Discovery Mission STS-121's launch has been delayed today due to thunderstorms. The next launch attempt is scheduled for 3:26 PM EDT tomorrow, although more bad weather is forecast.(NASA)(Associated Press)
Osama Bin Laden warns the US and other nations not to become involved in Somalia and says that Al Qaeda reserves the right to "punish" the U.S. on its own soil. (Reuters)
Israel rejects demand to free 1,000 prisoners, delivered earlier by the abductors of Cpl. Gilad Shalit. A Palestenian deputy minister says Shalit is in stable condition, but no sign of life is yet given. (Haaretz)
One year on from the Live 8 concerts, U2 frontman Bono announces that world leaders are not making good on their promises to Africa. According to Bono in a recent CNN interview, not enough is being done to make trade fair. (CNN)
Hamas spokesperson threatens further attacks against Israeli schools and power plants if the military campaign to free the kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit continues. (Haaretz)
IsraeliPM approves a military operation in the northern Gaza Strip aimed at halting Qassam rocket attacks. More than 1200 Qassam rockets, three of them on Sunday, were launched since October 2001, killing 12 Israeli civilians and a comparable number of Palestinian civilians. (Haaretz),(Ynet)
At least 41 people die during a lunchtime subway accident in Valencia, Spain when two cars of a train derail and overturn. Early reports indicate the train was travelling too fast. (CNN), (BBC)
A bomb scare in the arrivals area of Dublin Airport results in a complete closure of the main building. The man who is responsible for the scare has been arrested; he claims to be a member of al-Qaeda. Approximately 9,000 passengers and 50 flights were affected during the two-hour disruption. (Wikinews)
Light Sweet Crude futures close at an all-time high at $75.19/barrel, with an intraday all-time high of $75.40/barrel in New York. Analysts have downplayed the effect of North Korea's missile launch. (AFP)
An explosion, believed to be caused by a bomb, killed at least eight people in a minibus in the city of Tiraspol, in Transnistria, a breakaway region of Moldova. (BBC)
For the second time this week, Dublin Airport's main terminal is evacuated. This occurred when airport security was notified of a strange bag in the Arrivals Area of the airport terminal shortly before 08:00 (IST). A controlled explosion of the bag was carried out by the Army. The airport reopened just over two hours later, though 60 flights and 12,000 passengers were affected. (RTÉ News)
Spain has had its first case of H5N1 bird flu, a laboratory has confirmed. The country has forbidden the transport within a 3 km, 1.8 mi, zone around where the virus was found. (Reuters)
Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, warns of an "explosion" in the Islamic world and it would target Israel and its supporters in the Western world, if Israel doesn't cease its activity in the Gaza Strip. Ahmadinejad said during a rally in Tehran that, "This (Israel) is a fake regime ... it won't be able to survive. I think the only way (forward) is that those who created it (the West) take it away themselves." (Associated Press)
Three Israeli civilians are wounded when a Qassam rocket lands in a basketball court in Sderot. More than fifteen rockets land in Israeli towns on Friday, in spite of an Israeli raid in the northern Gaza Strip. (Ynet), (Haaretz)
Israeli forces withdraw from the northern Gaza Strip after an intensive two-day operation aimed at creating a buffer zone to stop Hamas militants from firing rockets at Israel. Israeli armouredcompany enters the Gaza Strip via Karni crossing, advancing to within 500 meters of Gaza City, reportedly in search for tunnels used by Palestinian militants. Israeli Air Force carries out numerous strikes against militants in the Gaza Strip. (BBC), (Haaretz), (Reuters)[permanent dead link]
EU warns Israel of using "disproportionate" force during its operations in the Gaza Strip. Meanwhile, a Palestinian minister in the Hamas-led government urges all armed forces to fight Israeli troops. (BBC), (Ynet)
Three Palestinian family members (mother and two children) are killed in a blast in Gaza City. Palestinian sources claim an Israeli tank shell caused the blast, but the Israel Defense Forces states it carried out no tank or artillery fire at the area. Israeli Air Force investigation concludes its air strikes were not to blame for the blast. Numerous improvised explosive devices were planted in Gaza in the past week, in preparation for an Israeli incursion. (Ynet)
Shoichi Nakagawa, Japanese agriculture minister, announces Japan will no longer provide food aid to North Korea, and that Japan is considering restricting agricultural trade between the two countries. Earlier Japan banned a North Korean ferry from entering Japanese ports. (Mainichi Daily News)
300 members of the British activist group 'Jews for Justice for Palestinians' sign a petition condemning Israeli military actions in the Gaza Strip. (BBC)
An Israeli civilian is moderately wounded as a Qassam rocket strikes his private car in Sderot. Another rocket directly hits a house in Sderot, causing severe damage but no casualties. More than twenty rockets were launched against Israeli towns over the weekend by Palestenian militants, wounding several civilians. (Haaretz), (Getty)
Nestlé is added to the Arab League list of companies to be boycotted "because it maintains a branch in Israel". An anonymous source says most League members are likely to ignore the decision. (Ynet)
Hundreds of thousands of children are potentially fingerprinted in the UK, some as young as five years old and without parental consent. (Mirror), (IndyMedia)
Fighting erupts in Somalia, with fighting between Somalian fighters aligned with defeated warlords and Islamic militants killing 60 people and wounding 100. (Reuters)
India's test-firing of a nuclear-capable IRBM, Agni III, is unsuccessful after plunging into the Bay of Bengal after going 12 km, 8 mi, or about 5 minutes, then losing altitude. Pakistan was notified prior to the test per treaty with India. (Reuters)
Chechnya's terroristShamil Basayev is allegedly killed, according to Russian authorities. He was said to have been killed together with other Chechen fighters working with him at the time of his alleged death. (Reuters)
On the 17th day to the abduction of Cpl. Gilad Shalit, his father asks why Red Cross representatives were not allowed to visit the hostage, as established in the Geneva Conventions. (Ynet)
An Israeli official states there is neither hunger nor a humanitarian crisis in the Gaza strip. He explains that the cargo terminals to the Gaza Strip are under constant threats, challenging the ordinary transportation of goods, citing numerous terrorist attacks carried out against the crossings. (Ynet)
Hezbollah militants kidnap two Israeli soldiers patrolling along the northern Israel border. Three soldiers are killed in the incident, and five soldiers are killed in subsequent confrontations inside Lebanon. Hezbollah demands the release of thousands of Palestinian prisoners and one Lebanese prisoner, the killer of two small girls and their father. (Haaretz), (Ynet), (iAfrica) It is later reported that the two Israeli soldiers "had trespassed into Lebanon's side of the border with Israel". (Asia Times)Archived 2006-07-21 at the Wayback Machine(Bahrain News)(What Really Happened.com)
Simultaneously, Hezbollah militants launch Katyusha rockets and mortar shells at Israeli towns along the border, wounding six Israeli civilians and five soldiers. (Haaretz), (Ynet), (iAfrica)
Israeli forces attack installations and Hezbollah positions in Lebanon, in failed attempt to thwart the transportation of the kidnapped soldiers from the area. (Haaretz), (Ynet), (iAfrica)
The Japanese national government announces it will introduce a satellite system that will warn residents of incoming missiles, earthquakes, and other disasters in a 200 million yen program named "J-ALERT". (Mainichi Daily News).
Iraqi security forces discover the bodies of 20 bus drivers kidnapped earlier in the week. Three kidnap victims are freed. (Reuters)
A Harrier Jumpjet en route to the Air Tattoo at RAF Fairford crashes onto a road near Tackley in Oxfordshire. The pilot, who managed to eject before impact, was praised for his skill ensuring no loss of life occurred; the aircraft went down in a relatively populated area. (Reuters)
Merck & Co. wins a trial over a grandmother's claim that its Vioxx painkiller caused her to have a heart attack, reducing pressure on the company to settle 12,000 other cases about the drug. (Bloomberg)
A complete First Folio edition of William Shakespeare's plays is auctioned in London for £2.8 million. It had been owned by Dr Williams's Library, which paid about £500 for it in 1716. When new in 1623, the Folio would have cost £1. (BBC)
Two explosions hit oil installations belonging to an Italian company in Nigeria's southeast region. Sabotage is the suspected cause. (Associated Press)
The United States is considering establishing an independent command for South Korean troops. South Korea has command of its forces during peacetime, but currently the United States would take control if there were a war. (Reuters)Archived 2005-06-20 at the Wayback Machine
US President George W. Bush has said he will urge Israel to avoid civilian casualties in its attacks on Lebanon, but he's "not going to make military decisions for Israel". (Haaretz), (BBC NEWS).
Middle East crisis keeps oil near peak - There are fears the dispute will push oil prices up even further. (BBC NEWS)
Israel destroys Hezbollah headquarters and home of its head Hassan Nasrallah in southern Beirut, following repeated early warnings to local civilians. Other facilities in the area were struck earlier on Friday. Nasrallah vows to fight "open war" on Israel, striking towns "beyond Haifa". (Haaretz), (Boston Globe), (BBC NEWS)
Some 220,000 Israeli civilians spend the night in bomb shelters, after two civilians were killed in rocket attacks. 14 Israelis, including 4 children, remain hospitalized following yesterday's rocket attacks. (Haaretz), (Ynet)
Since Wednesday morning, Hezbollah militants fired at least 300 Katyusha rockets and 500 mortar shells against Israeli towns, killing 4 civilians and wounding more than 150. 63 Lebanese have been killed, and more than 159 have been injured. (Ynet), (Times Online)
Hezbollah fires more than a hundred Katyusha rockets against the Israeli cities of Tiberias, Karmiel, Nahariya and Safed, as well as numerous towns. Several civilians are injured as residential areas are heavily damaged. Israeli defense minister Amir Peretz is about to sign a "home front emergency" declaration, enabling local security forces to shut down schools and close certain areas for traffic, narrowing the damages of the expanding fighting. (Haaretz), (Ynet)
Israel Air Force strikes Hezbollah targets and facilities in Lebanon. An Israeli general says all Lebanese coastal radars were destroyed, after they took part in the attack on an Israeli missile boat on Friday, killing 4 soldiers. Lebanese police reports at least 23 civilians are killed when an Israeli missile hits a van in southern Lebanon, after fleeing from a village and refused shelter by local UN forces. (Ynet), (Al-Jazeera), (Haaretz), (CNN),(BBC)
Since Wednesday morning, Hezbollah militants fired about 700 rockets against Israeli towns, killing 4 civilians and wounding more than 500. More than 100 Lebanese have been killed and hundreds were injured, including many civilians and an undisclosed number of Hezbollah militants. (Ynet), (Al-Jazeera)
Hezbollah rockets hit the major Israeli city of Haifa, killing 8 civilians and wounding 17. More than a hundred rockets were fired against numerous urban areas in the north of Israel, as far south as Afula, killing 8 civilians and wounding 53. Local train lines and universities closed down. (Haaretz), (BBC), (Al-Jazeera), (CBS), (Jerusalem post)
Lebanon security officials claim that an Israeli air strike on Tyre kills at least 16 people and wounds 42. (AP), (BBC)
Since Wednesday morning, Hezbollah militants fired more than 1400 rockets and mortar shells against Israeli towns, killing 12 civilians and wounding more than 500. More than 130 Lebanese have been killed and hundreds were injured, including many civilians and an undisclosed number of Hezbollah militants. (Ynet), (Al-Jazeera)[permanent dead link]
A 7.7 Mwearthquake off the coast of Indonesia causes a tsunami to crash into Java, causing significant property damage and killing over 100 people. Concern is raised over lack of a warning system for the south coast despite warnings from international agencies.(BBC), (USA Today), (Associated Press), (CBS News)
At least 40 Iraqis are killed and dozens injured in the town of Mahmoudiya south of Baghdad in an insurgent attack. (BBC)
The death toll from the July 2006 Java earthquake and the tsunami rises to 339. As scores of people are missing, the death toll is expected to keep rising. BBC
A car bomb kills at least 15 labourers and wounds dozens in the southern Iraqi town of Kufa. (BBC)
Turkey calls for Iraq and the United States to crack down on Kurdish guerrillas based in northern Iraq, and issued a veiled threat to attack the rebel bases if there was no progress. Meanwhile, the International Crisis Group releases a report entitled “Iraq and the Kurds: The Brewing Battle over Kirkuk” which examines the dangerously neglected looming conflict in and around the northern Iraqi city. Reuters AlertnetLA TimesICG report
On the first day of the 90th International Four Days Marches Nijmegen, two participants die of heart failure due to exhaustion caused by the exceptionally warm weather in the Netherlands. Because even higher temperatures are predicted for the second day, the organization decides to cancel the remainder of the event. (expatica.com)
Record-breaking temperatures continue in a U.S. heat wave and another in Europe, causing at least 18 deaths, including some as far north as the Netherlands. The UK hit a record-breaking July temperature of 36.5°C (97.7°F) at Wisley. (BBC)
Independent reports say that over 100 people are dead and missing in North Korea as a result of floods and landslides, while the North's government-controlled media omitted mention of any casualties. More than 9,000 families are left homeless. There have been at least 25 deaths in South Korea. (MSNBC)
Two Israeli Apache helicopters collide, leaving five injured. A pilot has reportedly died. (National Nine News)
Iran states that it is determined to produce nuclear fuel on its territory. It will respond officially to a Western incentive package on August 22, 2006. (Reuters)
Internet censorship: In India, public outcry at the recent blocking of some blogs results in a statement by that country's government that the occurrence was a "technological error," and that immediate steps will be taken to resolve the issue. (IHT)
Israel moves thousands of troops to the Lebanese border including reserves to deal with fierce fighting. (UPI)
Israel is continuing its Lebanon military offensive, with war planes bombing more than 40 targets, mainly in southern parts of Beirut, on Friday. (BBC NEWS)
A group of Colombian farmers has won a multimillion pound settlement from BP after the British oil and gas company was accused of benefiting from a regime of terror carried out by Colombian government paramilitaries to protect a 450-mile pipeline.(Independent)
Israel has massed soldiers and tanks on the border with Lebanon and called up thousands of reserve troops, in a possible prelude to a ground offensive. (BBC News)
An earthquake measuring 5.1-5.2 in magnitude hits a mountainous region of Yunnan Province in south China killing at least 18-19 people and injuring at least 60 more. (CBS)
Two Israeli civilians are killed by Hezbollah rocket attacks on Haifa. More than 2200 rockets have been fired at Israeli cities since the beginning of the conflict, killing 17 Israelis, all of them civilians. 20 Israeli soldiers were killed in other incidents. About 300 Lebanese, most of them civilians, have been killed by Israeli forces. (Ynet), (Haaretz)[permanent dead link], (People's Daily Online)
Israel and the United States governments say they would accept NATO forces deployed along the Lebanese/Israeli border.(Gulfnews)[permanent dead link], (Reuters)
There is a PR battle raging about the publication of a series of photos showing Israeli children writing messages on shells meant for targets in Lebanon.(The Jerusalem Post)
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah announces in an interview with Al-Jazeera that he discussed the abduction of the two Israeli soldiers with Lebanese political leaders before the attack occurred. (Memri)
The Israeli army has been accused of using Palestinian civilians as human shields in an operation in northern Gaza. According to the Israeli human rights group, B'tselem, six civilians including two minors were subjected to the illegal tactic during an incursion into the town of Beit Hanoun last week. (BBC)
Israeli army radio reports that Israeli Army chief of staff Dan Halutz has ordered the air force to destroy 10 multi-story buildings in the Dahiya district (of Beirut) in response to every rocket fired on Haifa. As of Sunday the ratio of reported deaths was more than 17:1. (News24)(Scoop)
Four UN peacekeepers die after being, according to the United Nations, shelled 14 times by Israeli artillery, and a rescue team was also shelled as it tried to clear the rubble. "I am shocked and deeply distressed by the apparently deliberate targeting by IDF of a UN Observer post in southern Lebanon," UN Secretary GeneralKofi Annan said in a statement from Rome. Israeli ambassadors expressed regret but called the assertion that the attacks were deliberate "baseless". The IDF will investigate the incident. (BBC News)(CTV NEWS)Archived 2006-08-14 at the Wayback Machine Also, the IDF announces that it has killed Abu Jafaar, a leading Hezbullah commander in charge of the central Lebanese border. (Haaretz)(CNN)
2006 Ukraine parliament crisis. Ukraine's parliament, Verkhovna Rada, misses the deadline to form a coalition, facing a possible dissolution. (BBC News)
At least nine people are killed in Israeli air raids in the east of Gaza City, including a three-year-old girl, according to medical sources. (BBC NEWS)
Andrea Yates, a U.S. woman who killed her five children in 2001, is found not guilty of murder by reason of insanity. (CBS News)
Four United Nations observers are killed in an Israeli air strike on an observation post in south Lebanon. An initial UN report says they contacted the Israeli troops 10 times before an incoming bomb killed four of them. (BBC NEWS), (BBC NEWS)
Somalia's interim government unravels as at least 20 government members resign, most being parliament members, accusing the country's virtually powerless government of failing to bring peace. (Houston Chronicle)
The three main militia groups in the troubled DR Congo eastern province of Ituri have agreed to lay down arms and begin integrating into the Congolese army.(BBC).
The government investigation of the assault that partially paralyzed Fu Xiancai, a Chinese activist protesting the displacement caused by the Three Gorges Dam, concludes that he hit himself in the back of the neck, breaking three vertebrae. (BBC)
The UN removes its unarmed observers from posts along the Israeli-Lebanese border three days after four of them were killed by an Israeli bomb.(CTV NEWS)Archived 2006-08-14 at the Wayback Machine
Hezbollah head Hassan Nasrallah vows rocket strikes on towns in central Israel, calling it a "temporary country" and asking "When in any Arab-Israeli conflict were two million Israelis forced to flee or enter bomb shelters?" (Haaretz), (Ynet)
Hezbollah fired a rocket on Friday, which they claim to be a new long-range missile named "Khaibar 1". The rocket matched the furthest distance that Hezbollah rockets had landed inside Israel since the conflict began on July 12. (Reuters)[permanent dead link]
The UN Security Council unanimously adopted resolution 1697 (2006), which extends the UNIFIL mandate until 31 August 2006. The previous extension ended 31 July 2006. ( UN Resolution 1697)
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad told the Syrian military on Monday to raise its readiness, pledging not to abandon support for Lebanese resistance against Israel. (Reuters)
Tony Blair and Arnold Schwarzenegger have announced their intention to collaborate to decrease carbon emissions and fight global warming. Their plan includes incentives for companies which limit their carbon emissions, among other carbon-limiting measures. Schwarzenegger has shown interest in a ban on excessive carbon emissions, which is directly in opposition to statements made by PresidentGeorge W. Bush. (AP)
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