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- Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association outraged Vatican by planning to ordain another bishop, Liu Xinhong in Anhui Province. On Sunday, China has already ordained Ma Yinglin, not approved by the Holy See, as a bishop in Yunnan. Hong Kong Cardinal Joseph Zen urged the Vatican to stop diplomatic talks with China [1]
- King Gyanendra of Nepal swears in Girija Prasad Koirala as the new Prime Minister of Nepal. Baburam Bhattarai of the CPN(M) which controls two thirds of the country, states that his party will respect the results of an election to a constituent assembly, so long as these are "free and fair". (BBC)
- President of Chad Idriss Déby refuses to delay upcoming presidential elections despite pressure from U.S. diplomat Donald Yamamoto, high ranking Chadian Christian officials, and the head of the Chadian human rights league. However, he announced the Chadian government is negotiating with the United Front for Democratic Change rebel group to avoid violence. (VOA)
- Spain, Portugal, Finland and Greece join the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland and Sweden in allowing workers from the ten countries which joined the European Union two years ago free access to their labour markets. (BBC)
- Bolivian Gas War: President Evo Morales has signed a decree nationalising the nation's natural gas industry, instructing foreign energy firms to channel their activities through the Bolivian government within a six-month deadline or face expulsion, and ordering the Bolivian military to occupy and secure key energy installations. (BBC)
- Puerto Rico budget crisis: The government of Puerto Rico is partially shut down, including public schools. More than 90,000 employees of the public sector are put in license without salary. Their salary will not be paid until further notice, but they will remain employed whether they present themselves to work or not. If they present themselves to work it will be on a voluntary basis without retroactive payment. (Reuters)
- Terrorism in Kashmir: At least 22 Hindus in two small villages in Indian-administered Kashmir are killed by Islamic militants. (BBC), (Reuters)
- Darfur conflict: The African Union extends the deadline for a peace deal by 48 hours. (BBC), (Reuters)
- Beaconsfield mine collapse: Rescuers at a mine in Beaconsfield, Tasmania have begun work after two miners were detected alive. The two had been trapped alive over 1 kilometre underground for the past five days. (BBC)
- Immigrant workers and their supporters across the United States stay home from work or school and abstain from commerce during the 2006 Immigration Policy Boycott in the United States, also called the "Great American Boycott" or "Day Without Immigrants", a protest against the enforcement of immigration law. Demonstrations are planned nationwide. In Latin America, a one-day boycott of American products called the "Nothing Gringo Boycott" is planned in conjunction with U.S. events. (Guardian) (CNN) (SFGate)
- Asian Pacific American Heritage Month: The first day of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month in the United States.
- Sri Lankan Civil War:
- A second wave of pollutants from last year's toxic chemical spill in Jilin City, China, trapped in the frozen Amur and Songhua Rivers during the winter, is now being released by the spring thaw, affecting Khabarovsk and other settlements in the Russian Far East. (BBC), (Guardian), (CNN)
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- Violence continues during the police raids of San Salvador Atenco, Mexico.
- Manasseh Sogavare is elected Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands, following Snyder Rini's brief period in office. Sogavare was previously prime minister from 2000 to 2001. (ABC)
- In Israel, a new Cabinet under Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is sworn in. (BBC)
- A tsunami warning was issued for Fiji and New Zealand following a magnitude 7.9 earthquake in Tonga which occurred at 15:26 UTC (04:26 May 4, local time). The warning was canceled when it was found that the earthquake did not produce a tsunami. (USGS) (Pacific Tsunami Warning Center)
- Picasso's Dora Maar With Cat is sold in an auction for US$95,216,000, becoming one of the most expensive paintings in the world. (BBC)
- Shahrir Abdul Samad resigns as chairman of the Barisan Nasional Backbenchers Club in the Parliament of Malaysia, after a motion to refer a Member of Parliament implicated in a corruption scandal to the Dewan Rakyat House Rights and Privileges Committee failed. (The Sun)
- British Prime Minister Tony Blair's Labour Party suffers one of its worst electoral defeats, losing more than 200 council seats in the 2006 UK local elections, and coming third in total votes, behind the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats. (Reuters), (BBC)
- The latest update is the 2006 Red List. It evaluates 40,168 species as a whole, plus an additional 2,160 subspecies, varieties, aquatic stocks, and subpopulations.
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- The People's Republic of China announces Vatican-approved Paul Pei Junmin will be ordained as a Catholic bishop on Sunday, just days after a diplomatic clash due to the unilateral ordination of two other bishops by Beijing. (Reuters)
- Mahamat Nouri, until recently the Chadian ambassador to Saudi Arabia, who has previously served as the Chadian Defense Minister, defects to Sudan and joins the United Front for Democratic Change rebels. (Reuters)
- Grant McLennan, co-founder of the legendary Australian band The Go-Betweens dies at age 48, while sleeping in his house at Brisbane, Australia, from a reported heart attack.
- The People's Action Party is returned to government in Singapore for the twelfth time, winning 82 out of 84 seats with the ruling party winning 66.6% of the total votes in the 2006 general election. (CNA)
- The starboard engine of the cruise liner The Calypso, sailing from Tilbury to St Peter Port on Guernsey, catches fire at 4 am, 16 miles off Eastbourne, southeast of the British coast. Its crew puts the fire out, after its 708 passengers are moved into its lifeboats. Rescue lifeboats attend but neither these nor the ship's lifeboats are needed.(Yahoo News).
- The People's Republic of China plans to launch satellites for lunar surveying, probing the moon's surface, physiognomy, landform and geological structure. (People's Daily)
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- Business and economy
- International relations
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- Residents flee Mogadishu as warlords and Islamist militias battle for control of the Somali capital. The death toll in five days of fighting reaches 120. (VoA), (BBC)
- A grizzly-polar bear hybrid is found on Banks Island in Canada's Northwest Territories. (MSNBC)
- Baidu Baike, a collaborative online encyclopedia, is launched in People's Republic of China by Baidu.com, modelled on Wikipedia but heavily self censored. Wikipedia is largely inaccessible without a proxy in China. (BBC)
- The United States National Security Agency is reported to operate "the largest database ever assembled in the world", containing a record of all calls (domestic and international) placed through AT&T, Verizon and BellSouth. Qwest Communications refused to provide customer records, citing the need for a warrant. (USA Today)
- Ernie Fletcher, Republican governor of the U.S. state of Kentucky, is indicted on three misdemeanor counts of conspiracy, official misconduct and political discrimination for hiring, promoting, demoting and firing state employees based on political loyalties.(Lexington Herald-Leader)
- Results for the state election held in Tamil Nadu, India, on May 8 were announced and the DMK and its allies have captured the power.And the AIADMK becoming a stronger opposition in the history of Tamil Nadu.
- The State of West Bengal also made a History. "The Communist Party of India (Marxsist) emerged victorius for another 5 years, making its stand of almost 35 years at a stretch"
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- CIA officials try to get the case of Khaled el-Masri, who says he was abducted and tortured, dismissed as it "could undermine U.S. relations with foreign countries". (Washington Post) (New York Times)
- The International Committee of the Red Cross criticizes the United States for denying access to detainees in violation of the Geneva Convention. The US admits holding detainees secretly but claims they do not fall under that convention. (ABC Australia) (Xinhua)
- Typhoon Chanchu makes landfall twice in the Philippines. 23 people are killed and five remain missing after a boat capsizes in the stormy seas off Masbate island. (CNEWS), (CNN), (Reuters), (SwissInfo)
- Chad:
- George Seitz, a Labor Party Member of the state Legislative Assembly in Victoria, Australia, is accused of running an elaborate branch stacking operation to manipulate results in state and federal elections and pre-selections. (The Age)
- Authorities in Indonesia issue a red alert for active volcano Mt. Merapi, evacuating 17,000 people in expectation of an eruption. (BBC) (MSNBC)
- Liverpool F.C. win the FA Cup against West Ham United F.C. on penalties after a last minute 40-yard Steven Gerrard equalizer. (BBC)
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- Israeli-Palestinian conflict:
- Ahmat Mahamat Bachir, the president of the Chadian Independent National Election Commission, announces that incumbent President of Chad Idriss Déby won the 2006 Chadian presidential election held on May 3 with 77.5% of the vote. The official turnout was 61%, though international observers estimated turnout at 4–10%. (Al Jazeera)
- Organized crime led by the group Primeiro Comando da Capital causes rioting in Brazil and claims over 50 lives. (BBC)
- Mount Merapi in Central Java, Indonesia, which has been rumbling for about a month, is shooting out black smoke, volcanic ash and lava, and a volcanic eruption appears to be imminent. Mandatory evacuations are under way. (BBC) (CNN) (Reuters)
- Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Tony Blair, signs a petition in support of animal testing and condemns the acts of animal-rights extremists. (BBC)
- Seven people are wounded as two bombs explode in the Iranian city of Kermanshah. A local branch of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) claimed responsibility. (Reuters)
- Alligators kill three women in one week in separate incidents across the U.S. state of Florida. [2]
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- The United States releases a list of 759 former and current inmates of the Guantánamo Bay prison camp in Cuba after a Freedom of Information Act action was filed by the Associated Press. (Pentagon list) (The Age)
- Darfur conflict: The United Nations Security Council votes unanimously to initiate the process which would lead to a UN peacekeeping force relieving the beleaguered African Union peacekeepers in the war-torn Darfur region of Sudan. The Government of Sudan opposes the move. (BBC), (VoA)
- Chadian Information Minister Hourmadji Moussa Doumgor accuses the Government of Sudan of facilitating a new alliance between the Mahamat Nour's UFDC and the defected troops of Mahamat Nouri against the Déby administration. Neither group has confirmed or denied the merger. (CNN)
- Italian centre-left leader Romano Prodi is given the mandate to form a new government by President Giorgio Napolitano. Prodi is supposed to present his list of ministers on May 17. (BBC)
- At least 23 people have been killed in a shooting and bombing attack in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, police say. (BBC)
- Mark Inglis, a New Zealander, became the first double-amputee to climb Mount Everest [3]
- A British-Ugandan team reports a substantial reduction in glacial cover atop the Rwenzori Mountains in Central Africa, attributable to increases in air temperature over the past four decades. This "Mountains of the Moon", according to 2nd Century geographer Ptolemy, is one of the sources of the Nile, and is projected in the study to disappear in two decades. (BBC)
- A tattooed mummy of a woman in her late 20s of the Moche tribe from 1,500 years ago is found near Trujillo, Peru. (BBC)
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- Captain Nichola Goddard, 26, of 1st RCHA is killed while engaged in combat against Taliban forces near Kandahar, Afghanistan. Captain Goddard is Canada's first female casualty since World War 2, and Canada's first female combat arms casualty. (BBC)
- A total of 155 people are killed in a recent wave of violence in São Paulo, Brazil. (CNN)
- Incumbent Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase of Fiji claims victory in the 2006 general election. (BBC)
- A gunman opens fire at the Turkish Council of State, the top court in Ankara, while the court is in session, injuring four judges, and killing one - Mustafa Yücel Özbilgin. The shooting represents a rise in tensions between the secular apparatus of state and supporters of Islamic fundamentalism. (BBC)
- Barcelona win the UEFA Champions League, defeating Arsenal 2-1 in the final. Arsenal goalkeeper Jens Lehmann became the first player ever sent off in a Champions League final. Barcelona's goals were scored by Belletti and Samuel Eto'o; Arsenal's goal was scored by Sol Campbell. (BBC) (SkySports)
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- Nepali legislators vote unanimously to strip the king (Currently Gyanendra) of his powers, effectively turning the Hindu kingdom into a secular constitutional monarchy. (CBC)
- Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase of Fiji swears in for a second term after winning the 2006 general election. (BBC)
- White House Press Secretary Tony Snow is unwilling to either confirm or deny U.S. financial and logistical support for the Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism in Somalia. Previously, such accusations were denied. The current Prime Minister of Somalia, Ali Mohamed Gedi, criticized U.S. support for "criminals." (Philadelphia Inquirer)
- The European Parliament committee examining the claims of para-legal deportations of individuals for torture-based questioning, known as "extraordinary renditions", reports that it has CIA confirmation that between 30 and 50 individuals underwent such deportations to seven "black sites" in Asia, Europe and Africa. Those in Europe have reportedly been closed down following the public outcry, but there is still one such site operating in a North African country. (EU Observer) (UPI) (Reuters)
- New Italian prime minister Romano Prodi pledges to withdraw Italian troops from Iraq and calls the Iraq war a "grave mistake that has not solved but increased the problem of security". (Guardian) (Al Jazeera)
- Typhoon Chanchu, the strongest storm on record to have entered the South China Sea in May, makes landfall between the cities of Shantou, Guangdong and Xiamen, Fujian in China. (BBC) (Reuters)
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- Ray Nagin is re-elected Mayor of New Orleans, USA.(BBC)
- The construction of the Three Gorges Dam wall, the largest dam in the world, is completed in the People's Republic of China. (Reuters)
- Campaigning in Montenegro's referendum on independence ends at midnight local time, with voting scheduled to begin the following morning. (B92) A final poll shows the independence forces with 56% support, slightly above the internationally imposed threshold of 55%. (EUObserver)
- 5,000 medical students, doctors, and lawyers rally in New Delhi, India against the boosting of quotas for lower-caste students in medical, engineering and other colleges from 22.5% to 49.5%. (ChannelnewsAsia.com) (Wikinews)
- The Iraqi National Assembly votes in a new government, leaving the ministries of Defense, National Security and Interior in temporary hands. (BBC)
- United States Congressman Duncan Hunter (R-CA) claims U.S. Marines in Haditha, Iraq, killed 24 civilians in an incident in 2005. Earlier Rep. John Murtha (D-PA) had said even innocent women and children were killed in cold blood. (Washington Post) (Times of India)
- Finnish rock band Lordi wins the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 with the song "Hard Rock Hallelujah". (BBC), (Reuters), (CNN)
- Booth Middle School of Georgia and Troy High School of California win the 22nd annual U.S. Science Olympiad for their respective divisions, held at Indiana University Bloomington.
- In the Crosstown Classic, a brawl breaks out between the Chicago White Sox and Chicago Cubs when Cubs catcher Michael Barrett punches White Sox catcher A. J. Pierzynski. Barrett drew a 10 game suspension.
- Munster win their first Heineken European Cup, defeating Biarritz Olympique in the final by 23 points to 19. Team captain Anthony Foley lifts the cup for the first time for the Irish province.
- Kentucky Derby winner, Barbaro breaks down during the Preakness Stakes. Eight months later he is euthanized.
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- Politics and elections
- Sport
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- The United Kingdom government announces plans to overhaul the pension system (BBC)
- The 5th Season of the talent search American Idol comes to a close with a two hour finale, and Taylor Hicks being crowned the winner.
- The Kuomintang announces that it plans to cease publishing the Central Daily News, the oldest Chinese language newspaper in existence, by the end of this month. (ChinaPost)
- The World Health Organization is investigating several bird flu deaths for a possible person-to-person transmission chain. (Reuters)
- The ABC News claims that Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Dennis Hastert is under investigation for corruption, but the Justice Department issues a denial. (ABC) (UPI) Hastert denies knowledge of any FBI investigation, and jointly issues a statement with Democratic House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi demanding that the FBI return documents found in a court ordered search of Democratic Representative Bill Jefferson, based on the constitutional principle of separation of powers. (ABC News)
- Over 100 people are feared dead following heavy rains and flooding in northern Thailand. (BBC) (Irrawaddy News)
- Four Russian soldiers die during fighting in Chechnya. (BBC) (MosNews)
- Disgruntled former soldiers and government troops clash in East Timor, leading to at least two deaths in Dili. Australians evacuate as violence escalates. (CNN), (Daily Telegraph) As requested by the East Timor government, at least four countries, Australia, New Zealand, Portugal and Malaysia, are sending in troops in an effort to maintain order. (CNN)
- Namah Services, the free web portal was found by Pradeep Chowdhary.
- A large fire breaks out at the cargo terminal of Atatürk International Airport in Istanbul, Turkey, forcing the suspension of air traffic. (BBC)
- President of Mexico Vicente Fox begins a tour of the United States in Salt Lake City by criticizing a proposed border wall. This comes amid the U.S. Senate passing a sweeping immigration bill. (AP via Yahoo!) (AP) (LA Times).
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- Las Vegas Sands wins the bid to build the first casino Integrated Resort in Singapore, The Marina Bay Sands, at a cost of over S$5 billion. (CNA)
- Well-known Australian mountain climber Lincoln Hall is reported to have died on Mount Everest, but is later reported to be alive, having survived a night exposed near the summit of the mountain without oxygen. (Sydney Morning Herald) (BBC)
- In Berlin, Germany, Europe's largest train station, Berlin Hauptbahnhof, is opened by Chancellor Angela Merkel, Deutsche Bahn Chairman Hartmut Mehdorn and Industrial Commissioner of the European Union Günter Verheugen. The station is the hub of routes from Stockholm to Rome and Paris to Moscow. 1,200 trains will depart and arrive every day. The station is expected to have cost €800 million. (CNN) At the end of the ceremony, a stabbing rampage occurred, injuring 28 people, six of them heavily. Police say one of the first stabbing victims was HIV positive, so other victims may have been infected. (Scotsman) (BBC)
- Mahmoud al-Majzoub, a leader of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, is killed in a car-bombing along with his brother, Nidal. (AP) (NYT)
- The United States Capitol building complex in Washington, D.C. is locked down after reports of what sounded like gunfire reached US Capitol police. The United States Senate was in session as a report of at least one person seeing a gunman in the Rayburn House Office Building gym was issued. Police say that the sound was likely that of a pneumatic hammer and that the 'gunman' may have been a plainclothes police officer. (CNN)
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- A labor dispute causes Toronto Transit Commission to shut down the city's public transit system unexpectedly, leaving commuters stranded. (CBC)
- In the Italian municipal elections, centre-left incumbent mayors Walter Veltroni, Sergio Chiamparino and Rosa Russo Iervolino lead in Rome, Turin and Naples, respectively. In the regional election of Sicily, incumbent president Salvatore Cuffaro of the House of Freedoms leads over Rita Borsellino. (BBC)
- In Kabul, Afghanistan, thousands demonstrate against the United States after several civilians were killed in a car accident in which 3 US humvees collided with a traffic jam. (Washington Post) (Al Jazeera)
- The Times reports on investigations into an incident in al-Haditha, Iraq, where US Marines are accused of having covered up the murder of 24 civilians after a soldier had been killed in an attack. (The Times)
- The Lebanese-based Hezbollah group threatens Israel with Iranian-made rockets. (Haaretz)
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- A motion to vote on a bill opening the Three Links between mainland China and Taiwan is defeated for the third time in the Legislative Yuan of the Republic of China when a Democratic Progressive Party lawmaker tries to eat the written cloture motion. The opposition Pan-Blue Coalition controls the legislature and would have likely passed the bill. (Reuters) (ChinaPost)
- British mobile phone operator Vodafone posts the largest annual loss in British corporate history – £21.8 billion – as it writes down the value of company purchases made mainly in Germany in the years up to 2000. (Guardian)
- The board of the Engelhard Corporation agreed to a takeover by BASF. BASF will become the world's largest manufacturer of catalytic converters. BASF will pay USD 5.0 billion for Engelhard, which translates to $39 per share. (BBC)
- Seven United Nations peacekeepers are taken hostage by the Nationalist and Integrationist Front militia of Ituri Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo. (BBC)
- The European Court of Justice rules illegal an EU-US agreement to pass airline passenger data to the US authorities, as it does not ensure privacy protection for European passengers. (BBC), (Guardian)
- The Constitutional Council of Chad, the highest court in Chad, confirms Idriss Déby's victory in the presidential elections which took place on May 3, 2006. However, the court only gives him 64.67% of the vote, instead of his administration's claim of 77.4%. Turnout was also reduced to 53.08% instead of the previous 60%. (allAfrica.com)(BBC)
- May 2006 Java earthquake: The death toll in last Saturday's earthquake in Indonesia is officially raised to 5,427. (Reuters)
- Former Daewoo boss Kim Woo-jung is sentenced to 10 years in prison for fraud. (BBC)
- John W. Snow has resigned as United States Secretary of the Treasury. President George W. Bush has nominated Goldman Sachs CEO Henry Paulson to succeed him. (Washington Post)
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- Ohio Republican Thomas Noe pleads guilty to illegally directing $50,000 into the 2004 re-election campaign of President George W. Bush.(AP)
- The United States is expected to change its policies regarding Iran and its nuclear program. Condoleezza Rice, Secretary of State of the USA said that the USA may join Iran nuclear talks. (MSNBC) (CNN)
- The Pirate Bay is closed when servers located in Stockholm, Sweden, are confiscated in a police raid initiated by the Swedish anti-piracy bureau. Massive media-discussion and criticism against the bureau's methods and the acts of the Swedish police follows, since at least 20 non-piracy sites are taken down at the same time - including the website of Piratpartiet, a Swedish political party aimed to run in the 2006 elections. (ABC)
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