Al Jazeera broadcasts a video tape claimed to be supplied byAl-Qaeda which apparently shows suicide bomberMohammad Sidique Khan prior to the7 July 2005 London bombings stating that he would take part in the attacks. He warned Westerners that they would not be safe because of their "crimes against humanity."(Guardian/AP)
US financial markets opened with mixed volatility in reaction to disruptions to the nation's oil distribution system along the Gulf Coast and concerns for consumer spending. By the closing bell theNASDAQ andDow Jones Industrial Average dropped two percent. PresidentGeorge W. Bush andFederal Reserve ChairmanAlan Greenspan and top economic advisers gave the markets a favorable bump after a noon meeting to consider financial impacts of Hurricane Katrina's devastation.(MarketWatch)
Russia marks the first anniversary of theBeslantragedy in which militants seized nearly 1,200 hostages, killing 331, more than half of them children.(The Guardian)
U.S. PresidentGeorge W. Bush tours the area devastated byHurricane Katrina amidst growing criticism of his lack of leadership. Media reports say he will not visitNew Orleans. Bush said order would be restored and New Orleans would emerge from its "darkest days".(BBC)
The oil-rich nation ofQatar has offered the United States $100 million to assist in the humanitarian crisis triggered by Hurricane Katrina.(CNN)
Spain joins the global effort to prevent a US oil crisis caused by Hurricane Katrina by providing the United States with 70,000 barrels per day (11,000 m3/d) during September.(International Herald Tribune)
Over 40,000 military personnel will be deployed along theGulf Coast in the coming week: PresidentGeorge W. Bush is ordering 7,023 additional active duty forces to the Gulf Coast to add to the 4,000 active duty personnel and 21,000 National Guard troops already in the area.The Pentagon announced an additional 10,000 troop deployment from the National Guard.(The White House)(BBC)
The racial andsocio-economic fallout from response to Hurricane Katrina continues to grow. Poor black people, saysLani Guinier, aHarvard University law professor, are "the canary in the mine. Poor black people are the throwaway people. And we pathologize them in order to justify our disregard."(Washington Post)
"The people of our city are holding on by a thread," MayorRay Nagin says.(The Argus)
Israeli-Palestinian conflict:PNA PresidentMahmoud Abbas said that 97.5 percent ofGaza Strip lands that Israel would evacuate from were state-owned lands and that the Islamic University was entitled to receive lands in order to expand its facilities.(IPC)
Estimates of the death toll inNew Orleans are made byH&HS SecretaryMichael Leavitt: "I think it's evident it's in the thousands. It's clear to me that this has been sickeningly difficult and profoundly tragic circumstance"(Express News)
TheCoast Guard asks people in the New Orleans area to hang brightly colored or white sheets, towels or anything else that might help draw attention to those needing assistance.(The Times-Picayune)
Secretary of StateCondoleezza Rice visits her nativeAlabama and defends President Bush's response to the hurricane saying "Nobody, especially the president, would have left people unattended on the basis of race."(Express News)
With 250,000 refugees already inTexas, Gov.Rick Perry ordered emergency officials to begin preparations to airlift some of them to other states that have offered to help.(Denton Record Chronicle)
Wistar Institute scientists say they will present details of research on their creation of "miracle mice" next week at a Cambridge University conference on Regeneration. The experimental animals are able toregenerate amputated limbs or body organs.(The Australian)
InBregenz,Austria, aGerman woman attacks theRoy Lichtenstein paintingNudes in Mirror with ajackknife. Witnesses say that the woman claimed that the painting was not authentic. Although there were several slashes in the painting, valued at €4 million, it can be repaired.(Reuters)
ARussian Navy fighter jet crashes and sinks to a depth of 1,100 meters nearShetland in theNorwegian Sea during a military exercise. The jet, aSukhoi Su-33, slid off the flight deck of aircraft carrierAdmiral Kuznetsov after the plane's arresting cable broke during the landing attempt; the pilot ejected out of the plane and survived. Due to the plane's reportedly containing secrethigh-tech military equipment, Russian authorities have decided to destroy it using underwater bombs.(Pravda.Ru),(Aftenposten)
Ethiopian general elections, 2005: The National Elections Board ofEthiopia, following repeat voting in 31 areas, announces that the rulingEPRDF coalition has retained control of the government, obtaining 59 percent of the seats in Parliament. (IRIN)
Typhoon Nabi (Category 3) reaches theJapanese coasts. It will make landfall today, and is expected to take 3 days to cross the island ofKyūshū.(Reuters)
Jefferson Parish,Louisiana PresidentAaron Broussard toldCBS's Early Show anchor Harry Smith today: "Bureaucracy has murdered people in the Greater New Orleans area and bureaucracy needs to stand trial in Congress today. Take whatever idiot they have at the top and give me a better idiot."(News Busters)
PresidentGeorge W. Bush announces he will head an investigation into the New Orleans disaster response. He tells reporters in the Cabinet Room: "People want us here to play a blame game. We got to solve problems. We're here to solve problems. There'll be ample time for people to figure out what went right and what went wrong."(Al Jazeera)
Barbara Bush comes under criticism while visitingHurricane Katrina relief centers inHouston, TX. Mrs. Bush stated on theNPR program "Marketplace: "So many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway, so this (chuckles)--this is working very well for them." The former First Lady also said that the fact that the 15,000 evacuees in the Astrodome might want to stay in Texas was "kind of scary".(EditorAndPublisher.com)
Cairo: At least 34 people were killed and 60 injured by flames and an ensuing stampede when a fire broke out in the theater run byEgypt's Culture Ministry; about 1,000 people were watching the play.(Y! & AP)(BBC)
Typhoon Nabi kills at least 21 in Japan with over 50 still missing.(AFP) Over 100,000 people were told to evacuate.(CBC)
Almost 600 people have now been officially declared dead in anoutbreak ofJapanese Encephalitis inIndia. Officials fear the actual death toll might be much higher because many deaths in rural areas are not reported.(BBC)
Michael Jackson has announced he will record and release acharity single dedicated to the victims ofHurricane Katrina. Jackson has asked other recording stars to providevocals for the single.Babyface has confirmed he will be participating. The single is titled "From The Bottom of My Heart" and is due for release in two weeks. All proceeds will go to the victims ofHurricane Katrina. However, over one year later the single has not been released.
New Orleans mayorRay Nagin again urges the city's remaining holdouts to leave the area. New Orleans is now only 60% underwater. The number of dead in the city could be as few as 2,000 and as many as 20,000, according to estimates.(IHT)
J. T. Alpaugh, pool helicopter reporter for the major media, says today onNBC'sCountdown with Keith Olbermann that: "There is the strong smell of rotting water, an awful smell, something you don't ever want to have to smell" rising high into the air space around New Orleans.(Los Angeles Times)
One woman was killed and over a dozen were injured following a stampede when people fled theSaudi Arabian Airlines plane they were on after ahoaxbomb threat was made.(Reuters) (Link dead as of 00:43, 15 January 2007 (UTC))
News Corporation says it will buyIGN Entertainment for $650 million. IGN is one of the largest multimedia sites on the Internet and also owns theGameSpy Network andAskMen.com.(BBC)
Emergency officials requisition 25,000 body bags as search and rescue operations continue inLouisiana. A spokesman for the state's department of health and hospitals said: "We don't know what to expect ... It means we are prepared."(The Guardian)
Apple Computer has unveiled a pencil-thiniPod nano digital music player and along-anticipated cell phone that plays music like aniPod, both aimed at extending its domination of the digital music market. Also, Apple discontinued theiriPod mini.(New York Times) (registration required),(CNN) (Link dead as of 00:43, 15 January 2007 (UTC))
Australian Federal Opposition LeaderKim Beazley says theAustralian Government's proposed newanti-terrorism laws would not deter terrorism. Others say the laws would radicalise young Muslims and civil liberty groups say the laws would make Australian society more dangerous.(ABC)(ABC)
India andPakistan will exchange civilian prisoners on September 12 at the Waga border. Those exchanged have completed their sentences.(The Indian Express)
Four people are known to have died following a football match in theDemocratic Republic of Congo after a wall collapsed in the stadium the teams were playing in.(BBC)
Russia is planning to build the world's first low capacity floating nuclear power plant (FNPP) at a cost of $200,000. The plant will produce 1/150th the power of a standard Russian facility.(MOSNEWS)
New Orleans mayorRay Nagin interviewed onNBC'sMeet the Press is critical of suggestions that tent cities be constructed to houseHurricane Katrina survivors. He promises to lead the rebuilding of the city saying: "New Orleaneans are the only ones to rebuild. We're going to rebuild New Orleans and make sure we have resources to get the job done."(NBC)
Over 800,000 people in theZhejiang province ofChina are evacuating as the province is hit byTyphoon Khanun which has a packing center winds of 144 kilometers per hour.(Chinadaily)
InColombia, an airplane hijacker and his son surrender peacefully after five hours of negotiations. Officials coaxed him out with what he later learned was a worthlessbank cheque.(CNN)
According to the Department of Water and Power, the power outage is of "non-malicious cause" triggered by an accidental error in connecting lines to a newly installed computer. DWP (Dept of Water and Power) General Manager Ron Deaton says repairs have been made and the system will be restored in an orderly manner.(Newsday)
Despite the disruption to two million customers, the system's successfully controlled shutdown prevented ablackout from extending beyond the region.
According to witnesses, the Egyptian border patrol police opened fire at crowds swarming theEgypt-Gaza border atRafah, killing aPalestinian man and injuring another. An Egyptian spokesman later denied that Egyptian troops fired the shots that killed the man.(Reuters)(Al Jazeera),(BBC)
eBay announced it will buySkype, theLuxembourg-based web telephone network, in a $2.6 billion deal.(BBC)
Hong Kong Disneyland opens in a partnership betweenDisney and theHong Kong government. This marks the first attempt of Disney tapping into the Chinese and southeastern Asian market.(BBC)(CNN)
Panic buying of petrol and diesel is in full swing across Britain, with long queues outside service stations in a worrying echo of the 2000Fuel Protest.(BBC)
Following serious Loyalist rioting during which dozens of shots were fired at riot police, the Northern Ireland SecretaryPeter Hain announced that the British government no longer recognized theUlster Volunteer Force ceasefire.
U.S. PresidentGeorge W. Bush addresses the nation fromJackson Square inNew Orleans saying: "We have witnessed the kind of devastation no citizen of this great and generous nation should ever have to know. We will do what it takes and stay as long as it takes to help New Orleans to return their community and their lives." He provides theFederal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) phone number to assist families in reuniting: 877‒568‒3317.(Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
Two undercover UK soldiers are detained on claims they had been planting bombs, evading arrest, exchanging fire with police, killing one, and failing to stop at a checkpoint. An operation to free the two prisoners ends with civilians gathering around the tanks sent to free the prisoners and setting the tanks they were in alight. Soldiers from the tanks flee the scene while being stoned by the locals, one man, Sergeant George Long, of the Staffordshire Regiment, was seen on fire and another man was seen being surrounded and beaten by locals. One Iraqi official claimed that 150 prisoners escaped including the two soldiers.(China view)(The Times)(BBC)(Washington Post),(the Independent)
At least 10 people, nine police and one civilian, have died following a series of explosions at aShia festival marking the birth of theImam Mehdi inKarbala.(BBC)
At least 154 of the dead inNew Orleans were patients in hospitals and nursing homes. They represent more than 25 percent of the bodies recovered to date.(CivilRights.org)
Santana Moss makes two miracle touchdown catches in the final minutes of a Redskins-Cowboys game to win 14-13, bringing the firstWashington Redskins victory atTexas Stadium in ten years.[1]
A house in city ofHöxter detonated due to a deliberately caused explosion, killing 2 people and injuring 52 people, 16 of them seriously[2]
North Korea announces that its offer to end its nuclear arms program is dependent on it being allowed to build a civilian nuclear reactor.(ABC)[permanent dead link],(BBC)
German green politicianJoschka Fischer announced his retirement from leading the Green party in the newly elected Parliament, retiring to become an "elder statesman" in the back benches.Spiegel online
Hurricane Rita reachesCategory 5 intensity, the third most intense in recorded history. The current path tracks landfall atGalveston,Texas on Saturday. The inbound causeway to the Island has been closed and mandatory evacuation has been ordered. Residents on theGulf Coast south of Galveston are urged to evacuate.(Houston Chronicle)(NHC)
At least 50 people die following a series of storms and floods that hit theBay of Bengal inBangladesh andIndia; many more are missing, and officials fear for the safety of over a hundred fishermen.(BBC)
Lester Crawford, U.S.Food and Drug Administration Commissioner resigns; citing old age. Critics accuse Crawford of incompetence regardingVioxx, cloned beef, approval of malfunctioning heart devices, and alleged corruption. He served two months in office.(AP on Yahoo!)
Hurricane Rita makes landfall as aCategory 3 hurricane on theTexas -Louisiana border at 2:38 a.m. CDT . The storm was downgraded within four hours to Category 2. As of 10 p.m. CDT (0300UTC,September 25), the center of Tropical Depression Rita was located on land 40 miles (65 km) north ofShreveport, Louisiana. Rita was moving north at 10 mph (16 km/h) with maximum sustained winds of 35 mph (55 km/h) (CNN) While there are only a few direct deaths, more than 100 people die in the course of the chaotic evacuation of 2.5 million people. (Houston Chronicle)
2005 northern Peru earthquake: A magnitude 7.5 earthquake, the strongest in the country in four years, strikes northernPeru, with at least four persons reported dead.(CNN)
Swiss voters approve areferendum by 56% to 44% to allow citizens from the 10 newestEuropean Union member countries to travel and work in Switzerland. Quotas will be applied until2011 on the number of people allowed to settle.(BBC)
At least fourShia Muslims, believed to be members of theMahdi Army are killed by US soldiers in a gunfight following a U.S. raid intoSadr City, easternBaghdad.(BBC)
Nine people die following a bomb attack on a police station inHillah.(BBC)
TheIsrael Defense Forces launch Operation First Rain, a series of air strikes onPalestinian targets in theGaza Strip, including an allegedHamas weapons factory and a children's school. According to Israel the operation's goal is to stop shelling of southernIsraeli towns and villages by Palestinian militants, though several civilians have been injured, including an infant. At least 200 Palestinians have been arrested in overnightIDF raids in theWest Bank.(BBC)(The Guardian)(YNETnews)(Al Jazeera)
EuroBasket 2005:Greece beats Germany 78 to 62 and wins for the second time in its history the Eurobasket.
Imad Yarkas is convicted inSpain of conspiracy withal-Qaeda in theSeptember 11, 2001 attacks and sentenced to 27 years.Driss Chebli, was convicted of collaborating with a terrorist group and sentenced to six years,Al Jazeera journalistTayseer Allouni was also convicted of collaborating with a terrorist group and sentenced to seven years, while Ghasoub al-Abrash Ghalyoun was acquitted on all counts.(AP) (Link dead as of 21:25, 14 January 2007 (UTC))
ThePrime Minister of Israel,Ariel Sharon, survives a major leadership challenge within theLikud Party. The proposal, which would have ordered the next Party Leader election be held in October2005 rather than April2006, is voted down by the party's Central Committee, 48% to 52%.(Yahoo!News) (Link dead as of 22:31, 14 January 2007 (UTC))
The Pentagon announces it will investigate allegations thatUS soldiers posted photographs of deadIraqis on awebsite so as to get access to freeInternet porn.CAIR had earlier called for the investigation after the details of the site came to light.(BBC)
U.S.House Majority LeaderTom DeLay is indicted on one count of criminal conspiracy byTexas grand jury, for allegedly funding Texas state elections secretly through the Republican national office.
An 82-year-oldBritish man was manhandled out of Labour Party Conference for loudly protesting thatJack Straw was lying about Britain's involvement with theConflict in Iraq.(BBC)
The new United Nations coordinator forhuman andavian influenza warns that 5-150 million people could die in a fluepidemic. Humans have no natural immunity to the virus.(M&C News)(BBC)
