Discovery Mission STS-121's launch has been delayed today due to thunderstorms. The next launch attempt is scheduled for 3:26 PM EDT tomorrow, although more bad weather is forecast.(NASA)(Associated Press)
Al Qaeda reserves the right to "punish" the U.S. on its own soil. (Reuters)
An Israeli helicopter gunship attacks the office of
Prime Minister of Palestine Ismail Haniyeh. Observers report that the building had been set on fire but was unoccupied. (Melbourne Age)
Israel rejects demand to free 1,000 prisoners, delivered earlier by the abductors of Cpl. Gilad Shalit. A Palestenian deputy minister says Shalit is in stable condition, but no sign of life is yet given. (Haaretz)
One year on from the Live 8 concerts, U2 frontman Bono announces that world leaders are not making good on their promises to Africa. According to Bono in a recent CNN interview, not enough is being done to make trade fair. (CNN)
Polling closes in the
mayor of Mexico City, as too close to call. (CBS News)
Izzat Ibrahim al-Duri at the top of the list. (CNN)
The launch of the
local time due to stormy weather in Florida. (CBC)
In
General Musharraf's support for the United States in an effort to force Musharraf to step down. (IRNA)
Operation Summer Rains
):
Bashar Assad for the continued crisis. (Ynet), (BBC)
Hamas spokesperson threatens further attacks against Israeli schools and power plants if the military campaign to free the kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit continues. (Haaretz)
subway accident in Valencia, Spain when two cars of a train derail and overturn. Early reports indicate the train was travelling too fast. (CNN), (BBC)
EDT (1838 UTC) after its liftoff had been postponed twice. (CNN)
A bomb scare in the arrivals area of Dublin Airport results in a complete closure of the main building. The man who is responsible for the scare has been arrested; he claims to be a member of al-Qaeda. Approximately 9,000 passengers and 50 flights were affected during the two-hour disruption. (Wikinews)
The
Yahoo! China for providing links to pirated music tracks. (BBC)
Light Sweet Crude futures close at an all-time high at $75.19/barrel, with an intraday all-time high of $75.40/barrel in New York. Analysts have downplayed the effect of North Korea's missile launch. (AFP)
GMT, since the state's budget has not been decided, necessitating the shutdown of nonessential state offices, including casino regulators.(Philadelphia Inquirer)(Associated Press)
militants are reported to be "living off food hoarded in advance to spare the captors the risk of emerging". (Reuters)Archived 2006-07-10 at the Wayback Machine
presidential election, PRD candidate Andrés Manuel López Obrador says he will file a legal challenge against the results of the ongoing official vote count that have him loscing to the PAN's Felipe Calderón by 0.57 percentage points. (BBC News)
A
AH-64 Apache helicopter made an emergency landing in South Korea. There was no injury or damage to the helicopter. (Associated Press)
The
gay marriage is not allowed under state law. (Newsday)
An explosion, believed to be caused by a bomb, killed at least eight people in a minibus in the city of Tiraspol, in Transnistria, a breakaway region of Moldova. (BBC)
Law and Justice has recommended the post be taken over by its chairman Jarosław Kaczyński, who is the identical twin brother of President Lech Kaczyński. BBC News
IST). A controlled explosion of the bag was carried out by the Army. The airport reopened just over two hours later, though 60 flights and 12,000 passengers were affected. (RTÉ News
)
Japan's Meteorological Agency warns of flooding on the island and the storm to move across South Korea over the weekend. (Reuters)
H5N1 bird flu, a laboratory has confirmed. The country has forbidden the transport within a 3 km, 1.8 mi, zone around where the virus was found. (Reuters)
Iran's president,
its activity in the Gaza Strip. Ahmadinejad said during a rally in Tehran that, "This (Israel) is a fake regime ... it won't be able to survive. I think the only way (forward) is that those who created it (the West) take it away themselves." (Associated Press)
Three Israeli civilians are wounded when a Qassam rocket lands in a basketball court in Sderot. More than fifteen rockets land in Israeli towns on Friday, in spite of an Israeli raid in the northern Gaza Strip. (Ynet), (Haaretz)
Palestinian prisoners will be released "in a goodwill gesture", if kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit is released and rocket attacks cease. Hamas official rejects this suggestion. (Haaretz)
Israeli forces withdraw from the northern Gaza Strip after an intensive two-day operation aimed at creating a buffer zone to stop Hamas militants from firing rockets at Israel. Israeli armouredcompany enters the Gaza Strip via Karni crossing, advancing to within 500 meters of Gaza City, reportedly in search for tunnels used by Palestinian militants. Israeli Air Force carries out numerous strikes against militants in the Gaza Strip. (BBC), (Haaretz), (Reuters)[permanent dead link]
EU warns Israel of using "disproportionate" force during its operations in the Gaza Strip. Meanwhile, a Palestinian minister in the Hamas-led government urges all armed forces to fight Israeli troops. (BBC), (Ynet)
Three
Palestinian family members (mother and two children) are killed in a blast in Gaza City. Palestinian sources claim an Israeli tank shell caused the blast, but the Israel Defense Forces states it carried out no tank or artillery fire at the area. Israeli Air Force investigation concludes its air strikes were not to blame for the blast. Numerous improvised explosive devices were planted in Gaza in the past week, in preparation for an Israeli incursion. (Ynet)
Shoichi Nakagawa, Japanese agriculture minister, announces Japan will no longer provide food aid to North Korea, and that Japan is considering restricting agricultural trade between the two countries. Earlier Japan banned a North Korean ferry from entering Japanese ports. (Mainichi Daily News)
Operation Summer Rains will only end once abducted soldier Gilad Shalit is released: "There is no intention to reoccupy Gaza in order to stay there, but if certain operations are needed they will be carried out". (Reuters)Archived 2005-06-20 at the Wayback Machine, (BBC)
300 members of the
British activist group 'Jews for Justice for Palestinians' sign a petition condemning Israeli military actions in the Gaza Strip. (BBC)
An Israeli civilian is moderately wounded as a Qassam rocket strikes his private car in Sderot. Another rocket directly hits a house in Sderot, causing severe damage but no casualties. More than twenty rockets were launched against Israeli towns over the weekend by Palestenian militants, wounding several civilians. (Haaretz), (Getty)
Fighting erupts in Somalia, with fighting between Somalian fighters aligned with defeated warlords and Islamic militants killing 60 people and wounding 100. (Reuters)
A
chlorine gas leak at a Chinese chemical plant has hospitalized 164 people. It occurred at the Xing'erte Chemical Products Co. (Associated Press)
Agni III, is unsuccessful after plunging into the Bay of Bengal after going 12 km, 8 mi, or about 5 minutes, then losing altitude. Pakistan was notified prior to the test per treaty with India. (Reuters)
terrorist Shamil Basayev is allegedly killed, according to Russian authorities. He was said to have been killed together with other Chechen fighters working with him at the time of his alleged death. (Reuters)
World Record for the 110 metres hurdles at the Super Grand Prix in Lausanne with a time of 12.88 seconds. (IAAF)
On the 17th day to the abduction of Cpl.
Red Cross representatives were not allowed to visit the hostage, as established in the Geneva Conventions. (Ynet)
An
Gaza strip. He explains that the cargo terminals to the Gaza Strip are under constant threats, challenging the ordinary transportation of goods, citing numerous terrorist attacks carried out against the crossings. (Ynet)
Israel Air Force targets a meeting of Hamasoperational wing commanders in an apartment building in Gaza city. One Hamas leader, seven members of his family and one neighbour are killed. Top Hamas leaders Mohammed Deif and Abu Anas al-Ghandour, who Israeli officials claim were heavily involved in the kidnapping of Cpl. Gilad Shalit, are moderately wounded. Fourteen additional Palestinian militants are killed in other incidents in the Gaza Strip. (Haaretz), (Ynet), (Reuters)Archived 2005-06-20 at the Wayback Machine
Simultaneously, Hezbollah militants launch Katyusha rockets and mortar shells at Israeli towns along the border, wounding six Israeli civilians and five soldiers. (Haaretz), (Ynet), (iAfrica)
Israeli forces attack installations and Hezbollah positions in Lebanon, in failed attempt to thwart the transportation of the kidnapped soldiers from the area. (Haaretz), (Ynet), (iAfrica)
council resolutions calling on the Lebanese government to disarm all militias within its borders and to extend its authority throughout its territory and specifically to southern Lebanon and its border with Israel. (Haaretz)
11 July 2006 Mumbai train bombings rises to 200 deaths and 700 injuries. Timers in pencils have been found at some of the sites of explosion. (Associated Press), (CNN)
The Japanese national government announces it will introduce a satellite system that will warn residents of incoming missiles, earthquakes, and other disasters in a 200 million yen program named "J-ALERT". (Mainichi Daily News).
Iraqi security forces discover the bodies of 20 bus drivers kidnapped earlier in the week. Three kidnap victims are freed. (Reuters)
Alaksandar Kazulin, a candidate for President of Belarus against Alexander Lukashenko, is jailed for five and a half years for organising protests against Lukashenko's re-election. (Reuters)
A Harrier Jumpjet en route to the Air Tattoo at RAF Fairford crashes onto a road near Tackley in Oxfordshire. The pilot, who managed to eject before impact, was praised for his skill ensuring no loss of life occurred; the aircraft went down in a relatively populated area. (Reuters)
Vioxx painkiller caused her to have a heart attack, reducing pressure on the company to settle 12,000 other cases about the drug. (Bloomberg)
A complete First Folio edition of William Shakespeare's plays is auctioned in London for £2.8 million. It had been owned by Dr Williams's Library, which paid about £500 for it in 1716. When new in 1623, the Folio would have cost £1. (BBC)
Two explosions hit oil installations belonging to an Italian company in Nigeria's southeast region. Sabotage is the suspected cause. (Associated Press)
The United States is considering establishing an independent command for South Korean troops. South Korea has command of its forces during peacetime, but currently the United States would take control if there were a war. (Reuters)Archived 2005-06-20 at the Wayback Machine
Juba, Sudan between delegations from the Lord's Resistance Army and the Ugandan Government with a view to ending the conflict centred in Acholiland. The leader of the Ugandan delegation, Internal Affairs Minister Dr Ruhakana Rugunda had stated that obtaining a quick ceasefire is his priority. (allAfrica.com)
war crimes tribunal. Five of the seven standing trial face genocide charges, as well as crimes against humanity. The trial is the largest yet staged at The Hague. (BBC)
Prime Minister of Poland by the President, Lech Kaczyński, his twin brother.(BBC)
2006 Israel-Lebanon crisis
:
US President George W. Bush has said he will urge Israel to avoid civilian casualties in its attacks on Lebanon, but he's "not going to make military decisions for Israel". (Haaretz), (BBC NEWS).
Middle East crisis keeps oil near peak - There are fears the dispute will push oil prices up even further. (BBC NEWS)
Israel destroys Hezbollah headquarters and home of its head Hassan Nasrallah in southern Beirut, following repeated early warnings to local civilians. Other facilities in the area were struck earlier on Friday. Nasrallah vows to fight "open war" on Israel, striking towns "beyond Haifa". (Haaretz), (Boston Globe), (BBC NEWS)
Some 220,000 Israeli civilians spend the night in bomb shelters, after two civilians were killed in rocket attacks. 14 Israelis, including 4 children, remain hospitalized following yesterday's rocket attacks. (Haaretz), (Ynet)
Since Wednesday morning, Hezbollah militants fired at least 300 Katyusha rockets and 500 mortar shells against Israeli towns, killing 4 civilians and wounding more than 150. 63 Lebanese have been killed, and more than 159 have been injured. (Ynet), (Times Online)
Russian defense minister Sergei Ivanov calls Hezbollah to "cease using terrorist methods, including attacks on neighboring countries". (Haaretz)
Hezbollah fires more than a hundred Katyusha rockets against the Israeli cities of Tiberias, Karmiel, Nahariya and Safed, as well as numerous towns. Several civilians are injured as residential areas are heavily damaged. Israeli defense minister Amir Peretz is about to sign a "home front emergency" declaration, enabling local security forces to shut down schools and close certain areas for traffic, narrowing the damages of the expanding fighting. (Haaretz), (Ynet)
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan that Israel would not end its military operation in Lebanon until the implementation of UNSC Resolution 1559, which calls for disarming Hezbollah and the deployment of the Lebanese army in southern Lebanon. (Haaretz), (SF Gate)
Since Wednesday morning, Hezbollah militants fired about 700 rockets against Israeli towns, killing 4 civilians and wounding more than 500. More than 100 Lebanese have been killed and hundreds were injured, including many civilians and an undisclosed number of Hezbollah militants. (Ynet), (Al-Jazeera)
Hezbollah rockets hit the major Israeli city of Haifa, killing 8 civilians and wounding 17. More than a hundred rockets were fired against numerous urban areas in the north of Israel, as far south as Afula, killing 8 civilians and wounding 53. Local train lines and universities closed down. (Haaretz), (BBC), (Al-Jazeera), (CBS), (Jerusalem post)
Lebanon security officials claim that an Israeli air strike on Tyre kills at least 16 people and wounds 42. (AP), (BBC)
Since Wednesday morning, Hezbollah militants fired more than 1400 rockets and mortar shells against Israeli towns, killing 12 civilians and wounding more than 500. More than 130 Lebanese have been killed and hundreds were injured, including many civilians and an undisclosed number of Hezbollah militants. (Ynet), (Al-Jazeera)[permanent dead link]
A 7.7 Mwearthquake off the coast of Indonesia causes a tsunami to crash into Java, causing significant property damage and killing over 100 people. Concern is raised over lack of a warning system for the south coast despite warnings from international agencies.(BBC), (USA Today), (Associated Press), (CBS News)
At least 40 Iraqis are killed and dozens injured in the town of Mahmoudiya south of Baghdad in an insurgent attack. (BBC)
Kurdish guerrillas based in northern Iraq, and issued a veiled threat to attack the rebel bases if there was no progress. Meanwhile, the International Crisis Group releases a report entitled “Iraq and the Kurds: The Brewing Battle over Kirkuk” which examines the dangerously neglected looming conflict in and around the northern Iraqi city. Reuters AlertnetLA TimesICG report
On the first day of the 90th International Four Days Marches Nijmegen, two participants die of heart failure due to exhaustion caused by the exceptionally warm weather in the Netherlands. Because even higher temperatures are predicted for the second day, the organization decides to cancel the remainder of the event. (expatica.com)
Europe, causing at least 18 deaths, including some as far north as the Netherlands. The UK hit a record-breaking July temperature of 36.5°C (97.7°F) at Wisley. (BBC)
Independent reports say that over 100 people are dead and missing in North Korea as a result of floods and landslides, while the North's government-controlled media omitted mention of any casualties. More than 9,000 families are left homeless. There have been at least 25 deaths in South Korea. (MSNBC)
Two Israeli Apache helicopters collide, leaving five injured. A pilot has reportedly died. (National Nine News)
Iran states that it is determined to produce nuclear fuel on its territory. It will respond officially to a Western incentive package on August 22, 2006. (Reuters)
Internet censorship: In India, public outcry at the recent blocking of some blogs results in a statement by that country's government that the occurrence was a "technological error," and that immediate steps will be taken to resolve the issue. (IHT)
Israel moves thousands of troops to the Lebanese border including reserves to deal with fierce fighting. (UPI)
Israel is continuing its Lebanon military offensive, with war planes bombing more than 40 targets, mainly in southern parts of Beirut, on Friday. (BBC NEWS)
Two Israeli civilians are killed by Hezbollah rocket attacks on Haifa. More than 2200 rockets have been fired at Israeli cities since the beginning of the conflict, killing 17 Israelis, all of them civilians. 20 Israeli soldiers were killed in other incidents. About 300 Lebanese, most of them civilians, have been killed by Israeli forces. (Ynet), (Haaretz)[permanent dead link], (People's Daily Online)
Israel and the United States governments say they would accept NATO forces deployed along the Lebanese/Israeli border.(Gulfnews)[permanent dead link], (Reuters)
There is a PR battle raging about the publication of a series of photos showing Israeli children writing messages on shells meant for targets in Lebanon.(The Jerusalem Post)
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah announces in an interview with Al-Jazeera that he discussed the abduction of the two Israeli soldiers with Lebanese political leaders before the attack occurred. (Memri)
Israeli Army chief of staff Dan Halutz has ordered the air force to destroy 10 multi-story buildings in the Dahiya district (of Beirut) in response to every rocket fired on Haifa. As of Sunday the ratio of reported deaths was more than 17:1. (News24)(Scoop)
Four UN peacekeepers die after being, according to the
Hezbullah commander in charge of the central Lebanese border. (Haaretz)(CNN)
2006 Ukraine parliament crisis. Ukraine's parliament, Verkhovna Rada, misses the deadline to form a coalition, facing a possible dissolution. (BBC News)
At least nine people are killed in Israeli air raids in the east of Gaza City, including a three-year-old girl, according to medical sources. (BBC NEWS)
Andrea Yates, a U.S. woman who killed her five children in 2001, is found not guilty of murder by reason of insanity. (CBS News)
The governments of
Tripoli Accord, which Sudan has violated four times by aiding Janjaweed, UFDC, and anti-Bozizé rebels and genocidaires. (Syracuse.com)
International Tracing Service in Bad Arolsen in the state of Hesse up to international researchers. It contains up to 50 million documents relating to 17.5 million individuals. (Bloomberg)
Fragments of a Psalter, a prayer book, are found in a bog in Ireland, where it has been for an estimated 1200 years. (Sydney Morning Herald)
resign, most being parliament members, accusing the country's virtually powerless government of failing to bring peace. (Houston Chronicle)
The three main militia groups in the troubled DR Congo eastern province of Ituri have agreed to lay down arms and begin integrating into the Congolese army.(BBC).
Government of Abkhazia-in-exile will assume control of the gorge located in the northeastern part of breakaway Abkhazia after the first phase of the Georgian police operation is successfully over.(civil.ge)
The government investigation of the assault that partially paralyzed
UN removes its unarmed observers from posts along the Israeli-Lebanese border three days after four of them were killed by an Israeli bomb.(CTV NEWS)Archived 2006-08-14 at the Wayback Machine
Hezbollah head Hassan Nasrallah vows rocket strikes on towns in central Israel, calling it a "temporary country" and asking "When in any Arab-Israeli conflict were two million Israelis forced to flee or enter bomb shelters?" (Haaretz), (Ynet)
Khaibar 1". The rocket matched the furthest distance that Hezbollah rockets had landed inside Israel since the conflict began on July 12. (Reuters)[permanent dead link
]
An
Bojonegoro in East Java province of Indonesia leads to 150 people being treated at hospital and 6,000 people fleeing nearby villages. At this stage, there is no news of casualties. (Hindustan Times)Archived 2007-09-30 at the Wayback Machine
UN Security Council is to hold an emergency meeting on the Middle East crisis after the deaths of more than 54 Lebanese civilians in an Israeli raid. (BBC)
More than 54 civilians, at least 37 of them children, are killed in the Lebanese town of Qana. (CNN), (BBC)
Ehud Olmert states that "Israel is not in a hurry to have a cease-fire" before it achieves its goals. (The Independent)
146 Rockets hit Israel, at least three in Haifa, wounding six people. (Reuters)
The
Islamic Jihad militant group threw stones and fired assault rifles. Eight vehicles were damaged and five people were wounded. (Washington Post)Archived 2012-10-20 at the Wayback Machine
UNIFIL mandate until 31 August 2006. The previous extension ended 31 July 2006. ( UN Resolution 1697)
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad told the Syrian military on Monday to raise its readiness, pledging not to abandon support for Lebanese resistance against Israel. (Reuters)
carbon emissions, among other carbon-limiting measures. Schwarzenegger has shown interest in a ban on excessive carbon emissions, which is directly in opposition to statements made by PresidentGeorge W. Bush. (AP)