Portal:Current events/January 2006
August 23, 2024 (Friday)
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- An estimated two million Muslims officially begin the annual pilgrimage, or hajj, in Mecca, Saudi Arabia (CNN).
- Singapore holds its largest civil counter-terrorism exercise, codenamed Exercise Northstar V, simulating bombing and chemical attacks at four Mass Rapid Transit stations and a bus interchange. Thirteen MRT stations and part of Toa Payoh Bus Interchange are closed for three hours, causing travel disruptions for over 15,000 commuters and triggering a response from some 2,000 personnel from 22 governmental organizations. (CNA)
- A strong 6.7 R earthquake hits Greece at 13:34 this noon. The earthquake's epicentre was in the sea region 25 kms east of the island of Kythira, about 200 kms south of Athens. The earthquake's hypocentre had an estimated depth of 70-75 kms below the earth's surface. It was the biggest similar event in the same spot that happened after the 7.2 earthquake of 1903, that rattled Crete. It was felt in Sicily, south Italy, Egypt, and Amman in Jordan. Due to it's deep hypocentre and the sea-bed epicentre it was not disastrous. Little damage (mainly in Kythira) and few light injuries are reported. (CNN.com)
- Four suspected militants fatally shoots two border-policemen in the back at a crowded weekend market in Yala province, Thailand, where the South Thailand insurgency continues since an increase in violence in January 2001. (The Nation)
- The head of the UN peacekeeping force in Haiti, General Urano Teixeira da Matta Bacellar, is found dead. UN officials believe his death to be suicide. (BBC News)
- Charles Kennedy, Leader of the Liberal Democrats, the third-largest political party in the United Kingdom, announces his resignation with immediate effect after unprecedented criticism from his party's MPs. This comes despite previous vows to stand in the leadership election he declared two days earlier. (BBC News)
- Thirteen Sri Lankan soldiers are killed when a boat manned by Tamil Tiger rebels and filled with explosives rammed into a naval ship in the port city of Trincomalee. (CNN)
- The prime minister of Israel Ariel Sharon has been transferred to a radiography theater to undergo a CT scan to determine the level of pressure on his brain. (Ynetnews)
- Janjaweed militants cross the Sudanese border into Chad and attack the villages of Boroto, Ade, and Moudaina, killing nine and seriously wounding three others. Chad once again warns Sudan that it will retaliate for attacks by Janjaweed and UFDC rebel attacks. (Reuters)
- 2005 Kashmir earthquake: SOS Children report gastroenteritis, pneumonia and bronchitis rife in emergency camps as landslides block route to Muzaffarabad. The organization now has a total of 106 children with missing parents in its care. SOS
- The People's Republic of China announces that the last surviving member of the Gang of Four, Yao Wenyuan, died on December 23, 2005. (BBC)
- Zapatista Subcomandante Marcos begins six-month tour of Mexico to unite social movements for positive change. The tour coincides with presidential election campaigns. Marcos claims that the all the party candidates are liars and criminals who don't care about the Mexican people. (Scotsman)
- A third child from the same family in eastern Turkey dies of H5N1 avian flu. Hülya Koçyiğit, 11, was the sister of Mehmet Ali, 14, who died last weekend, and of Fatma, 15, who died on Thursday. She was the third human fatality outside China and South-East Asia. A six-year-old brother is also being treated for the same disease. (Reuters) (Times)
- Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon successfully undergoes a third round of surgery to correct a rise in cranial pressure. (AP)
- Peru recalls Carlos Urrutia, the Peruvian ambassador to Venezuela, after Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez praises Peruvian presidential hopeful Ollanta Humala for his left-leaning policies. A spokeswoman for the Peruvian Foreign Ministry stated, "There are concerns of political meddling in Peru's electoral affairs and comments by President Chávez were out of place." (Yahoo! News)
- The leader of Britain's Liberal Democrat Party, Charles Kennedy, admits being treated for alcohol-related problems for the last 18 months but has not drunk for the last two months. The revelation comes following mounting criticism of his leadership from party MPs. He calls a party leadership election, in which he will stand. (BBC)
- At least 130 people have died following insurgent attacks on the Iraqi cities of Kerbala and Ramadi. (BBC)
- At least 76 people have died following the collapse of a five story hotel in Mecca. The death toll is expected to rise. Most of the dead are Muslims from neighbouring nations who had made their way for Hajj. (Forbes)
- Hewlett-Packard, a computer manufacturing giant, and a private equity firm, the Blackstone Group, may bid for Computer Sciences Corporation, according to anonymous sources cited by The Wall Street Journal. (thestreet.com)
- Turkey announces two confirmed human cases of the avian influenza. (BBC)
- The King of Saudi Arabia, Abdullah al-Saud, offers to pay for repairs to the Jama Masjid in Delhi, India. The King also offers to fund education in India. (BBC)
- Conflict in Iraq: At least 50 die following a series of insurgent attacks across Iraq, including a suicide bomb at a Shia funeral which left 36 mourners dead. (BBC)
- Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, 77, suffers "a significant stroke". He is currently "under anaesthesia and receiving breathing assistance". Power is transferred to his deputy, Vice Premier Ehud Olmert. (CNN) (Yahoo)
- Dow Jones & Co., one of the world's most important financial publishers, announces its new CEO, Richard Zannino, takes over from Peter Kann. Since Mr. Zannino is not a reporter, this breaks a century-old tradition of keeping newsmen at the helm. (New York Sun)
- A leaked intelligence report states that Iran has been "successfully scouring Europe" for the equipment needed to create a nuclear bomb, as well as parts for a ballistic missile. (The Guardian)
- Fourteen people are killed, with many more feared dead, after a landslide destroys a village in Java after flash floods in the region. It is the second such incident in the region within a week. (BBC)
- Fourteen people are now confirmed dead in the Bad Reichenhall ice rink roof collapse, with one person still trapped in the rubble. (New York Times)
- Israeli-Palestinian Conflict:
- Israel shells eight roads in Palestinian areas of the Gaza Strip. (IMEMC)
- Seven Qassam rockets are fired on civilan Israeli targets by Palestinian insurgents. Two rockets land near a gas station on a road leading to the Israeli town of Sderot, and another five land near Kibbutz Zikim. There are no reports of injuries or damage. (Ynetnews)
- According to the Palestinian news service WAFA, the Israeli army has confiscated a further 3000 dunams (667 acres) of land in the West Bank. (IMEMC)
- A bus carrying 57 passengers, going on line Dragas-Belgrade was hit between Pristina and Prizren with a Shell which, luckily, didn't explode. (B92)
- U.S. pilots targeting a house outside of Baghdad where they believed insurgents had taken shelter killed a family of 12. (Washington Post)
- Israeli television claims that Police in Tel Aviv found evidence that proves Prime Minister of Israel Ariel Sharon's family took bribes while Sharon was running for the leadership of the Likud Party. An aide dismissed the allegations. (BBC)
- Sago Mine disaster: In West Virginia, USA, family members now say only one trapped miner has been brought out alive from the collapsed coal mine. All 12 others are dead. Earlier news reports, at approximately 10:30 PM EST, indicated that 12 miners were found alive. Rescue crews found one body late Tuesday after 13 miners were trapped following an explosion on Monday. (Yahoo) (ABC)
- Russia-Ukraine gas dispute: The Russian and Ukrainian natural gas companies agree to end their dispute and resume gas supply to Ukraine under a complex price scheme in which OAO Gazprom will sell gas to the Rosukrenergo trading company (owned by Gazprom Bank and Raiffeisen Bank) for US$230 (E195) per 1,000 cubic meters as of Jan. 1, and Ukraine will buy gas from the company for US$95 (E80). (IHT)
- Chinese journalist and whistleblower Jiang Weiping, who was jailed in 2000 for violating the State Secrets Law on charges of "subversion," is released after the one year left on his prison sentence is commuted. In 1999 Jiang wrote two articles for a Hong Kong magazine accusing Bo Xilai, who at the time was governor of Liaoning province, but is now China's economic minister, of covering up corruption. (Reuters)
- Conflict in Iraq: 6 members of the same family of 14 have been confirmed killed following a U.S. airstrike in Northern Iraq. (BBC)
- Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: Israel Police prevents Palestinians in East Jerusalem from campaigning in the upcoming Elections in the Palestinian National Authority. (BBC)
- Rescue workers are still battling to find survivors after the roof of an ice rink collapsed in Bad Reichenhall, southern Germany, leaving at least 10 people dead, some of them children. It is thought many are still trapped under the rubble. (BBC)
- Bidding continues in an international auction for Canadian steel company Dofasco Inc., Hamilton, Ont. -- the latest bid, C$4.9 billion, came Tuesday from German steelmaker ThyssenKrupp AG. (CBC Business News)
- Four years after defaulting on its external debt, Argentina pays its USD 9.57 billion debt with the IMF. (Reuters)
- Jack Abramoff of the Jack Abramoff lobbying and corruption scandal pleads guilty to federal conspiracy, fraud and tax evasion charges. According to NPR, this puts Abramoff on the prosecutor's side and he is expected to cooperate in the continuing investigation that could involve "up to 20 members of Congress" (NPR). The court filing is available as a PDF here: [1]
- Mirant Corp., Atlanta, Georgia, a power generation company that filed for bankruptcy court protection in July 2003, emerges from chapter 11 status after converting more than $6 billion of debt and liabilities into equity. (company website)
- Police are investigating the New Year's Day murder of Bryan Harvey, who with his wife and two young daughters were found dead with their throats slashed in the basement of their South Side Richmond, Virginia home, which was then set afire. Harvey was former singer and guitarist of 1980’s band House of Freaks and his wife was the half-sister of Steven Culp, who played Rex Van De Kamp on Desperate Housewives. The fire was discovered by Johnny Hott, HOF bandmate and drummer for the band Cracker (ABC) (New York Daily News) (Billboard)
- Ugandan presidential candidate Kizza Besigye is released from prison. Besigye was arrested on November 14 on treason and rape charges. (News24)
- Thirteen miners are trapped after a coal mine explosion in Upshur County, West Virginia. (ABC)
- Russia-Ukraine gas dispute: Countries across Europe report reductions in gas supplies after Russia disconnected supplies to Ukraine yesterday. Russia accuses Ukraine of stealing 100 million cubic metres of gas yesterday from pipelines transiting the country; Ukraine denies this but has previously claimed the right to 15% of the gas as a transit toll. Hungary reports supplies are down by 40%, France and Italy by 30%, and Poland by 14%. Germany, Russia's principal customer, also reports reductions. Russian supplier Gazprom says that it will increase supplies and return them to normal by Tuesday night. (Sky News)
- Eleven people are killed when the roof of an ice rink collapse in Bad Reichenhall, southern Germany, under the weight of recent snowfall, trapping some 50 skaters underneath. (CNN)
- Several exploits of a severe Windows security vulnerability are spreading over the Internet, permitting compromise of any Windows computer merely by viewing a maliciously crafted image on a website or in e-mail or instant messaging. No patch from Microsoft is available, however an unofficial patch exists [2]. The vulnerability affects every version of Windows, potentially affecting more computers than any prior computer security vulnerability in history. (Microsoft) (CERT) (Slashdot) (Sans) (F-Secure)
- The leader of the Maoist guerrillas in Nepal issued a statement that his group, the People's Liberation Army, will resume its war with the monarchy after a four month truce. (New Kerala)
- Severe storms affected East Java, Indonesia, leading to flooding and landslides. At least 57 people are believed to have been killed in the flooding and up to a further 200 people were assumed to be buried alive in the town of Cijeruk 350 kilometers east of Jakarta. (BBC)
- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad accuses European nations of trying to complete the Holocaust by creating a "Jewish camp" Israel in the Middle East. "Don't you think that continuation of genocide by expelling Jews from Europe was one of their aims in creating a regime of occupiers of Al-Quds [ Jerusalem ] Isn't that an important question?" He went on to say that Europe should cede some of their territory for a Jewish state, and that anti-Semitism has a long history in Europe, while Jews have lived peacefully among Muslims for centuries. (Reuters)
- Russia-Ukraine gas dispute: Russian natural gas supplier Gazprom cuts gas supplies to Ukraine, following Ukraine's rejection of a 460% price increase. President Vladimir Putin had offered a three-month price freeze if Ukraine would agree to pay the higher price thereafter, but this was rejected. Ukraine currently pays US$50 per 1000 cubic metres, Russia claims the market rate is $230. (BBC)
- Tropical Storm Zeta continues activity in the Atlantic Ocean, becoming only the second North Atlantic tropical cyclone to exist across two calendar years and extending the already historic 2005 Atlantic hurricane season even further. (CNN)
- At least three Qassam rockets landed in the western Negev, despite Israel Defense Forces' Operation Blue Skies. At least one Qassam rocket landed in Sderot, in which the Red Dawn alert system was activated around 15:30. Two Qassam rockets landed in an open area near Israeli communities in the western Negev. In all the cases there were no injuries. (Ynetnews)
- Residents brace as a second winter storm hits the region, a day after the first caused floods and mudslides across northern California. (LA Times) (AP via Yahoo)
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