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- AU officials report that Sudan has launched a major offensive in Darfur, a day after it rejected UNSC Resolution 1706, calling for a new 20,000 UN peacekeeping force. Over 20 people are reported dead and 1,000 displaced in clashes which broke earlier in the week. (AP)
- Disputed Mexican election: Deputies and senators of the PRD occupy the stage of Congress and prevent President Vicente Fox from delivering his final State of the Nation speech. Fox later addresses the nation on an all-channel telecast. (Associated Press) (Washington Post)
- Category 2 Hurricane John makes landfall near the tip of Baja California at around 7 p.m. PDT (0200 UTC September 2). (U.S. National Hurricane Center) (CBS)
- An Iranian passenger jet Tu-154, (Iran Air Flight 945) carrying 148 passengers crashes in Mashad, Iran killing 29 people. (CNN), (BBC)
- Israeli-Palestinian conflict
- Spain approves plans to deploy 1,100 troops to Lebanon as part of a UN peacekeeping force. (BBC)
- The Japanese Vice Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, Takao Kitabata, says Japan has enough petroleum reserves to prevent an oil crisis if economic sanctions are imposed on Iran over its nuclear program. Japan is almost entirely dependent on the Middle East for its oil and imports 15 percent of its total oil consumption from Iran.
- The 2006 Zakouma elephant slaughter is the latest of a series of massacres which has killed off over 97 percent of the original (the year 1970) Chadian elephant population of 300,000 animals. (National Geographic)
- Prime Minister of Poland, Jarosław Kaczyński, calls on the EU to develop a common foreign policy and build a "credible" military force. (Yahoo!)
- The Miss World 2006 pageant officially starts with the arrival of 104 nations to Warsaw, Poland for a month of activities across the country prior to the pageant's final on September 30th, 2006. (Times of India)
- Famous plastic model kit brand Airfix goes into administration after its parent company Humbrol is unable to produce kits at the Heller owned factory in Trun, N.France after Heller goes into administration
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- The security officers of Georgia arrest nearly 30 members of the opposition political party "Samartlianoba" (Justice) and its satellite organizations on suspicion of plotting a coup against the government. The party, which advocates closer political ties with the Russian Federation, is led by the nation's fugitive security chief Igor Giorgadze who is wanted by Interpol for his alleged involvement in the 1995 attempt on former Georgian President Shevardnadze's life. (BBC)
- The United States government announces that fourteen suspected terrorists are to be transferred to the Guantanamo Bay detainment camp and admits that these suspects have been held in CIA black sites. These people include Khalid Sheik Mohammed, believed to be the No. 3 al-Qaida leader before he was captured in Pakistan in 2003; Ramzi Binalshibh, an alleged would-be 9/11 hijacker; and Abu Zubaydah, who was believed to be a link between Osama bin Laden and many al-Qaida cells before he was also captured in Pakistan in March 2002. (BBC)
- The Singaporean economy tops a list of 175 economies as the most business-friendly economy in the world in a survey conducted by the World Bank's International Finance Corporation. (CNA) (IFC).
- In the United Kingdom junior defense minister Tom Watson and six Parliamentary Private Secretaries (Khalid Mahmood, Wayne David, Ian Lucas, Mark Tami, Chris Mole and David Wright) resign over Tony Blair's continuing refusal to declare when he will step down as Prime Minister. (BBC) (Guardian) (This is London)
- Japan's Princess Kiko gives birth to a son by caesarean section. The as-yet unnamed boy is the first male heir born to the Japanese Imperial Family in more than 40 years, and will ultimately become Emperor if the current succession laws are unchanged. The child's father, Prince Akishino is the second son of Emperor Akihito. (Japan Times), (Forbes)
- Côte d'Ivoire Prime Minister Charles Konan Banny dissolves his Cabinet after toxic waste was dumped in the city of Abidjan, making over 1,500 people ill and killing three. (BBC)
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- Australian motor racing legend Peter Brock has been killed in a crash while taking part in the Targa West rally in Western Australia. (News.com.au)
- Ralph "Bucky" Phillips, the most recent addition to the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, surrenders to Pennsylvania State Police. He is wanted for shooting three New York State troopers, one of whom died, after he escaped from jail. (The Buffalo News)
- Chilean Supreme Court lifts Augusto Pinochet's immunity concerning the Villa Grimaldi case. (BBC).
- The non-governmental organization Freedom House ranks Burma, Cuba, Libya, North Korea, Sudan, Syria, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan as the worst violators of human rights. FH also cited Tibet and Chechnya as areas of intense repression. (Payvand)
- The United States Senate states there is no evidence of formal links between Iraqi ex-leader Saddam Hussein and al-Qaeda leaders in Iraq prior to the 2003 Iraq War. (BBC)
- Missing United States Air Force officer Major Jill Metzger who disappeared in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan earlier this week is found in good health. Metzger says she was kidnapped by three men and a woman. (CBS)
- Shuji Nakamura is awarded the 2nd Millennium Technology Prize for his work on blue and white LEDs. The first recipient of the award was Tim Berners-Lee, developer of the World Wide Web. (BBC)
- A series of bomb blasts rock Malegaon town in Nashik district of the Indian state of Maharashtra, killing 37 and injuring around 100. (Bloomberg)
- Zimbabwe has failed to keep its promise to build new homes for the thousands whose houses were demolished last year during Operation Murambatsvina. (BBC)
- Taliban insurgency: A suicide car bomb explodes near the United States embassy in Kabul, killing at least ten people. (Boston Herald) (CNN)
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- BBC's The Proms 'Last Night at the Proms' took place at Royal Albert Hall in London. The proms were simulcasted to cities across the United Kingdom like Glasgow, Swansea, Belfast, Manchester and London Hyde Park. More than 100,000 people attended the festival in London and elsewhere. The proms are currently in their 112th season. (BBC News)
- Tens of thousands of protesters begin their anticorruption protests, "Million Voices Against Corruption, President Chen Must Go", against President Chen Shui-bian in Taipei, Taiwan. (Associated Press via Washington Post), (BBC)
- Space Shuttle Atlantis lifts off from John F. Kennedy Space Center in Florida to begin STS-115. (CNN.com)
- A 4.4 magnitude earthquake affects Israel and the West Bank. No injuries are reported. (Reuters)
- Taliban insurgency (Operation Medusa):
- NATO-led forces in Afghanistan say they have killed 40 more Taliban rebels in the ongoing offensive in the south. (BBC)
- The Sri Lankan Army says that 28 soldiers were killed and 119 were wounded while battling the Tamil Tiger rebels in Jaffna. The deaths of nearly 150 Tamil Tigers were also reported. (CNN)
- 19-year-old Maria Sharapova wins her second Grand Slam, upsetting Justin Henin-Hardenne 6–4, 6–4 in the final of the 2006 U.S. Open. (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
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- A lengthy statement from al-Qaeda's second in command, Ayman al-Zawahiri, on the eve of the fifth anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks calls on Muslims to step up their resistance against the United States. (CNN)
- Taufa'ahau Tupou IV, the King of Tonga, dies at the age of 88 in an Auckland, New Zealand hospital after battling illness. (BBC)
- Roger Federer wins the U.S. Open defeating Andy Roddick 6-2, 4-6, 7-5, 6-1. (Fox Sports)
- Taliban insurgency (Operation Medusa):
- Hurricane Florence forces hurricane warnings for Bermuda as it threatens the island with rain of 13 to 20 cm (5 to 8 inches). Florence is also expected to become a Category 2 hurricane prior to affecting the island. (CNN), (National Hurricane Center)
- The most successful driver in Formula One history, German Michael Schumacher, announces his retirement from the sport at the end of the 2006 season. (BBC)
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- The 14th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement begins in Havana, Cuba. (Official Site)
- India celebrates a day of peace: the 100th anniversary of the birth of Mahatma Gandhi's philosophy of peaceful resistance - satyagraha. On September 11, 1906, Gandhi called on his compatriots to use non-violent means to disobey the law, and thousands of Indians were jailed, including Gandhi, for refusing to cooperate and burning their identity booklets. (CTV.ca)
- American President George W. Bush states that the war against terrorism is "the calling of our generation" and urged Americans to put aside differences and fight to victory. (San Francisco Chronicle), (White House - full text)
- Tropical Storm Gordon forms in the open Atlantic Ocean with 45 mph winds and is expected to head towards Bermuda. (Associated Press)
- U.S. & New York leaders, along with families and friends of those who died in the September 11, 2001 attacks, remember the 5th anniversary of the attacks with speeches and moments of silence. (Forbes/AP)
- A new video broadcast shows Al-Qaeda deputy leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri, issuing a warning about possible future attacks in Israel and the Persian Gulf. (BBC)
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- Cypriot authorities respond to an Interpol alert and intercept Grigorio-1, a North Korean ship bound for Syria. Cypriot security agents found a mobile air defense system and the components of a missile launcher in the ship, though the Government of North Korea insists the ship only contained weather-observation equipment. The Syrian government has requested the ship be allowed to dock in Syria. (World Tribune)
- Belgian False Flag Terror arrests: A court in Belgium prolongs the custody of 12 suspects in the case against a neo-Nazi group inside the Belgian Army, named Bloed-Bodem-Eer en Trouw (BBET). They are accused of terrorism, weapons traffic, racism and negationism. (Wikinews)
- At least 51 people, mostly children, are killed in a stampede in a stadium in Ibb, Yemen, during a campaign rally for President Ali Abdullah Saleh. The children were killed when some of the citizens, who were bused in to hear the president speak, tried to leave. (CNN)
- Tom Noe, a rare-coin dealer and fundraiser for the United States Republican Party, is sentenced to two years jail for illegally channelling US$45,000 into President George W. Bush's re-election campaign. (Associated Press)
- Norwegian politician Erik Solheim announces that the Government of Sri Lanka and the Tamil Tigers have agreed to hold "unconditional peace talks" in October in Oslo. The Sri Lankan government denies ever agreeing to talks without conditions, and criticizes the Government of Norway for violating Sri Lankan sovereignty. (TODAYonline)(TamilNet)
- An explosion in Diyarbakir in the mainly Kurdish southeast of Turkey kills at least seven people, five of whom were children, and injures 14. (CNN)
- Japan's new baby prince is officially named Hisahito. (CNN)
- Gunfire and explosions are reported near the U.S. embassy in Damascus, Syria, amid reports that the heavily fortified compound has been attacked by armed men. One Syrian guard was killed, and one Chinese diplomat was mildly injured. (The Times)(Reuters)
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| Current events of September 13, 2006 (2006-09-13) (Wednesday) |
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- The solar system's largest dwarf planet, designated until now as 2003 UB313, is officially named "Eris"; its satellite is now known as "Dysnomia".(SpaceRef)
- Andrei Kozlov, deputy chairman of Russia's Central Bank, dies hours after being shot. (International Herald Tribune)
- Dawson College in Montreal is the scene of a shooting, with preliminary reports indicating at least two killed (one being the gunman) and 20 injured. (CBC)
- Imam Zulqarnain Sakandar Madni, the spiritual leader of Norwegian Muslims, accuses the United States Government of masterminding the September 11 attacks and expresses doubt that Osama bin Laden exists, citing the online documentary Loose Change. The U.S. embassy in Oslo issues a statement condemning Madni for "spreading false stories to protect terrorists." Mohammad Hamdan, leader of the Islamic Council in Norway, says Madni's views must be put into context and that it is not important "who is behind it, but how we can fight terrorism and live together in peace." (Aftenposten)
- Belgian False Flag Terror arrests: Belgian justice denies Flemish TV vtm’s claims that the neo-Nazi group Bloed, Bodem, Eer en Trouw (BBET), close to the Flemish branch of Blood & Honour, was projecting false flag terrorist operations (although it does accuse the group, which included soldiers, of preparing bombings to "destabilize" the country, and prolonged detention of the suspects on September 12). VTM Flemish TV declared that BBET was preparing itself to kill Filip Dewinter, one of the leaders of the far right Flemish party Vlaams Belang, and to charge the Islamist movement for the assassination. In the ensuing confusion, they would have then assassinated Dyab Abou Jahjah, leader of the European Arab League Le Soir, (French)Knack, (Dutch).
- The main events leading up to the 61st Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group as part of Singapore 2006 commence in Singapore. (CNA)
- NATO members fail to respond to a call from military commanders for reinforcements to try to quell the Taliban insurgency in southern Afghanistan, an alliance spokesman said. (CNN)
- Sectarian violence in Iraq: The bodies of 65 tortured and executed Iraqi men have been found all over the city of Baghdad. (ABC)
- A Japanese economist and ex-professor at the graduate school of Waseda University Kazuhide Uekusa is arrested for molesting a high school girl on a train in Tokyo.(Japundit)
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- Five basketball players at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania are shot on campus after they tried to calm a disturbed man at a dance in the Student Union. Three of the five are hospitalized, with one in critical condition. (ESPN)
- Recent expeditions by Conservation International and the government of Indonesia revealed a "Lost World" of nearly 60 new species near Bird's Head Seascape of the Coral Triangle. The species include a "walking shark", 20 new corals, 8 shrimp species, and 24 new fish species including one that can "flash" colors. (ABC)
- The Associated Press claims that Bilal Hussein, an AP photographer and Iraqi citizen, has been held for five months in a United States military prison without charges against him. AP claims they tried to have Hussein released quietly, but when that failed, they went public. (MSNBC)
- Pacific Hurricane Lane is downgraded to a tropical storm. (ABC News)
- At least 21 people have been killed after a truck bomb went off in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk, according to local police. Reports indicate that the bomb exploded near the offices of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan of Jalal Talabani, the President of Iraq. (BBC) (ABC News)
- Four people are dead and 62 are wounded when five bomb blasts go off in the southern Thailand city of Hat Yai. (AFP via Yahoo! News)
- A global day of action, dubbed the 'International Day for Darfur' by Amnesty International, takes place with prayer vigils and demonstrations in 30 of the world's cities to highlight the plight of refugees and victims of genocide in the region. (BBC)
- Swedish general election, 2006 is held to elect 349 members to the Riksdag. Elections to County and Municipal councils are on the same day. Voting is between 08:00 - 20:00. CEST (UTC+2)
- Hosts Germany fought back from 3-1 down to beat Olympic champions Australia 4-3 and retain their World Cup title in the 11. edition of the field hockey World Cup. (BBC)
- Eva Avila wins the 4th season of Canadian Idol.
- After 11 years of broadcasting, the WB and UPN networks close down permanently. The WB had a Night of Farewells while UPN went quietly.
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- New laws come into force across England, Wales and Scotland making the use of child seats in cars compulsory for all children under the age of 12 who are less than 4ft 5in (135cm) tall. (BBC)
- Taliban insurgency:
- A suicide bomber has killed at least four Canadians in an attack on a NATO patrol in the southern Afghan province of Kandahar, Canada's military says. (BBC)
- 11 killed in a suicide bombing in Herat, Afghanistan. (La Repubblica)
- Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf survives an assassination attempt when two bombs explode near the parliament building, killing 11 people. (BBC)
- A chemical spill is reported on the International Space Station and a fire is feared, although this latter report proves to be unfounded. (CNN)
- 2006 referendum in Transnistria: The vast majority of the population of Transdniestr, a self-proclaimed republic in Moldova, voted for independence and future accession to Russia, the central election committee said. (RIA Novosti)
- Pope Benedict XVI Islam controversy:
- Iran's Ayatollah Ali Khamenei condemns the recent speech by Pope Benedict, claiming it is the "latest link" in "the chain of a conspiracy to set in train a crusade against Islam". (BBC)
- Al Qaeda in Iraq calls for war against what it calls "worshippers of the cross" in response to the Pope's remarks. (Reuters)
- An influential Egyptian cleric, Sheik Youssef al-Qaradawi, called for peaceful protests after weekly prayers on Friday. (AP)
- Manasseh Sogavare, the Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands, accuses Australia of "heavy-handed" interference in his country's domestic affairs. (BBC)
- Soyuz TMA-9 has launched at 04:08 UTC from Baikonur in Kazakhstan onboard with two member of ISS Expedition 14 Mikhail Tyurin, Michael Lopez-Alegria and with Anousheh Ansari, the first female space tourist. (BBC) (NASA)
- 2006 protests in Hungary:
- Peaceful demonstrations began in Budapest and several cities of the countryside against the government in Hungary. On September 17th, 2006, an audio recording surfaced from a closed floor meeting after the Hungarian Socialist Party won the elections and before they announced several restraints on which Prime Minister Gyurcsány said, that "[...] Evidently, we lied throughout the last year-and-a-half, two years. It was totally clear that what we are saying is not true. [...]" Demonstrators demand a new election. (BBC) (Index.hu)
- Overnight, anti-government protests in Budapest turn violent. Protesters besieged the headquarters of state television and broke down the front doors. The station was taken off the air. Violence broke out as police used water cannons and tear gas against the crowd. By morning, the streets are calm and the PM vows to stay on in office, and to crack down on any further disorder. (Reuters) (HVG)
- New Brunswick general election, 2006: New Brunswickers oust Bernard Lord's Tories and elect a Liberal majority government under Shawn Graham. (CBC)
- The CW launches their network in the US
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| Current events of September 20, 2006 (2006-09-20) (Wednesday) |
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- Singapore 2006:
- In Kazakhstan, 41 miners die in the nation's worst mining accident after a methane explosion in a coal mine. (Reuters)
- Former South African Deputy President Jacob Zuma's corruption trial is thrown out by the judge at Pietermaritzburg High Court, who rules that the State's case goes "from one disaster to another" and failed to follow proper procedure. This is thought likely to improve Zuma's chances of succeeding President Thabo Mbeki, but prosecutors have said that they will refile charges later. (Mail & Guardian Online)
- Dozens are killed and hundreds missing in India and Bangladesh after heavy rainstorms in the Bay of Bengal. (BBC)
- The United States Federal Reserve decides to leave its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 5.25% for a second successive month. Chairman Ben Bernanke and his colleagues believe a slowing economy and falling energy prices are starting to relieve inflation pressures. (USA Today)
- Shinzo Abe is elected as party leader of the Liberal Democratic Party in Japan, replacing the current Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. He will likely be elected as the new prime minister on 30 September 2006. (Bloomberg)
- Thailand coup d'état:
- 2006 protests in Hungary:
- A public memorial service is held at Australia Zoo in Beerwah, Queensland, Australia, for "The Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin. (ABC Australia)
- The Football Association is to investigate allegations of corruption and the taking of illegal payments (known colloquially as 'bungs') within the sport. (Sky Sports)
- After a Globe and Mail article from journalist Jan Wong created controversy and accusations of racism against Quebec, the Canadian House of Commons unanimously passes a motion requesting an apology from The Globe and Mail. (CBC)
- Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, addressing the United Nations 61st General Assembly, said 'Yesterday the devil was here, and today it still smells of sulfur at this podium,' in reference to US President George W. Bush.
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- In Uzbekistan, Komiljon Usmanov is on trial for "threatening Uzbekistan's constitutional order and public security," and is accused of allegedly leading the banned Hizb ut-Tahrir organization. Usmanov was sentenced in 2001 to 10 years in jail on similar charges, but was freed under an amnesty. He maintains his innocence. (RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty)
- Former Peruvian spy chief Vladimiro Montesinos is sentenced to a 20-year prison term for running guns to Colombian FARC guerrillas. (BBC)
- Israeli troops raid a branch of Jordan National Bank and 23 other financial institutions, seizing the equivalent of over US$1.5 million in cash from West Bank cities. (Jordan Times)
- A U.S. federal judge in San Francisco orders two San Francisco Chronicle reporters jailed for up to 18 months for refusing to reveal who leaked them secret grand jury testimony about steroids in baseball. (AP via Boston Herald)
- Cong Thanh Do, a U.S. democracy activist, is released by Vietnam. (Mercury News)
- Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf says U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage threatened to bomb his country "back to the Stone Age" after the 2001 September 11 attacks if he did not help the U.S.-led War on Terror. (CTV NEWS)
- The Government of Indonesia executes Christians Fabianus Tibo, 60, Marinus Riwu, 48, and Dominggus da Silva, 42 by firing squad. The three men were accused of leading attacks on Muslims in 2000 that left 70 people dead. Thousands of police are blocking roads leading to the prison and are guarding churches. Various human rights workers have called the trial a shame. (CBS News)
- Response to President of Venezuela Hugo Chávez's remarks that United States President George W. Bush is like the devil: (Washington Post)
- United States Senate Republicans and the Bush administration announce an agreement on interrogation methods and the trial of suspects in the War on Terror. (CBS News)
- Top Gear presenter Richard Hammond is seriously injured during filming for upcoming series. Hammond rolled a jet powered car at 300 mph. (BBC)
- The Space Shuttle Atlantis lands at Kennedy Space Center, ending STS-115. (Reuters)
- Thailand coup d'état:
- The leaders of Thailand's coup ban all meetings and other activities by political parties, two days after taking power. (BBC)
- Thaksin Shinawatra urges the coup leaders "to reconcile and work toward national reconciliation for the sake of our king and country". Currently in London, he stated he was going to take a "deserved rest" for the time being. (CNN)
- Turkish writer Elif Shafak is cleared of charge of "insulting Turkishness", under the controversial Article 301 of the Turkish Criminal Code, in an Istanbul Court. (Guardian Unlimited)
- New York Comptroller Alan Hevesi admitted that he hired an employee of the state to drive around his wife. (New York Daily News)
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- Ali Abdullah Saleh, in office since 1978, is re-elected as President of Yemen with 77.2% of the votes, prompting allegations of electoral fraud from the Yemeni opposition coalition. (BBC)
- In an interview with Fox News Sunday, to be aired on September 24, Former U.S. President Bill Clinton says, "At least I tried. That's the difference in me and some, including all of the right-wingers who are attacking me now," responding to those who criticize him for the September 11th terrorist attacks, "They had eight months to try, they did not try. I tried. So I tried and failed." (Reuters)
- Toomas Hendrik Ilves is elected the new President of Estonia, defeating incumbent Arnold Rüütel. (BBC)
- French authorities are investigating reports that Osama bin Laden has died of typhoid after a leaked French secret service report. Time magazine also cites an unknown Saudi Arabian source that Bin Laden had a waterborne disease and may be dead. However, French and U.S. authorities are unable to confirm these reports. (CTV NEWS) (BBC News) (Reuters)
- Iraq insurgency:
- Japan's Solar-B mission is launched from the Uchinoura Space Center. With its successful launch, it is rechristened "Hinode". (BBC)
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- Up to a million cluster bomblets discharged by Israel in its conflict with Hezbollah remain unexploded in southern Lebanon, the UN has said. (BBC)
- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says that rabbis are more critical of Zionism and the "Zionist regime" than he has been. He expresses hope that "God willing, with the force of God behind it, we shall soon experience a world without the United States and Zionism." (Al Jazeera.com)
- Condoleezza Rice, the United States Secretary of State, and Barry Lowenkron, the assistant secretary of state for human rights, meet with Kasymzhomart Tokayev, the foreign minister of Kazakhstan. They discussed the War in Afghanistan and Iraq and the Nazarbayev administration's desire to head the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in 2009, which the United States Government opposes. (AP) (Eurasia Net)
- 2003 invasion of Iraq and its aftermath:
- The family of the lone survivor in the crash of Comair Flight 5191 says doctors have amputated co-pilot James Polehinke's left leg, and he has no memory of the crash. (NBC Lexington)
- Remains of Dagmar of Denmark, the mother of the last Tsar of Russia, are transported from the Roskilde Cathedral to Saint Petersburg in order to be reburied in the Peter and Paul Cathedral on 28 September. (BBC)
- After taking over Kismayo, Somali Islamist militants open fire on anti-sharia protesters. Three deaths are being reported. (BBC)
- Two gunmen kill Safia Ahmed-jan, the provincial director of Afghanistan's Ministry of Women's Affairs outside her home in Kandahar. (AP via Yahoo! News) (BBC)
- Chen Liangyu, the Shanghai Communist Party of China General Secretary and a senior member of the Shanghai clique, is dismissed for corruption. (ABC)
- The New Orleans Saints return to the Superdome for the first time since Hurricane Katrina. (The New York Times)
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| Current events of September 27, 2006 (2006-09-27) (Wednesday) |
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- A hostage situation at Platte Canyon High School near Bailey, Colorado, United States ends with the death of the gunman. A wounded female student later died.(CNN) (KCNC/AP)
- The U.S. Republican Party selects Minneapolis–St. Paul as the venue for its 2008 convention. (Los Angeles Times)
- Legislation passes in the U.S. House and Senate giving President Bush authority to detain, interrogate and try terrorism detainees before military commissions. (San Francisco Examiner)
- A funeral service for Empress Maria Fyodorovna of Russia is held at the Gothic Chapel at Peterhof. (Interfax)
- U.S. Democrats urge the Bush administration to release in full a report linking the Iraq conflict and global terrorism. (BBC)
- Israeli–Palestinian conflict:
- An Israeli court sentences Asher Weisgan to four consecutive life sentences plus an additional 12 years in prison for murdering four Palestinian workmen and wounding a fifth in August 2005. Weisgan must also pay more than 1,000,000 shekels ($US 235,000) in compensation to the victims' families. (Haaretz)
- Israel Defense Forces raid several Palestinian towns, arresting eight people in Jenin, seven people in Hebron, three people in Nablus, and twenty people in Khan Yunis. (IMEMC), [3], [4], [5].
- An Israeli military court has ordered the release of the Palestinian Deputy Prime Minister, Nasser Ed-Deen Al Sha'er, who had been captured by the Israel Defense Forces on 19 August, as there was not "enough evidence". Al Sha’er will not be allowed to enter Ramallah, where the Palestinian Government offices are located, and will not be allowed to leave the Palestinian territories until October 15. Another 23 Palestinian legislators had their remand extended. (BBC) (IMEMC)
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- The HiRISE camera on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter takes its first low-orbit, high-resolution pictures of Mars. (Space.com) (HiRISE team blog)
- A high school principal is shot to death by 15-year-old Eric Hainstock. Principal John Klang of Weston High School in Cazenovia, Wisconsin is shot three times by Hainstock with a gun which he stole from his family home. A custodian and others confront the student who is now in police custody. (AP)
- Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907 with 155 passengers onboard collides with a smaller jet in midair, 470 miles south of Manaus, Brazil. The Boeing 737-800 wreckage has been found by FAB near Peixoto de Azevedo (Reuters) (G1 NEWS, Portugesse) (Associated Press)
- A tape of senior Al Qaeda figure Ayman al-Zawahiri is released in which he brands US President George W. Bush a "lying failure" over the war on terror. He goes on to condemn Pope Benedict XVI as an "impostor" for his recent controversial speech and labels Roman Catholicism a religion "made of myths". (CNN) (BBC)
- Rep. Mark Foley, R-Fla., resigns from the United States House of Representatives in the wake of questions about e-mails and instant messages he wrote to a former Capitol page. (AP via Sun Sentinel) (The New York Times)
- Soyuz TMA-8, with the Expedition 13 crew and Iranian-American space tourist Anousheh Ansari on board, lands safely on the Kazakh steppe. (Reuters)
- Typhoon Xangsane lashes the northern Philippines, killing at least 48 people and causing extensive damage. (International Herald Tribune)
- Lenovo recalls 526,000 Sony laptop batteries due to fire risk. (Xinhua)
- A general strike is being observed in Indian-administered Kashmir to protest the planned execution of Jaish-e-Mohammed militant, Mohd Afzal, set for October 20. (PTI)
- The Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission submits its report to the government and the LTTE rebels. The report accuses both sides of human-rights violations and breaking the terms of the cease-fire, citing over 200 civilians killed and over 200,000 displaced in the last two months. (AP)
- The last game for the PlayStation came out.
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- The Los Angeles Times has reported that Jason Grimsley, a former pitcher for several Major League Baseball teams who has been accused of supplying performance-enhancing drugs to several players, allegedly named stars Roger Clemens, Andy Pettitte, and Miguel Tejada in a sworn statement as users of performance-enhancers. (LA Times)
- In Nigeria, the collapse of a dam wall kills forty people in Gusau, Zamfara state. (ABC Australia)
- Eighteen-year-old Taťána Kuchařová from the Czech Republic was crowned Miss World 2006 at the conclusion of a ceremony held at Sala Kongresowa in Warsaw, Poland. 1st Runner-Up was Ioana Boitor from Romania and 2nd Runner-Up was Sabrina Housammi from Australia. 104 nations competed for the title. (Reuters)
- In Ireland the controversy continues over payments by businessmen friends to Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Bertie Ahern in 1993 when he was Minister for Finance; it has come to light that the largest of the payments was drawn on a company cheque. (Irish Times) (RTÉ)
- Talks between the European Union and the United States Department of Homeland Security on the transfer of airline passenger data break down. The US demands over 30 items of data on each passenger, an earlier agreement which had been deemed to break European privacy laws. Midnight tonight was the deadline for reaching a new agreement. Airlines face losing landing rights in the US if they do not provide the information, and heavy fines in the EU if they do. (BBC)
- Three lanes of the overpass on Boulevard de la Concorde and a pedestrian sidewalk collapsed onto Autoroute 19 in the Montreal area, Quebec. Two cars were trapped under, 5 were killed and at least 6 are injured, 2 critically. (Reuters) (CTV NEWS)
- A Brazilian Air Force search and rescue team locates the wreckage of Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907 near the town of Peixoto de Azevedo, in northern Mato Grosso state. The Boeing 737-800 disappeared from radar after allegedly colliding in mid-air with an Embraer Legacy 600 executive jet. There are no reports on survivors. (Reuters) (Globo, Portuguese) (AP)
- Indian police accuse Pakistan's security and intelligence service, the ISI, of masterminding the Mumbai train bombings in July, carried out by militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba, which killed nearly 200 people. (Hindustan Times) (Reuters)
- West Coast Eagles beat Sydney Swans by 1 point to win 2006 AFL Grand Final.
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