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- Addressing the death of Kenneth Lay, U.S. President George W. Bush states that he hopes Lay, one of the men convicted in the collapse of Enron, "was right with the Lord". (FoxNews.com)
- The long-range missile launched during North Korea's Missile Test was aimed at a point in the ocean close to the U.S. state of Hawaii. (Reuters)
- The Space Shuttle Discovery successfully docks with the International Space Station as part of the STS-121 mission. Checks of the orbiter have revealed no damage from foam falling off the external fuel tank during launch. (Spaceflight Now/CBS)
- Great Britain's young people are for the first time spending more time looking at Internet sites than watching TV, a new survey has revealed. (Daily Mail)
- In Mexico's 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 losing to the PAN's Felipe Calderón by 0.57 percentage points. (BBC News)
- A United States Military AH-64 Apache helicopter made an emergency landing in South Korea. There was no injury or damage to the helicopter. (Associated Press)
- The New York Court of Appeals rules in a 4-2 decision that gay marriage is not allowed under state law. (Newsday)
- Taiwan plans to test a missile capable of hitting mainland China. This has alarmed the island's main ally, the United States. (Reuters)(Agence France-Presse)
- South Korean media states that there are three or four short to medium range missiles on the launch pad in North Korea, ready for launch. North Korea has now threatened to do so.(Associated Press)(Associated Press)
- The Nathula Pass between India and China, sealed during the Sino-Indian War in 1962, reopens after 44 years. (Zee News), (BBC)
- Sectarian violence in Iraq: A car bomb explodes outside a Shi'ite Muslim shrine near the holy city of Najaf in Iraq, killing at least seven people. (Reuters)
- 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)
- Israeli-Palestinian conflict (Operation Summer Rains):
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- Craigslist is sued because of illegal posts to that website. Amazon, eBay, AOL, Yahoo, and Google all file briefs as friends of the court in support of Craigslist. (NPR News)
- Ayman al Zawahri, deputy of al-Qaeda claims that two of the London bombers trained with al-Qaeda on a video posted on a website. The two men he identified as training with them are Shehzad Tanweer and Mohammad Sidique Khan. (Sydney Morning Herald)
- Polish Prime Minister Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz has resigned. His party 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
- The board of General Motors authorises Chief Executive Officer Rick Wagoner to explore an alliance with Nissan and Renault. (Bloomberg)
- Japan circulates a new United Nations Security Council draft resolution including the threat of sanctions against North Korea. (Guardian)
- For the second time this week, Dublin Airport's main terminal is evacuated. This occurred when airport security was notified of a strange bag in the Arrivals Area of the airport terminal shortly before 08:00 (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)
- Typhoon Ewiniar nears landfall on the southern island chain of Okinawa, Japan. The typhoon packs winds 160 km, 99 mi, per hour. Japan's Meteorological Agency warns of flooding on the island and the storm to move across South Korea over the weekend. (Reuters)
- Spain has had its first case of 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, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, warns of an "explosion" in the Islamic world and it would target Israel and its supporters in the Western world, if Israel doesn't cease 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)
- The FBI announces that a plot to bomb the Holland Tunnel and flood Lower Manhattan with water has been foiled. (Daily News)
- South Korea is developing cruise missile technology, Yoon Kwang-ung, South Korea's defense minister says. This is legal under the South Korea-U.S. missile guideline signed in 2001. (Associated Press)
- North Korea might have moved another Taepodong-2 missile, a long range missile, to the launch site, according to South Korea's defense minister. (Reuters)
- An explosion in the village of Dongzhai village in Shanxi province in north China kills 43 people. (ABC News US)
- Israeli-Palestinian conflict (Operation Summer Rains):
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- USS Mustin, which has surface-to-air and Tomahawk cruise missiles is deployed to a Japanese port. This is regularly scheduled and not in response to North Korea's missile test. (Associated Press)
- The first confirrmed flight of a manned ornithopter operating under its own power is made in Toronto, Canada by aerospace scientists. (Toronto Star)
- US diplomat Christopher R. Hill indicates US support for the informal resumption of six party talks aimed at resolving the North Korean nuclear crisis. (Sydney Morning Herald)
- Israeli-Palestinian conflict (Operation Summer Rains):
- Israel rejects Hamas terms for a ceasefire - Palestinian PM Ismail Haniya calls for a ceasefire to end several days of fierce fighting in the Gaza Strip. Israel reiterates its demand to release the abducted soldier Gilad Shalit, and end Qassam rocket attacks on Israeli towns, for an immediate cease fire to take place. (BBC), (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 armoured company 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)
- 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)
- Seven terror suspects escape from a Saudi Arabian prison. (BBC)
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- 25 people are injured on the Son of Beast wooden roller coaster near Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, as it came to a rapid stop. Several rescue units were sent to the scene. (WCPO-TV), (Associated Press)
- 2006 FIFA World Cup: Italy defeats France in the final game of the FIFA World Cup. The score remained 1-1 after both regulation time and extra time; however, Italy won 5-3 in penalty kicks. The match is marred by the dismissal of Zinedine Zidane in the second period of Extra Time. (ABC News Australia)
- Israeli-Palestinian conflict (Operation Summer Rains):
- Sectarian violence in Iraq: 40 Sunni civilians are massacred by Shia militiamen in Baghdad. (BBC)
- Hindu nationalists riot in and around the Indian city of Mumbai (Bombay), attacking a police station, burning buses, forcing businesses shut and halting public transport. (News.com.au)
- The Indian government bans export of pulses due to domestic shortages. This has led to price hikes for pulses in Bangladesh and other countries. (New Kerala)
- A S7 Airlines Airbus A310 crashes on landing in Irkutsk, Siberia, with many of the 200 passengers feared dead. (ABC News America), (CNN), (BBC)
- Nestlé is added to the Arab League list of companies to be boycotted "because it maintains a branch in Israel". An anonymous source says most League members are likely to ignore the decision. (Ynet)
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- The United Kingdom unveils a new terror alert status system, similar to the United States' Homeland Security Advisory System. It is currently at "severe" on a scale of low, moderate, substantial, severe and critical. (Associated Press)
- Hundreds of thousands of children are potentially fingerprinted in the UK, some as young as five years old and without parental consent. (Mirror), (IndyMedia)
- Chief Judge Thomas F. Hogan rules that a Federal Bureau of Investigation raid on the Capitol Hill office of Representative William J. Jefferson was legal. (Minneapolis St. Paul Star Tribune)
- The Indian GSLV rocket carrying the INSAT 4C satellite fails. (CNN.com)
- The U.N. Security Council's five permanent members and Japan agree today to postpone the vote on possible sanctions against North Korea. (Associated Press)
- 2006 62nd Street explosion: A three-story building located on 62nd Street between Madison and Park avenues collapses in Manhattan at 9 AM EDT following an explosion, and then followed by flames erupting in the building. FDNY labels it a "major incident." (MSNBC/AP), (Reuters), (WNBC), (Associated Press), (CNN), (WABC), (Associated Press)
- A Palestinian girl is critically wounded when a Qassam rocket launched by Palestenian militants hits her home in the Gaza Strip. (Ynet)
- Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert criticises the European Union for its refusal to condemn the daily Palestinian rocket attacks against Israeli civilians, leaving Israel to take effective measures by itself. (Haaretz)
- 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)
- India's test-firing of a nuclear-capable IRBM, 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)
- Chechnya's 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)
- Japan says it is considering whether a pre-emptive strike against North Korea's missile bases would be a violation of its constitution. This is ahead of a possible UN vote on sanctions against North Korea. (Associated Press)
- PIA Flight 688, a Pakistan International Airlines Fokker F-27 plane, crashes at Multan International Airport, killing all 45 passengers on board. (CNN), (Associated Press)
- The defense starts the concluding remarks in the trial of Saddam Hussein.
(NBC)
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- Tajikistan begins reconstructing the Dushanbe-Chanak highway after the Government of China agrees to loan the Tajik Government $281.2 million of the $296 million reconstruction costs. Tajik President Emomali Rahmonov said, "the Great Silk Route will return to live." (Interfax)
- Liu Xiang of China sets a new 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. Gilad Shalit, his father asks why Red Cross representatives were not allowed to visit the hostage, as established in the Geneva Conventions. (Ynet)
- An Israeli official states there is neither hunger nor a humanitarian crisis in the 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)
- A fire and smoke buildup occurres on the CTA Blue Line train in the U.S. city of Chicago. Most injuries are from smoke inhalation. No fatalities have been stated at this time. Emergency personnel are on scene. The cause is from a rear derailment. (CBS2 Chicago), (NBC5 Chicago), (Chicago Tribune), (CNN), (Associated Press)
- U.S. broadcaster Bob Novak reveals his involvement in the Plame leak, stating "I learned Valerie Plame's name from Joe Wilson's entry in Who's Who in America." (Bob Novak/Human Events Online)
- News Corp's MySpace.com surpasses Yahoo! Mail for the first time, and has become the number-one most visited website in the United States. (Reuters)
- The United States government agrees to apply parts of the Geneva Convention to detainees held at the Guantanamo Bay detainment camp, but does not change their status from enemy combatants to POWs. (Washington Times)
- A three ton concrete ceiling tile falls on a car in a tunnel in Boston, United States, killing one female passenger and closing the tunnel. The Governor of Massachusetts, Mitt Romney, announces that the Massachusetts Government will be taking legal action to remove the Chairman of the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority, Matt Amorello. (Bloomberg), (The Boston Globe), (Daily Comet)
- Eight explosions hit at least four commuter trains in the Indian city of Mumbai (Bombay). India's other major cities are all placed on high alert. At least 174 people are reported dead, and at least 460 are reported injured. A suspect has been arrested in central Delhi. (Associated Press), (Reuters), (MSNBC), (Rediff), (Zee News)
- The Mujahideen Shura Council, a group linked to Al-Qaeda, posts a tape claiming responsibility for killing three US soldiers in retaliation for the killing of an Iraqi girl Abeer Qassim Hamza, allegedly by members of the same unit that the soldiers belonged to. (Dallas Morning News)
- Hurricane Bud forms in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, south of the tip of the Baja California Peninsula. (National Hurricane Center)
- In the 2006 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, the American League defeats the National League 3 to 2. Michael Young of the Texas Rangers is named Most Valuable Player. (Major League Baseball)
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- Israeli-Palestinian conflict
- An Israeli air strike destroys the Palestinian Foreign Ministry Building in Gaza City. (BBC), (AP)
- An Israeli brigade enters the central Gaza Strip via Kissufim crossing, aiming at temporarily bisecting it. Simultaneously, the Israel Air Force targets a meeting of Hamas operational 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)
- 2006 Israel-Lebanon crisis:
- Hezbollah militants kidnap two Israeli soldiers patrolling along the northern Israel border. Three soldiers are killed in the incident, and five soldiers are killed in subsequent confrontations inside Lebanon. Hezbollah demands the release of thousands of Palestinian prisoners and one Lebanese prisoner, the killer of two small girls and their father. (Haaretz), (Ynet), (iAfrica) It is later reported that the two Israeli soldiers "had trespassed into Lebanon's side of the border with Israel". (Asia Times) (Bahrain News) (What Really Happened.com)
- 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)
- Hezbollah's attacks draw international condemnation. The US, EU, Japan, UK, Egypt and UN call for the immediate unconditional release of two kidnapped Israeli soldiers. The Syrian government and Hamas praise the attack by Hezbollah. (Haaretz), (Jerusalem Post)
- Lebanon calls back its ambassador to the US after he expresses support for Hezbollah in US media. (Haaretz), (Jerusalem Post)
- The United States blame Syria and Iran for the kidnapping of the two Israeli soldiers. (Fox News), (Reuters)
- Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert describes the Hezbollah attacks as "unjustified acts of war" by Lebanon and promises a "very painful and far-reaching response". (Reuters), (Associated Press)
- An IDF reserve armoured division is called up in preparation for large scale operations in Lebanon, raising concerns for war. (Haaretz)
- Israel files a complaint with the UN Security Council and UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, urging the international community to enforce 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)
- Several thousand protesters march in the Mexican Federal District, protesting alleged vote fraud in last week's presidential election. (Reuters), (BBC)
- Former General Secretary of the Soviet Union Communist Party Mikhail Gorbachev says "We have made some mistakes," referring to attacks on Russia's democracy, and makes several unflattering comments about the United States. (ABC News America)
- 10 or more of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps members attend North Korea's launch of its Taepodong-2 missile. (World Tribune)
- France, United States, United Kingdom, Russia, People's Republic of China and Germany decide to refer Iran to the U.N. Security Council over its nuclear program, after Iran not deciding whether to respond to a package of incentives quickly enough. (Reuters)
- The death toll from the 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)
- U.S. broadcaster Robert Novak says Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove was not the primary source for the Plame leak. (Wash Post), (Human Events)
- 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)
- Condoleezza Rice says Iran's rejection of the international incentives program will force the major powers to take decisions in the United Nations Security Council. (Reuters)
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- 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)
- The United States vetoes a United Nations resolution condemning Israel's military operations in the Gaza Strip. (AFP)
- North Korean diplomats quickly leave a meeting with South Korea and a U.S. diplomat, and leave the region after a week of diplomacy. (Reuters)
- Merck & Co. wins a trial over a grandmother's claim that its 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)
- A man claiming to represent Al-Qaeda in India claims that they have set up a network in Kashmir and appeals to Indian Muslims to take up jihad. (Los Angeles Times)
- 2006 Israel-Lebanon crisis:
- Haifa city is hit by rocket artillery fired from Lebanon. Israeli Ambassador to the US Daniel Ayalon describes the unprecedented strike on Haifa as a "major, major escalation" by Hezbollah. (Haaretz), (Ynet), (Getty)
- Lebanon announces it refuses to abide UN Security Council's Resolutions 1559 and 1583, calling Lebanon to assert full control over its border with Israel. (Haaretz)
- Israeli jets attack a Lebanese army air base near the Syrian border, destroying runways, the first attack against Lebanon's army in Operation Just Reward. (Fox News), (Jerusalem Post), (Associated Press)
- More than a hundred Katyusha rockets hit northern Israeli cities and towns, killing two civilians in Nahariya and Safed. Approximately 150 civilians are wounded, including women and children. Hezbollah threatens to launch long-range rockets at Haifa metropolis if the southern suburb of Beirut is attacked. (Ynet), (Haaretz), (Getty)
- Israel imposes an air and sea blockade on Lebanon. (Associated Press)
- An Israeli aircraft fires three rockets into Beirut international airport killing 22 civilians. All incoming air traffic is diverted to Cyprus. Israel claims that the airport was used to supply weapons to Hezbollah, and was about to be used to smuggle its kidnapped soldiers away to Iran. Israeli navy later attacks fuel tanks at the airport, setting them ablaze. (Haaretz), (BBC), (Reuters), (Fox News), (CNN)
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- Talks begin in 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)
- Indian authorities announce that they are looking for a third man in relation to the 11 July 2006 Mumbai train bombings. So far, the three suspects in the case are Sayyad Zabiuddin, Zulfeqqar Fayyaz and a man named Rahil. (New York Times)
- The trial of seven former Bosnian Serb officers for alleged involvement in the Srebrenica massacre begins at The Hague 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)
- Jarosław Kaczyński is sworn-in as the new 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)
- An Israeli Navy missile boat is attacked 16 km off the shores of Beirut, by an Irani C-802 land-to-ship missile. 4 Israeli crewmembers are missing. (Ynet), (Haaretz)
- Hezbollah renews rocket fire against numerous Israeli towns. About 90 Katyusha rockets hit the cities of Safed and Nahariya, killing a 4 year old child and his grandmother in Meron village and wounding many other civilians. (Ynet), (Haaretz), (Getty)
- 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)
- Israeli fighters attack the Beirut-Damascus Highway, closing the country's main artery and further isolating Lebanon from the outside world. (Seattle Post-Intelligencer), (Fox)
- 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)
- Israeli-Palestinian conflict (Operation Summer Rains):
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- The 32nd G8 summit begins in Saint Petersburg, Russia. (BBC)
- The United Nations Security Council unanimously adopts a resolution calling for weapons-related sanctions against North Korea. North Korea rejects the resolution. (AP)
- The 2006 Central American and Caribbean Games begin in the city of Cartagena, Colombia.
- British troops in Afghanistan are undertaking their biggest operation since the fall of the Taliban in 2001. (BBC)
- US President George W. Bush claims that the United States and Russia had almost reached agreement on Russia joining the World Trade Organisation. Bush met with Vladimir Putin prior to the G8 meeting in Strelna. (Bloomberg)
- 2006 Israel-Lebanon crisis:
- The presidents of the US and Russia differ in emphasis in voicing concern about the Mid-East crisis at the 32nd G8 summit in Strelna.(BBC)
- US President George W. Bush calls for Syria to urge Hezbollah to "lay down its arms and to stop attacking". 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)
- Israel Air Force strikes Hezbollah targets and facilities in Lebanon. An Israeli general says all Lebanese coastal radars were destroyed, after they took part in the attack on an Israeli missile boat on Friday, killing 4 soldiers. Lebanese police reports at least 23 civilians are killed when an Israeli missile hits a van in southern Lebanon, after fleeing from a village and refused shelter by local UN forces. (Ynet), (Al-Jazeera), (Haaretz), (CNN),(BBC)
- United Nations Security Council turns down for now a Lebanese request to impose a cease-fire. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told 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)
- Israeli-Palestinian conflict (Operation Summer Rains):
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- It is reported that Tropical Storm Bilis killed at least 115 people when it hit southeastern China on Friday. (CNN)
- An Iraqi general claims that a suicide bombing in a Shiite cafe in northern Iraq has killed 25 people. (Newsday)
- 2006 Israel-Lebanon crisis:
- 25 Lebanese are killed in Israeli Air Force strikes in southern Lebanon. (BBC), (Ynet), Al-Jazeera, (Haaretz)
- 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)
- Israel increases the alert level in Tel Aviv in preparation to further attacks. (Haaretz), (Reuters)
- 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)
- Israeli-Palestinian conflict (Operation Summer Rains):
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- A 235-193 vote in the U.S. House of Representatives falls short of the 2/3 majority needed to override President George W. Bush's first-ever veto of a bill intended to reauthorize federal funding of embryonic stem cell research (see Stem cell controversy). (AP)
- Record-breaking temperatures continue in a U.S. heat wave and another in 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)
- Ben Bernanke, Chairman of the United States Federal Reserve warns the United States Senate Banking Committee of the possible impact of rising energy prices on inflation. (Bloomberg)
- Internet censorship: In an unprecedented move for a leading democracy, India bans some blogs; Huge outrage reported. (BBC), (Business Standard),(Blog-Herald), (New York Times)
- 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict:
- Israeli-Palestinian conflict (Operation Summer Rains):
- 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)
- OFCOM removes the retail price controls that had been imposed on Britain's dominant telco, the BT Group, for the last 22 years. (LSE) (Reuters) (BBC)
- An aristocratic house believed to be the birthplace of Augustus, the first emperor of ancient Rome, is discovered under the Palatine Hill.(SFGate)
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- 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict:
- 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)
- A column of Ethiopian Army vehicles invades Somalia, reaching the town of Baidoa. They have stated that they are willing to defend Somalia's Transitional Federal Parliament from the Islamic Courts Union. (BBC)
- The U.S. grand jury investigating baseball player Barry Bonds for possible perjury and tax evasion charges is set to expire today. It was extended and Bonds was not indicted. Greg Anderson, Bonds' trainer, was released from a federal prison in Dublin, California, after having been jailed for refusing to give evidence. (ESPN.com), (Forbes) (NBC)
- The opposition Cook Islands Party wins a byelection in Matavera, leaving the Government without a majority. Prime Minister Jim Marurai is not conceding defeat. (Radio NZ)
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- Human Rights Watch releases a report stating that torture of Iraqi detainees was authorized by the US government; soldiers' complaints were ignored. (Human Rights Watch)
- Miss Puerto Rico, Zuleyka Rivera Mendoza, is crowned Miss Universe 2006 in Los Angeles, California. Forty minutes after her crowning, she collapses during a post-pageant news conference. (ABC News, CNN)
- Tiger Woods wins the The Open Championship commonly known as the British Open, finishing two shots ahead of Chris DiMarco. (ABC News America)
- Ariel Sharon's condition worsens. (BBC)
- American Floyd Landis wins the 2006 Tour de France. (Bloomberg)
- 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict:
- The UN's Jan Egeland has condemned the devastation caused by Israeli air strikes in Beirut, saying it is a violation of humanitarian law.(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), (People's Daily Online)
- Israel and the United States governments say they would accept NATO forces deployed along the Lebanese/Israeli border.(Gulfnews), (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)
- An earthquake of 6.1 magnitude off the coast of Gorontalo province on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi prompts warnings of a possible tsunami. (Jakarta Post)
- A suicide bomb explosion kills at least 26 people in a busy market in Sadr City, a predominantly Shi'a district of Baghdad. (AFP)
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- Israeli-Palestinian conflict (Operation Summer Rains):
- 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 Chad and Sudan sign an accord officially ending the Chadian-Sudanese conflict. The deal has many provisions similar to that of the Tripoli Accord, which Sudan has violated four times by aiding Janjaweed, UFDC, and anti-Bozizé rebels and genocidaires. (Syracuse.com)
- Germany and 11 other nations, including Israel, sign a protocol to open the 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)
- United States National Park Service director Fran P. Mainella announces her resignation. (NPS.gov)
- 2006 Kodori Gorge clashes: Georgian forces attack surrounded rebels after an ultimatum expires. (civil.ge)
- 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict:
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- U.S. Heat Wave of 2006: A heat wave in California causes at least 90 deaths. (KOVR-TV / CBS 13)
- Somalia's interim government unravels as at least 20 government members 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).
- More than 80 people dead and missing in China as a result of Typhoon Kaemi. (Mail and Guardian)
- In Rome, the President of the Venice Biennale Davide Croff and the Director of the 63rd Venice Film Festival Marco Müller have presented the line-up of the festival, which runs August 30 - September 9. (La Biennale di Venezia)
- 2006 Kodori crisis: the rebel renegade Emzar Kvitsiani escapes as one civilian gets killed in the fighting. civil.ge. The hitherto Tbilisi-based 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 Fu Xiancai, a Chinese activist protesting the displacement caused by the Three Gorges Dam, concludes that he hit himself in the back of the neck, breaking three vertebrae. (BBC)
- The team for 2006 Tour de France winner Floyd Landis announces that he failed a drug test during the race, with high levels of testosterone. (Sports Illustrated), (Reuters)
- 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict:
- Already-convicted murder Robert Charles Browne pleads guilty to another killing, and leads authorities to suspect he might be America's most prolific serial killer (Boston Herald)
- 2006 Ukraine parliament crisis. Ukraine's president, Yushchenko, holds crisis talks over political stalemate. (Fox News)
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