Iraq's ambassador to theUN,Samir Sumaidaie, accuses U.S. Marines of the "cold-blooded murder" of his 21-year-old cousin during a June 25 raid of his home inAl Anbar province.(Reuters)
In theDemocratic Republic of Congo, at least 10 people have died during protests over delay to the presidential elections. Opposition claims the numbers are closer to 42.(Wikinews)(BBC)
ATorontomosque makes history by hosting the first knownMuslim prayer service in history to be led by a woman.(CBC)
General Motors Corp. announces that it had its best month in 19 years inJune 2005, increasing total deliveries by 41% against June 2004,(GM website)
Romania'slegal tender,leu was re-valued, 10,000 old lei becoming 1 new leu. Thus theISO 4217 code was changed from ROL (Romanian leu) to RON (Romanian New leu).
Former World No.1Venus Williams comes back from match point down to defeatLindsay Davenport in the longest everWimbledon Ladies' final of all time (4-6 7-6 9-7) for her third Wimbledon title and her first Grand Slam title since September 2001.
Roger Federer defeatsAndy Roddick in the Men's Wimbledon Final in straight sets to capture his third consecutive Wimbledon crown and fifth Grand Slam title overall.[Newslink missing]
InPristina,Kosovo, threebombs explode almost at the same time 9:30 PM. They explode near Kosovo's parliament building andEAR building; at the Commercial Bank near theOSCE building; and localUnited Nationspeacekeeping headquarters. No injuries are reported. PresidentIbrahim Rugova and prime ministerBajram Kosumi state that the explosions were intended to "destabilize" the region prior to assessment of possibilities for futureindependence.(B92)(Reuters AlertNet)
Computermicrochip manufacturerAMD asks aDelaware court to order that third parties to itsantitrust lawsuit against industry giantIntel, preserve certain documents in their possession that may be required as evidence. The court grants that request, ordering the third parties to suspend normal document destruction as to the documents described.(TechWorld)
The firstVODcast (RSS on-demand TV channel) was published.[Newslink missing]
The MexicanInstitutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), the country's current opposition party that ruled for over 70 years, has claimed victory in elections for the governor of the country's most populated state,Mexico.(BBC)
Shareholders of French liquor distributorPernod Ricard approve its acquisition of Britain'sAllied Domecq, parent company of US coffee and baked goods chainDunkin' Donuts
InIndia, militants attack and try to storm a makeshift temple of Ram inAyodhya,Uttar Pradesh; most of them die in a firefight with the security forces. There are differing reports about the number of attackers and how many were killed. The temple site is a source of dispute betweenMuslims andHindus.(Newindpress)(Rediff)(Reuters AlertNet)
InIraq, gunmen attack envoys fromPakistan andBahrain. The attacks come three days after Egypt's top envoy was ambushed in the street and injured. The attempted kidnappings are meant to discourage other nations from having ties with Iraq.(LA Times)Archived 2005-09-11 at theWayback Machine
The government ofIndonesia announced the extension of its immunization campaign againstpolio. The second round in this campaign was originally scheduled to end yesterday.(Bloomberg)
United States The ABC reality series Dancing with the Stars premiered, Kelly Monaco won the competition.
Yahoo! Answers,Yahoo!'s current question-and-answer service, is launched. Their first question is posted just a couple of hours after their 9 A.M. launch time.
In India 1000 demonstrators protesting attack inAyodhya clash withriot police in New Delhi. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. There are small protests in other cities as well but police state that disturbances are minor compared to clashes in previous years. Congress presidentSonia Gandhi warns that opposition should not "politicize" the incident(Newindpress) (registration required),(Reuters India) (Link dead as of 04:20,16 January2007 (UTC)),(BBC)
George W. Bush collides with a police officer while riding a bike. Bush suffers minor scrapes and the officer's ankle is injured.(Yahoo! News) (Link dead as of 04:20,16 January2007 (UTC))
7 July 2005 London bombings: Fourexplosions are reported on theLondon Underground and bus system, leading to the entire transport network being shut down. A previously unheard-of splinter group ofal-Qaeda has claimed responsibility, though their involvement has not yet been verified. The attacks have left at least 50 people dead and roughly 700 others injured.(BBC (1))(BBC (2))(Wikinews)
Researchers halt a study in Africa after results indicate thatcircumcised men are 70% less likely to contractAIDS. The study will be presented at the Third International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Pathogenesis and Treatment later this month. Meanwhile, others argue that ritual circumcisionincreases the risk of infection because of poor sanitary conditions.(Advocate)(AllAfrica)
InMexico, the city ofNuevo Laredo choosesOmar Pimentel as the new chief of police. When gangsters assassinated the previous chief a month ago, Mexican federal police occupied the city and arrested the whole police force for investigation.(El Universal)(BBC)
Followinggeneral elections in May,Ethiopia releases the first round of official results for 307 of 527 parliamentary seats. The rulingEPRDF has won 139 seats, while opposition partiesCUD andUEDF won 93 and 42, respectively. Smaller parties and independent candidates won the remaining 33 seats. CUD and UEDF announced plans to form a coalition government.(BBC News)
Florida GovernorJeb Bush closes the inquiry into the case ofTerri Schiavo, having been informed by prosecutors that there is no evidence of any crime leading to her 1990 collapse.(Reuters)
File-swapping serviceiMesh confirms that it has entered into a licensing agreement with music giantSony/BMG. The deal is widely considered a reaction toa recent decision by theU.S. Supreme Court threatening liability for file swapping software providers.
InAzerbaijan, about 30,000 (other sources varying from 10,000 up to 50,000) opposition members demonstrated in the country's capital, calling for fair parliamentary elections.(Photos)
Karl Rove's lawyer,Robert Luskin, acknowledges that Rove was connected to the leak that led to the revelation ofValerie Plame's position as a CIA agent. Luskin confirmed that Rove had been interviewed by Cooper for the article. It is unclear, however, what passed between Cooper and Rove. "Rove did not mention her name to Cooper," Luskin said. "This was not an effort to encourageTime [magazine] to disclose her identity. What he was doing was discouragingTime from perpetuating some statements that had been made publicly and weren't true." Luskin had previously said that Rove "absolutely did not identify Valerie Plame."(Newsweek),(Washington Post)
TheIndonesian government asks TV stations to close down between 1 am and 5 am daily for six months in order to save energy after recent increases in the price of crude oil. Broadcasts of immensely-popular live Europeanfootball matches which happen in the middle of the Indonesian night, are excluded from the shutdown.(BBC)
TheGeneral Synod of theChurch of England adopts a resolution "that the process for removing the legal obstacles to theordination of women to theepiscopate should now be set in train"; and schedules debate on the best form of legislation to achieve this for its February 2006 session.(BBC)
London police identify four suspects in the7 July 2005 London bombings; all are British citizens apparently fromLeeds,West Yorkshire, and at least one is believed to have died in the blasts. Raids find explosive materials and other forensic evidence.(Reuters)(BBC)
InMonaco,Prince Albert is inaugurated as ruling prince, in succession to his fatherPrince Rainier who died in April. The unmarried Prince Albert acknowledged last week that he has a 22-month-old illegitimate son,Alexandre, and that there may be other paternity suits.(BBC),(CNN),(Mail&Guardian)
InWashington, D.C., Presidential Press SecretaryScott McClellan refused for the second day in a row to respond to reporters' questions aboutNewsweek's revelation thatKarl Rove disclosed the identity ofCIA agentValerie Plame. McClellan had asserted Rove's innocence on many occasions in the past. ThePresident, at a photo-op today, ignored reporters who asked if his pledge to fire any staffer involved was still operative.(Bloomberg)
Stockholders of bothProcter & Gamble andGillette overwhelmingly approve a combination of the two huge consumer-product companies, although the deal faces regulatory scrutiny both in Europe and in the United States.(Forbes)
In thePhilippines, thousands of protestors gather inManila to demand the resignation of presidentGloria Arroyo, who has reshuffled her cabinet. The military is on alert in case of violence.(Sun Star)(Reuters)
In Peru, thousands of demonstrators protest inLima against a US trade pact that could lead to increase in the cost ofmedicines.(Reuters AlertNet)
In Chile, the Senate reforms the country'sconstitution, decreasing power of the military in the upper house and reducing thepresidential term for four years. The previous constitution is from the era ofAugusto Pinochet.(Reuters)
InHaiti,Jacques Roche, kidnapped prominent journalist and poet, is found dead. Police says he was tortured and shot. Roche was kidnapped July 10(Reuters) (Link dead as of 00:39, 15 January 2007 (UTC))
In thePhilippines, opposition demonstrators demandingresignation of presidentGloria Arroyo seize the building of the Department of Agriculture and smash windows before dispersing before police. Her political opponents in the senate want to beginimpeachment procedures(ABS-CBN)(Channel News Asia)(Reuters AlertNet) GovernorLuis Singson, claims that he has a tape of a conversation where the jailed presidentJoseph Estrada is planning to return to power by disposing of whoever would lead the transitional government after Arroyo resigns.(ABS-CBN)(INQ7)
Asuicide bomber detonates explosives near anLPG (propane) fuel tanker parked near a gas station south ofBaghdad, sparking a massive explosion that kills more than 60 people and wounds as many as 100 in one of the worst insurgent attacks to hit the area since theUS occupation of Iraq.(CNN)
6 killed inSrinagar blast near school. The suicide bomber rammed his car on a passing army jeep, causing a massive explosion. Pakistani groupHizbul Mujahideen is suspected to be behind the attack.(Rediff)
InSpain, hugeforest fire continues to rage, threatening villages ofSelas andAblanque. A group of tenday-trippers has confessed being responsible for the start of the fire and one of them has been charged(EITB)(BBC)
Hurricane Emily makes landfall along the northeast coast of Mexico, about 75 miles south of theMexico–United States border, with maximum sustained winds of 105 mph, causing damage along the coast. In Texas, flooding and tornadoes have been reported from the effects of Emily.(CBS news)
Police inPakistan have detained about 200 suspectedIslamist extremists in a series of raids on religious schools, mosques and other properties.(BBC)
Canada becomes the 4th nation in the world to legalize same-sex marriage nationwide.(National Post)
Indian Army announces that it has unveiled ascam where contractors responsible for transportation offuel to depots of its Northern Command had sold off the fuel and filled the tanks with water(Times of India)(NDTV)
InMaharashtra, India, the state Assembly unanimously adopts a Bill amending theBombay Police Act, 1951 which will ban dance bars across the state.(IndianExpress)
After a blitz of detentions of suspected militants andIslamists,Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf calls for aholy war against preachers of hate and announces steps to curb militant Islamic schools and groups.(Reuters)
Parts of theLondon Underground are evacuated, as British police are investigating reports of three separate incidents involving minor explosions inShepherd's Bush,Warren Street andOval underground stations. There are also reports of an incident on the no. 26 bus in Hackney, East London. There are no reported casualties andpolice are not yet treating the incidents as "major".(BBC)
ThePeople's Bank of China announces a 2 percent revaluation of its currency, theRenminbi (yuan), and says the yuan will no longer be pegged to theUS dollar, instead trading within a narrow range against a market basket of currencies.(AP)
InMorocco, authorities detain five supporters ofWestern Saharan independence for their alleged part in violent demonstrations last May.(Al-Jazeera)
InChina, a group of farmers inShengyou village inHebei province that demonstrated over seizure of an arable land for the power plant, win in a dispute.(Reuters AlertNet)(BBC)
Abomb explodes from beneath a car in the Lebanesecapital ofBeirut causing injuries, but no deaths.(BBC)
About 88 people are killed and 200 injured in aseries of car bombs in the Egyptian resort ofSharm el-Sheikh at about 0100 local time (2200 UTC Friday).(BBC)
Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk SeriAbdullah Ahmad Badawi says that he feels it is his duty to preventIslam and its symbols from being used to propagate violence. He has set three missions for himself – continuing to remind the world community to understand the root causes of terrorism, explaining that Islam is a religion of peace and opposed to violence, and showcasing Malaysia as a modern Islamic country and a safe place to invest and visit.(The Star)(Iranian Quran News Agency)[permanent dead link](Islam Online)
Microsoft announces that the former codenamed "Windows Longhorn" will now officially be known as "Windows Vista". The firstbeta test will be launched on August 3.
InMumbai, India,LeTmilitant and allegedAl-Qaida operative,Mohammed Afroze, is convicted of criminal conspiracy, conspiracy to disturb relations between friendly nations, and forging documents. However, he is acquitted on charges of waging war against the nation.(NDTV)
At least 36 people are dead after two days of violent fuel riots inYemen.(BBC)
At least 15 people are killed when adam collapses in south-westChina.(BBC)
Amosque in eastLondon and the surrounding area is evacuated for an hour following receipt of a bomb warning. The all-clear is given after the mosque is searched by police.(Wikinews),(Sky News)
The strongestearthquake to hitTokyo in more than a decade strikes easternJapan at 4:35 p.m. local time, injuring at least 27 people, rattling buildings and disrupting train and plane services.(CBC)
British police admit that the man killed yesterday byundercover officers had no connection to the suicide bombings or attempted bombings of previous days and weeks.Metropolitan Police has described the killing as a "tragedy". The victim,Jean Charles de Menezes, 27, was Brazilian.(BBC)
Rep.Barbara Lee (D-CA) introduces aCongressional Resolution of Inquiry which, if passed, will require theWhite House and theU.S. State Department to "transmit all information relating to communication with officials of the United Kingdom between January 1, 2002, and October 16, 2002, relating to the policy of the United States with respect to Iraq."(Wikinews)
At least five people have been killed after grenades were thrown at a night-club and official residences inEthiopia's Somali region.(BBC)
A mystery illness spreading through Western China has claimed its 17th victim. Doctors have confirmed the disease is neitherbird flu norSARS(BBC). Chinese health officials announce that autopsies point toStreptococcosis II as the probable culprit.(Xinhuanet).
Over 200 people have been killed in intenserain storms inMaharashtra, India, described by the Chief Minister of the state as the heaviest recorded rainfall in a single day in India. One third of the stateCapital,Mumbai, is said to be underwater causing more than a two hundred thousand people to be stranded in offices and roads for about 24 hours.(Rediff),(BBC)
Several protesters have been injured again inIndia on this second day of protests.(BBC)
TheSpace ShuttleDiscovery lifts off at 1039 EST this morning on missionSTS-114. TheNASA commentator says during launch "Lift-off, lift-off, and return to America's journey to the Moon, Mars, and beyond".(BBC).
InChina, the human death toll from an outbreak of thepig pathogenStreptococcus suis is 24. 21 are in critical condition and number of infections has increased to 117BBC
Two people have died following an explosion which destroyed a train tanker carrying oil, believed to have been caused by a bomb on the tracks. [Death Toll Confirmed](BBC)
SixIraqi soldiers have died following clashes in twoBaghdad streets.(BBC)
TheProvisional IRA issues a statement formally ordering an end to the armed campaign it has pursued since 1969 and ordering all its units to dump their arms, with effect from 1600 BST today (1500 UTC). The IRA has been on "cease-fire" since 1996 and said it would follow a democratic path ending more than 30 years of violence. It will not, however, disband.(BBC)(RTE)(Guardian)(Transcript of Statement)
The United States, China, India, Japan, South Korea and Australia have formed a partnership aiming to cut the emissions of gasses that lead to global warming. The agreement is known as theAsia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate.
The UK government imposes a travel ban on Kenyan transport ministerChris Murungaru, who is investigated for corruption, forbidding him from visiting Britain(BBC)(KBC)(AllAfrica)
Conflict in Iraq: At least two British private security agents have been killed following an attack on a convoy inBasra, southIraq.(BBC)
Lawyers for the formerPresident of Iraq,Saddam Hussein, claim he was attacked by an unidentified man after questioning by theIraqi special tribunal on Thursday; however the United States denies the event.(BBC)
More torrentialmonsoon rains have returned toMumbai inIndia, as it tries to recover from the recentfloods. The death toll in the floods rises to about 1,000.(BBC)
