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- Conflict in Iraq: At least six US Marines have died following an insurgent attack in Haditha, 140 miles northwest of Baghdad, Iraq. (NBC)
- A survey of the world's strongest brands by Anholt-GMI has placed Australia as the leading "nation brand", ahead of Canada, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Last years top brand, Sweden, dropped to fifth place, whilst the United States dropped from fourth to eleventh place. (The Age) (NZ Herald)
- One person has been killed and another injured in an explosion on a Russian nuclear-powered submarine in dock for decommissioning. (BBC)
- Leaked communications between two U.S. military prosecutors reveal internal doubts about the military commission system established to try Guantanamo Bay detainees. In separate emails, the prosecutors allege that the commission system is rigged in favour of the prosecution and that the cases being pursued are "marginal". In Australia, the Australian Government came under renewed pressure to withdraw its support for the commissions, under which Australian citizen David Hicks would be tried. (Wikinews) (ABC)
- Vice-President John Garang of Sudan, a central figure in the new peace deal ending the Second Sudanese Civil War, is reported dead with 13 other people in an aircraft crash near the Uganda-Sudan border. (Wikinews), (Reuters), (CNN), (AP via Yahoo!News) (Link dead as of 02:29, 15 January 2007 (UTC))
- King Fahd of Saudi Arabia has died in a hospital at the age of 83. It was believed that he was in poor health and entered the hospital on May 27 with acute pneumonia. Crown Prince Abdullah, who had been effective regent for years, accedes to the throne. Defence Minister Prince Sultan will be the new Crown Prince. (Wikinews) (Reuters) (Al-Jazeera)
- New European Union directive banning tobacco advertising comes into effect (Euronews)
- President Bush circumvents the Senate after a five-month impasse to appoint John Bolton as the United States Ambassador to the United Nations. (Wikinews) (Yahoo News) (Link dead as of 02:29, 15 January 2007 (UTC))
- In Egypt, opposition party al-Wafd (Delegation Party) announces that it will endorse its leader Numan Gumaa as a candidate in presidential election next September (Al-Jazeera)
- NASA announces that astronauts will make repairs on the bottom of the space shuttle Discovery to ensure its safety in re-entry (Space.com) (Science Daily) (Reuters) (Link dead as of 02:29, 15 January 2007 (UTC))
- In Colombia, paramilitary group United Self-Defence Forces of Colombia begins disarming (BBC)
- In Brazil, Valdemar Costa Neto, leader of the Liberal Party, steps down after he admitted that he received money from the ruling Worker's Party (MercoPress) (Reuters) (Link dead as of 02:29, 15 January 2007 (UTC)), (Bloomberg)
- In India, HCL infosystems and Dayanidhi Maran, communications minister, unveil cheap "PC for India" with Linux OS, costing 9990 rupees (equivalent to US$225) (The Hindu) (Hindu Business Line) (BBC)
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- In Iran, Judge Masoud Ahmadi Moghaddasi, who had ruled the case of Akbar Ganji, is assassinated by a gunman. (Guardian)
- President Bush endorses intelligent design, stating that it should be taught in school. He is quoted as saying: "I think that part of education is to expose people to different schools of thought. You're asking me whether or not people ought to be exposed to different ideas, the answer is yes." A large portion of the scientific community does not recognise ID as a scientific theory and considers it to be creationist pseudoscience.(Boston Globe)
- In Ohio's Second District, voters are choosing a new congressman. The candidates are Jean Schmidt and Paul Hackett. Schmidt ultimately wins the election.
- While landing during a severe lightning storm, Air France Flight 358 skidded off the runway at Toronto Pearson International Airport at 4:03 p.m. local time and burst into flames. All 309 passengers and crew on board survive. (CJAD 800) (CBC) (BBC)
- Anti-disengagement protesters rally in Sderot. The organizers said the crowd numbered 50,000, but police estimated the figure between 10,000 and 15,000. Some 18,000 troops and 12,000 police are involved in preventing protesters from getting to the Gush Katif Israeli settlement on the Gaza Strip. (INN), (BBC), (HaAretz)
- Scientists at Stanford University have used nanotechnology to kill cancer cells without harming healthy tissue. (BBC)
- Conflict in Iraq: At least 15 people have died following a series of insurgent attacks throughout Iraq. (BBC)
- The Chinese national oil company CNOOC has withdrawn a bid for Unocal quelling the fears that the deal would give a foreign government too much control over American oil reserves. Chevron is now expected to acquire Unocal. (NY Times)
- In Zimbabwe, state prosecutors dropped treason charges against opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai. Mr Tsvangirai, leader of the Movement for Democratic Change, was accused of organising mass protests in 2003 to overthrow Robert Mugabe's controversial régime. (AFP)
- In Germany, police in Brandenburg announce that they have uncovered bones of nine newborn babies that had been buried in flower pots. The woman believed to be their mother, identified in newspapers as "Sabine H.", has been arrested in the worst case of individual infanticide in German history. (Reuters) (BBC)
- Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore agree to joint anti-piracy patrols in the Malacca Strait. (Jakarta Post) (Channel News Asia) Thailand later joins them. (Channel News Asia) (New Straits Times) (Reuters AlertNet)
- In Turkey, two explosions injure 6 people in Antalya, a popular tourist resort. The tourism minister blames gas leaks but the police are investigating. (Turkish Press) (Reuters AlertNet)
- In France, medical authorities investigate a case where remains of 351 stillborn fetuses had been kept in storage in St Vincent de Paul hospital against the law and the parents' consent. (BBC)
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- The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and United States Department of Justice give approval to the proposed merger of Sprint and Nextel, to create the new company of Sprint Nextel
- Prime Minister of Canada Paul Martin will announce on Thursday that Michaëlle Jean has been chosen to succeed Adrienne Clarkson as Governor General of Canada. (CBC)
- Two people are known to have died following a bomb blast in Istanbul, Turkey. (BBC) (Al-Jazeera)[permanent dead link] (Reuters AlertNet)
- The BBC has uncovered documents which reveal that in 1958 the British Government helped Israel attain nuclear weapons. (BBC)
- The chairman of the British Council of Mosques and Imams has advised British Muslim women to refrain from wearing clothing, such as the Hijab, which identifies them as Muslim following a large increase in "Islamophobia" and Hate crimes. (BBC), (BBC)
- Mo Mowlam, the former Northern Ireland Secretary, has been admitted to hospital, apparently critically ill. (BBC)
- Conflict in Iraq: 14 US Marines have been killed following an insurgent attack in Haditha, north-western Iraq. U.S. Officials deny that a Marine has been taken hostage. (BBC)
- More than 800 people have been wounded and 84 killed in the violence which erupted in Sudan after ex-rebel southern leader John Garang died in a helicopter crash. (BBC) (Reuters)
- In Singapore, an announcement was made declaring the election date for the presidential election to be on 27 August, with nomination day slated for 17 August. (CNA)
- NBC Universal gets permission from parent company General Electric to buy DreamWorks SKG. (Yahoo)
- Adidas acquires Reebok for $3.8 billion. (Economic Times) (BBC)
- Oracle Corporation acquires i-flex for $909 million. (Business Standard)
- In Australia, Morris Iemma becomes the 40th Premier of New South Wales after being elected unopposed as leader of the state Australian Labor Party.
- In Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad officially becomes new president. (IRNA) (Al-Jazeera) (Reuters)
- In Saudi Arabia the new King Abdullah has been invested. Tony Blair and Jacques Chirac, along with many European Monarchs are present for the "bayaa" ceremony while George H. W. Bush and Dick Cheney will meet with the new King the following day. (BBC)
- In Malaysia, former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim receives apology and compensation from former chief of police Rahim Noor, who beat him September 1999 ago when he was arrested on dubious grounds. In return, Ibrahim drops the case again him. (Channel News Aaia) (Reuters)
- Australian justice minister Chris Ellison wants to create tough laws against practice of sending young girls overseas to forced marriages. (The Australian) (BBC)
- Reports from Mauritania indicate that the Army has seized control of the government. State media is reportedly taken over by troops, signaling a military coup while President Ould Taya is out of the country attending the funeral of Saudi Arabia's King Fahd. (Middle East Online) (BBC) (afrol News)
- In Norway, thieves steal three worthless copies of Edvard Munch's paintings from an Oslo hotel (Aftenposten) (Reuters)
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- Ayman al-Zawahri, a leader of Al-Qaeda, has issued a televised statement blaming Tony Blair and his government's foreign policy for the July 2005 London bombings. (BBC)
- Israeli-Palestinian Conflict:
- In the UK, the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee has cut its interest rate by a quarter percent to 4.5% (BBC)
- The leaders of the recent bloodless Coup in Mauritania name Ely Ould Mohamed Vall, former national police chief, as the new president of the country (Al-Jazeera)
- Scientists in Seoul National University, South Korea, have cloned a dog named Snuppy (Dong, South Korea) (Channel News Asia) (Science Daily)
- New Zealand's ruling Labour Party state that they plan to set limit to claims to Waitangi Tribunals to 2008 and settlements to 2020 (Stuff) (Channel News Asia) (BBC)
- Negotiations between the Philippines government and the National Democratic Front, the political wings of the Communist Party of the Philippines, break down. The Government has ended immunity of their members from arrest (INQ7) (Reuters AlertNet) (IHT)
- The African Union suspends Mauritania from the group after the recent coup. (Reuters AlertNet)
- Portuguese firefighters fight huge forest fires in the districts of Aveiro, Braga and Porto (Euronews)
- Italian scientists have found cocaine residue in the Po River water (Medical News Today) (BBC)
- The parliament in Senegal votes to put former prime minister Idrissa Seck on trial for embezzlement and threatening state security. (Reuters SA) (Reuters AlertNet) (BBC)
- The Nepalese court rejects criminal Charles Sobhraj's appeal against his life sentence. His lawyer intends to appeal to the United Nations Court of Human Rights (HImalayan Times) (BBC)
- The Indian Supreme Court upholds the death sentence of Mohammad Afzal in connection with parliament attack case
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- An Israeli archaeologist working in East Jerusalem reports that she has discovered a palace dating from the 10th century BC, which may have belonged to King David. (NY Times), (International Herald Tribune), (Washington Times), (Houston Chronicle), (Taipei Times)
- Wikimania has started. Audio streams are available on Meta. Reuters has reported that new restrictions on editing Wikipedia and other rules, such as removing the ability to edit articles with "stable contents", are being considered, allegedly to protect against vandalism. (Reuters) The report is based on an interview with Jimmy Wales conducted by the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung.(SZ)
- Three Irishmen accused of training Colombian FARC rebels have returned to Ireland. (RTÉ)
- Conflict in Afghanistan: Al-Arabiya television broadcasts video footage shot by al-Qaeda which appears to show the downing of a US Chinook helicopter in Afghanistan. (BBC)
- Yahoo! has introduced a test version of a new search service Yahoo! Audio Search that it claims can comb through 50 million music, voice and other audio files. (Yahoo! Audio)
- An earthquake in Papua, Indonesia, reached 6.0 on the Richter scale. There are no reports of casualties.(Channel News Asia)
- Newmont Minahasa Raya, a local subsidiary of U.S. mining giant Newmont Mining, and its executive Richard Ness, go on trial in North Sulawesi accused of polluting a Buyat Bay near its mine in Indonesia. (Channel News Asia) (Forbes) (Bloomberg)
- The People's Republic of China formally charges Hong Kong reporter Ching Cheong, journalist for The Straits Times, of spying. (China Post) (Channel News Asia)
- Typhoon Matsa hits Taiwan (Channel News Asia)
- Russian Priz class mini-submarine AS-28 and its 7 crewmembers are stuck underwater off the Pacific coast (Reuters) (BBC)
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- Peter Jennings, long-time anchor of ABC World News Tonight, has died from lung cancer at the age of 67. (ABC News)
- Conflict in Iraq: 39 people have died, including at least two U.S. soldiers, following a series of insurgent attacks throughout Iraq. (AFP via Yahoo!)
- Israeli-Palestinian Conflict:
- Russian Priz class mini-submarine AS-28 and its 7 crew members are saved at 03:25 UTC off the Pacific coast (RIAN - in Russian) (Reuters), (Guardian)
- England wins the second match of The 2005 Ashes test cricket series over Australia in a nail biter, winning by 2 runs at Edgbaston in Birmingham, England. (Cricinfo)
- Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez dismisses cooperation with the US DEA, claiming that they spy on him (BBC) (Reuters)
- In China, flooding in coal mine traps at least 102 (Xinhua) (People's Daily) (Channel News Asia) (Reuters)
- In South Africa, National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) begins the first country-wide strike in the gold mines (BBC) (Forbes) (Reuters SA)
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- Banco Central robbery at Fortaleza: In Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil, an estimated 156 million reais was discovered to be stolen over the weekend in one of the world's largest bank robberies. (Agencia Brasil), (BBC)
- Oil for food scandal: the UN-appointed panel released its third report. According to it, Benon Sevan took nearly $150,000 in cash bribes. A former UN procurement officer Alexander Yakovlev has pleaded guilty to accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes from UN contractors. (BBC)
- Same sex marriage debate: The top legislative body of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is set to take key votes this week on ordaining gays and blessing same-sex unions. Conflicts over what the Bible says about homosexuality have been tearing at Protestant denominations for years. Cleveland Plain Dealer AP feed in Guardian UK
- Iran resumes its nuclear programme at its uranium facility near the city of Isfahan. (BBC) (Guardian)
- A suicide bombing kills 1 and injures 32 in Fuzhou, provincial capital of Southeastern China's Fujian Province. (Reuters)
- STS-114: The Shuttle Discovery was waved off by Mission Control in Houston for a landing at Kennedy Space Center due to bad weather. NASA has said they will land the Orbiter in 24 hours, with Six opportunities available — the first two at Kennedy Space Center and the second two at Edwards Air Force Base and the final two at the White Sands Missile Range (also known as the White Sounds Spaceport). (Reuters) (Space.com)
- Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has dissolved the Japanese House of Representatives and will call a snap election for September 11. The move came after rebel lawmakers from his own Liberal Democratic Party voted down postal reform legislation on which he had staked the party's mandate. The postal reform would have led to privatization of the country's postal service. It is thought that the move will plunge normally staid Japanese politics into great uncertainty.(Japan Today) (Channel News Asia) (Bloomberg) (BBC)
- In Indonesia, Garuda Indonesia airline pilot Pollycarpus Priyanto goes on trial for poisoning human rights activist Munir Said Thalib (Channel News Asia)
- Benon Sevan, head of the United Nations' oil-for-food program, resigns before the publication of a report that is expected to accuse him of corruption. He blames Kofi Annan for "sacrificing" him and denies all charges (BBC) (Reuters)
- Chile plans to limit migration to Easter Island (MercoPress) (BBC)
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- In Chile, special Judge Sergio Muñoz indicts Lucía Hiriart and Marco Antonio Pinochet, wife and youngest son of Augusto Pinochet, on charges of tax evasion. Hiriart is confined in a military facility in Santiago and Marco Pinochet in Santiago's Capuchinos Jail (BBC).
- The Transportation Equity Act of 2005 is signed into law in the United States by President George W. Bush. (Reuters)
- Conflict in Iraq: Six US soldiers are killed in insurgent attacks throughout Iraq, including four killed in one attack in the northern oil-producing Kurdish town of Baiji, bringing the total US military death toll in Iraq to 1,841. (CNN) (BBC)
- A Sikorsky S-76 helicopter of the Finnish company Copterline has crashed into the Gulf of Finland near Estonia's capital Tallinn with 14 on board; eight Finns, four Estonians and two Americans. There are no survivors. (BBC)
- The United States and the African Union have dropped their demands that last week's coup in Mauritania be reversed. The US is working with the military junta to ensure that multi-party elections are held as soon as possible (BBC)
- Yahoo Inc. is negotiating to pay approx. US$1 billion, plus the transfer of its own China operations, in return for a 35% equity stake in Alibaba.com, China's second-largest e-commerce concern. (Reuters)
- A private company, Space Adventures, announces plans to create a tourism program to send people around the Moon. A 5 1/2 day lunar flight could happen in 2008 or 2009, and cost about 100 million USD. (Yahoo), (CNN)
- The airline catering firm Gate Gourmet sack 670 workers at London's Heathrow Airport, sparking a sympathy strike from British Airways staff. (TGWU)[permanent dead link]
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- Tens of thousands of Israelis have converged on Tel Aviv to protest the proposed removal of Israeli settlements from the Gaza Strip. (Ynet) (BBC)
- Scientists at the German Primate Centre and the University of Göttingen announce the discovery of two new species of lemur, Mirza zaza and Microcebus lehilahytsara. (German press release), (BBC)
- Pakistan's first domestically designed cruise missile, the Babur missile, is test launched. (BBC)
- Salva Kiir has been sworn in as the Vice-President of Sudan, following the recent death of John Garang. (BBC) Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has threatened to close down newspapers which continue to publish "conspiracy theories" about Garang's death. (BBC)
- Abortion in Ireland: Three Irish women are taking the Government of Ireland to the European Court of Human Rights to challenge Ireland's constitutional ban on Abortion. (BBC)
- Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter was scheduled to be launched at 9:00am EST (local time for launch), but the launch was scrubbed due to technical problems. (BBC) (Spaceflightnow.com)
- Malaysia has announced a state of emergency in two towns after air pollution reached dangerous levels. The pollution is blamed on fires lit to clear land in neighbouring Indonesia, seriously affecting air quality and visibility across the Strait of Malacca. (BBC)
- Scott Sullivan, once the chief financial officer of WorldCom, then the star witness in the prosecution of his former boss there, Bernie Ebbers, is sentenced to five years in prison.
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- Armed conflicts and attacks
- Disasters and accidents
- International relations
- Salva Kiir, the new vice-president of Sudan, is opposed to independence for the country's south. (BBC) The Ugandan government shuts down a radio station for broadcasting a debate on the cause of death of former Sudanese vice-president John Garang. (BBC)
- Law and crime
- Science and technology
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- Many countries celebrate the 60th Anniversary of the Victory in the Pacific and the end of World War II. Beijing holds an arts performance gala. In Japan, in a large-scale ceremony led by the Emperor Akihito, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi apologizes for people's suffering Japan caused during World War II. The ceremony was met with scattered protests. (Xinhua) (BBC China)
- The Parliament of Iraq grants an extension to the nation's leaders to draw up a new Constitution. (MSNBC)
- The U.S. refused to abide by a North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) ruling on the U.S.-Canada softwood lumber dispute, leading to Canada's Finance Minister Ralph Goodale saying he was considering trade sanctions on the US. (Boston Globe)
- Israel begins the Gaza Strip pullout plan. The Kissufim Roadblock was shut down at midnight between August 14 and August 15. Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas hailed the move as "historic" but said Israel should also pull out of the West Bank. (BBC), (Canada.com)
- Conflict in Iraq: A senior aide to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, Abu Zubair, has been shot dead following a U.S. ambush in Mosul, Iraq. (BBC)
- The Indonesian government and rebels from the Free Aceh Movement (Gam) sign a peace deal aimed at ending their near 30 year conflict. (BBC), (chosun.com). UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan applauded both parties for reaching a peaceful settlement of the dispute through dialogue, and commended Martti Ahtisaari, former President of Finland, for the mediation role that he played throughout the negotiation process. (XinHua)
- Due to stalled labour talks, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation locks out the company's 5500 members of the Canadian Media Guild, severely disrupting operations in most of Canada. The key point of contention is the broadcaster's insistence on more contract employees to the expense of full time positions. (The Toronto Star)
- Phil Mickelson wins the 2005 PGA Championship (PGA.com)
- India celebrates its sixtieth Independence Day.
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- Roger Louis Schutz-Marsauche, better known as Brother Roger, is murdered by a mentally-ill woman during an afternoon prayer service. Brother Roger is best known for founding the Taizé Community in 1940. His death saddened many officials and leaders across Europe, including Pope Benedict XVI. (BBC)(Bloomberg)
- Russian cosmonaut Sergei K. Krikalev set a record for the most days spent in space, clocking almost 748 days over a 20-year career. (AFP via Yahoo! News) (Link dead as of 21:21, 14 January 2007 (UTC)), (Reuters via Yahoo! News) (Link dead as of 21:21, 14 January 2007 (UTC))
- In Richmond, Virginia, thousands of people stampede at the Richmond International Raceway to obtain one of 1000 $50 iBooks being liquidated by the Henrico County school district. Seventeen people suffer minor injuries, with four requiring hospital treatment. Cincinnati Post MSNBC macworld uk Richmond Times-Dispatch
- Lena Baker is pardoned by the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles 60 years after her execution (CNN)
- Coretta Scott King, widow of civil rights pioneer Martin Luther King Jr., is admitted to Piedmont Hospital in Atlanta for a possible stroke. (AP)(ABC news)
- Madonna suffers multiple broken bones from a horseback riding accident during her 47th birthday celebration. (MTV)
- ITN news announces it has uncovered classified documents which seem to imply that Jean Charles de Menezes, the man shot dead by British Police on July 22, 2005, was not wearing a heavy coat, did not jump the ticket barrier, was not given a warning, and did not at any time flee from police. (ITN)
- Two Puma helicopters crash near the city of Herat, in western Afghanistan, killing Spanish troops. (BBC)
- West Caribbean Airways Flight 708 from Colombia crashes in a remote region of Venezuela with 160 people on board. (BBC)
- A magnitude-7.2 earthquake strikes northeastern coast of Honshū, Japan at 11.46am (02:46 UTC), injuring at least 40 people, and resulting in a tsunami warning. (BBC) (Guardian) (CNN) (Reuters) (Link dead as of 21:21, 14 January 2007 (UTC))
- World Youth Day 2005 begins in Cologne, Germany. (SD)
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- Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: An Israeli settler kills 3 Palestinian civilians in the West Bank. The attack was condemned by Ariel Sharon as a "Jewish Terror act" and "twisted thinking" while Hamas claimed the right to avenge the deaths. (Reuters) (BBC)
- At least two people have been killed and several others injured in a series of over 300 blasts across Bangladesh. An outlawed Islamist group, Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh, has claimed responsibility. (BBC)
- Conflict in Iraq: At least 42 people have died following a series of co-ordinated car bombings in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad. (BBC)
- The first actual pullout of settlers in the Gaza Strip, as part of the Israel unilateral disengagement plan, has started. (FOXNews)
- S.R. Nathan returns unopposed for a second term in the Singapore presidential elections. Three other candidates who filed for candidature were rejected by the Presidential Elections Committee due to "lack of experience", amongst other reasons. (CNA), (Reuters)[permanent dead link]
- The governors of the U.S. states of New Mexico and Arizona declare an emergency along their borders with Mexico citing recent violence, and inaction in both the US government and the Mexican government. (NY Times), (Arizona Republic)[permanent dead link], (UK Telegraph) Archived 2007-03-12 at the Wayback Machine.
- The Zotob computer worm causes fatal crashes of computers worldwide. The worm only crashes PCs running Windows 2000 and earlier versions of Windows XP, shutting down and rebooting the computer endlessly. Affected were CNN, ABC, Caterpillar, New York Times and Capitol Hill PCs. (CNN).
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- Ohio Governor Bob Taft pleads no contest to four counts of filing incomplete financial disclosure statements in Columbus, Ohio and a Franklin County municipal court judge finds him guilty, fines him $4,000, and orders him to apologize publicly. Taft says he will not resign his office. (The Cincinnati Enquirer)
- A man described as Al Qaeda's leader in Saudi Arabia, Saleh Mohammed al-Aoofi, is killed in a shootout with police.(CBS) (BBC)
- Dennis Rader, also known as the BTK Killer, is sentenced 10 consecutive life sentences for 10 murders between 1974 and 1991. (Reuters) (CNN)
- Pope Benedict XVI made his first foreign trip to his homeland Germany, attending the World Youth Day 2005. He was welcomed with cheers and made several speeches to leaders of Germany and to pilgrims at the Rhine banks at a ship as well as in front of the Cologne cathedrale. - BBC Pictures; BBC News; MSNBC.
- Conflict in Iraq:
- NASA has decided to push the next shuttle mission STS-121 to March 2006 and reassign it to the Space Shuttle Discovery (MSNBC)
- Israeli troops forcibly remove Zionist Jews opposed to Ariel Sharon's unilateral disengagement plan one by one from their strongholds in the synagogues in the Israeli settlements on the Gaza Strip. Some of the protesters threw paint, rocks and acid at the soldiers. (BBC), (ABC)
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- Mounir El Motassadeq, the first person to be convicted for his role in the 9/11 attacks who had his conviction overturned in 2004, is re-convicted in Hamburg, Germany and sentenced to seven years in prison. (Reuters), (CBC), (Chicago SunTimes), (Guardian)
- Pope Benedict XVI speaks inside a synagogue at World Youth Day 2005 about the Judeo-Christian relationship. He also speaks with Protestant and Orthodox Christians about upcoming challenges within Christianity. BBC News
- Conflict in Iraq:
- Pierre Nkurunziza of the National Council for the Defense of Democracy-Forces for the Defense of Democracy, a former rebel leader of the Hutu majority in Burundi, has been elected unopposed as the new President of Burundi by the parliament, the first president chosen through democratic means since the start of the civil war in 1993. He will be sworn in on 27 August. (BBC), (BBC)
- Former Northern Ireland Secretary Mo Mowlam has died in a hospice at the age of 55. (BBC)
- A Jordanian soldier dies when three unexploded Katyusha rockets miss their targets and hit a warehouse and hospital in Aqaba, Jordan and hit a road by the airport in nearby Eilat, Israel. A group with alleged links to Al-Qaeda claims responsibility for the attacks, stating the targets were US ships docked at the Red Sea port in Aqaba, the USS Kearsarge and the USS Ashland. (CNN), (MSNBC)
- In a bid to end the armed conflict with Morocco, the Polisario Front independence movement in Western Sahara frees its last 404 Moroccan prisoners of war, many of them having been held for almost two decades. (Reuters), (Reuters), (MSNBC), (BBC), (Guardian)
- New York authorities reveal the existence of a letter from a deceased woman who claims her husband (according to the New York Daily News, WINS 1010 cites a cab driver named Frank Burn) and two others killed Judge Joseph F. Crater and buried him under the boardwalk at Coney Island. Crater has been missing since 1930 and has since become one of the most famous "missing person" stories. (1010 WINS)[permanent dead link] (Fox News) (MSNBC) (New York Daily News) (New York Post)[permanent dead link]
- Merck & Co. loses the first wrongful death lawsuit over its painkiller Vioxx, with a jury awarding $253 Million in damages. There have been over 4000 cases filed against Merck over this drug. (MSNBC) (CNN)
- Pennsylvania police announced the discovery of a body presumed to be that of missing woman LaToyia Figueroa and the arrest of former boyfriend Stephen Poaches.(CNN)
- Pakistan's Supreme Court upholds the death sentence awarded to Manjit Singh, an alleged Research and Analysis Wing agent who was also reportedly involved in five bomb blasts in the country. Singh was arrested by security forces at the Indo-Pak border on August 30, 1990. (Indian Express) (Hindustan Times) Archived 2007-05-05 at the Wayback Machine
- In one of the worst confrontations on the Indo-Bangla frontier in recent months, Bangladesh Rifles opens unprovoked fire at the India side at some outposts in West Bengal. About 500 rounds were fired in the skirmishes, but there was no casualty. (Press Trust of India) (Sify)
- During one of the most intense thunderstorms in Toronto, Canada, a very heavy downpour of rain caused widespread flooding in the Greater Toronto Area and on the major freeway leading into downtown Toronto, the Don Valley Parkway. Damage is estimated at at least CAN$ 500,000,000.
- First episode of Channel 4 TV series Balls of Steel
- The id Tech 3 source code was released under the GPL.
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- More than 800,000 people joined Pope Benedict XVI for the concluding Mass of World Youth Day 2005 in Cologne, Germany. (CNN) The next World Youth Day was announced to be held in Sydney, Australia in 2008. BlueAirNews News
- Martin Dillon, 48, musician, operatic tenor, and professor of music, died in Randolph, VT. Martin Dillon was found dead, in the back yard of a Highland Avenue residence, in Randolph, VT. Musicians and supporters of the Central Vermont Chamber Music Festival | (CVCMF) were stunned to learn that tenor Martin Dillon died about 12 hours after his August 20 concert on the Chandler Music Hall stage. Due to the untimely nature of his death, an autopsy and a toxicology report was ordered, and there was no appearance of anything suspicious. Later it was confirmed that he died of a cardiac arrest of natural causes. See Randolph Herald News [1] See Tribute blog[2] See In Memoriam Rutgers Camden [3]
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- Iraq's parliament receives a draft of that country's constitution, minutes before the revised deadline. The parliamentary vote on the constitution will be delayed until a final draft emerges. (ABC)
- Eric Rudolph is sentenced to three more life terms without possibility of parole for the Centennial Olympic Park bombing of the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. (BBC) (VOA)
- A large explosion injures several people in Beirut, Lebanon. (BBC) (CNN)
- The Piano Man has been identified and sent back home to Bavaria, Germany. (BBC)(CNN)
- Conflict in Afghanistan: US Troops claim to have killed more than one hundred suspects following raids in south and East Afghanistan. (BBC)
- Conflict in Iraq: US Troops claim that they will investigate the circumstances following the death of a cousin of Iraq's envoy to the United Nations. The man died from a bullet wound to the head as he opened his door to US Soldiers in western Iraq. (BBC)
- Patriarch Theophilus III is unanimously elected 141st Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem by the Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church of Jerusalem to replace ousted predecessor Irenaios I.(LA Times)[permanent dead link] (Link dead as of 00:41, 15 January 2007 (UTC))
- Israeli forces enter the last remaining Israeli settlement in the Gaza Strip to remove the settlers from Netzarim, a religious farming community of about 500, completing the evacuation of all the enclaves. Four small militant settlements on the West Bank will also be cleared, with 5,500 troops heading there to begin evictions on Tuesday. (Reuters) (Link dead as of 00:41, 15 January 2007 (UTC)), IMRA
- Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon announces that existing large West Bank Israeli settlements will be expanded. (WikiNews)
- Voting registration begins in the war-torn east of the Democratic Republic of Congo ahead of planned elections. (BBC)
- In tennis, Maria Sharapova becomes the first Russian woman to reach world number one replacing injured American Lindsay Davenport at the top of the WTA rankings. (BBC) (Yahoo! News)
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- At least 41 die when TANS Peru Flight 204, a Boeing 737-200, crashes near Pucallpa, Peru, with 100 on board. It was the fifth major airline accident this month. (Reuters) (Link dead as of 21:38, 14 January 2007 (UTC)), (BBC), (CNN).
- UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan visits Zinder, Niger, which is affected by a regional food crisis in West Africa. (Guardian), (BBC), (CNN) (Link dead as of 21:38, 14 January 2007 (UTC)), (Reuters) (Link dead as of 21:38, 14 January 2007 (UTC))
- Israel completes the unilateral disengagement from all settlements in the Gaza Strip and four in the West Bank. (Reuters) (Link dead as of 21:38, 14 January 2007 (UTC)), (BBC), (Haaretz)[permanent dead link] (Link dead as of 21:38, 14 January 2007 (UTC))
- Canada has sent 2 Kingston-class warships to the north Arctic port of Churchill, Manitoba following a territorial dispute with Denmark regarding Hans Island. (BBC)
- Christian religious leader Pat Robertson, a televangelist and former candidate for President of the United States, calls on the U.S. to kill Hugo Chávez, the President of Venezuela.(Yahoo! News (Link dead as of 21:38, 14 January 2007 (UTC))) (BBC) (ABC) (Link dead as of 21:38, 14 January 2007 (UTC))
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- Iraq's National Assembly signs the text of the proposed Iraqi constitution. A referendum will be held on 15 October, with leaders of the Sunni community already calling for a "no" vote. (BBC)
- Hawaii, represented by Ewa Beach, Hawaii, defeats Willemstad, Curaçao 7-6 in the Little League World Series (Yahoo)
- Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh says the country will help Afghanistan deal with terrorism and rebuilding the country. (NDTV)
- Omri Sharon, son of the Prime Minister of Israel, Ariel Sharon, has been formally indicted on charges of corruption following allegations concerning Ariel Sharon's bid to become leader of the Likud party in 1999. (BBC)
- People begin to return to their homes as road and rail routes reopen after the 2005 European floods. (BBC)
- Hurricane Katrina:
- Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: A Palestinian Islamic Jihad suicide bomber kills himself and injures close to 50 people in the southern Israeli city of Beersheba near the main bus terminal. According to sources, the bomber was trying to make his way to Beersheba's Soroka Hospital. (YNETnews) (Ha'aretz) (The Jerusalem Post) (BBC) (Reuters)
- Two Serb youths have been killed and two wounded in a drive-by shooting in Kosovo (BBC)
- The exiled ex-Ugandan president Milton Obote has announced he is to retire as president of the Uganda People's Congress, the party he has led since 1959. (Xinhua)
- Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez threatens to take legal action against Pat Robertson and potentially seek his extradition after the U.S. evangelist called for the assassination the South American leader. (Reuters)
- Cincinnati, Ohio area residents were forced to shelter-in-place late in the day because of a train car that began leaking styrene.
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- Conflict in Iraq: According to U.S. and Iraqi government officials, US Air strikes near the border with Syria have left 56 civilians and over seven insurgents dead. (CNN)
- In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina:
- The death toll in Biloxi, Mississippi, may be as high as 80. Mayor A.J. Holloway declares that Katrina "is our tsunami", comparing the catastrophe to the 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake and Tsunami. (Yahoo! News) (Link dead as of 21:22, 14 January 2007 (UTC)) Residents report storm surge higher than Hurricane Camille.
- US Highway 90 along Gulfport, Mississippi, has been destroyed.
- New Orleans, Louisiana, almost completely floods when levees along Lake Pontchartrain break. At least one attempt to repair broken levees was ended unsuccessfully. Gas leaks pollute the floodwaters. The primary evacuation site at the Louisiana Superdome is safe, with water only 3 ft. (1 m) deep outside. Death tolls there remain untold. Governor Kathleen Blanco orders the evacuation of everyone remaining in New Orleans.
- The storm surge has totally destroyed the Interstate 10 causeway connecting the east side of New Orleans to mainland Louisiana over the east tip of Lake Pontchartrain.
- The American Red Cross declares that the relief effort will exceed in scope that after the September 11, 2001 attacks. (Fox News)
- Michael Brown, director of the United States Federal Emergency Management Agency, declares that Katrina was "catastrophic" and pledges full federal assistance. (Yahoo! News) (Link dead as of 21:22, 14 January 2007 (UTC))
- Oil reaches US$70/bbl for the second time, closes at $69.35 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gasoline expected to rise as well. AP
- Former Prime Minister of Israel, Binyamin Netanyahu, has declared his intention to challenge Ariel Sharon for leadership of the Likud party. (BBC)
- In Paris, France, seven die and fourteen are injured when a fire burns down an apartment housing African immigrants owned by the Société Immobilière d'Économie Mixte de la Ville de Paris 22:00 (GMT+1) (Bloomberg)
- Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced India would give US$50 million in additional aid for the reconstruction of Afghanistan during his meetings with Hamid Karzai. Earlier, it had pledged US$500 million to help rebuild the war-ravaged country.(MSN)
- The 2005 Forbes Global CEO Conference has kicked off in Sydney, Australia. Police arrest four at a barricade surrounding the Opera House (Wikinews) (Sydney Morning Herald via SMH.com.au)
- Former New South Wales Opposition Leader, John Brogden, is hospitalized after apparent suicide attempt after resigning as party leader. (Sydney Morning Herald via SMH.com.au)
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