and recommendations were accepted in full, Macdonald immediately passed 11 emails in evidence formally to Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Cressida Dick.


2009–2011 News of the World phone hacking scandal investigations, News International investigations, News Corporation internal re-investigation
Subsequently the News of the World disclosed that it had suspended Ian Edmondson, saying that it would take "appropriate action" if the litigation or the paper's own internal investigation found evidence of wrongdoing by any staff. News International announced that they had sacked Ian Edmondson on 26 January 2011, the same day that the Metropolitan Police launched Operation Weeting.


2009–2011 News of the World phone hacking scandal investigations, Hugh Grant
In April 2011 actor Hugh Grant published an article in the New Statesman entitled "The Bugger, Bugged" about a conversation following a chance encounter with Paul McMullan, former journalist and paparazzo for News of the World. In unguarded comments which were secretly taped by Grant, McMullan alleged that editors at the Daily Mail and News of the World, particularly Andy Coulson, had ordered journalists to engage in illegal phone tapping and had done so with the full knowledge of senior British politicians.


2009–2011 News of the World phone hacking scandal investigations, Hugh Grant
McMullan also said that every British Prime Minister from Margaret Thatcher onwards had cultivated a close relationship with Rupert Murdoch and his senior executives. He stressed the friendship between David Cameron and Rebekah Brooks (née Wade), agreeing when asked that both of them must have been aware of illegal phone tapping, and asserting that Cameron's inaction could be explained by self-interest:


2009–2011 News of the World phone hacking scandal investigations, Hugh Grant
"Cameron is very much in debt to Rebekah Wade for helping him not quite win the election... So that was my submission to parliament – that Cameron's either a liar or an idiot."


2009–2011 News of the World phone hacking scandal investigations, Hugh Grant
When asked by Grant whether Cameron had encouraged the Metropolitan Police to "drag their feet" on investigating illegal phone tapping by Murdoch's journalists, McMullan agreed that this had happened, but also stated that the police themselves had taken bribes from tabloid journalists, so had a motive to comply: