Topics in the News

[poopoy]

June 6th

• Clashes are reported between Georgian and South Ossetian forces near Tskhinvali.
  
• Weekend cross-strait charter flights between Taiwan and Mainland China resume after 59 years.
  
• A series of explosions (smoke cloud pictured) at a depot storing 1,500 tonnes of obsolete munitions forces the evacuation of some 2,000 people in Sofia and the closure of the Bulgarian capital's main airport.
  
• NASA announces the discovery of water in the atmosphere of Mercury by its MESSENGER probe.
  
• Íngrid Betancourt and 14 other hostages are rescued by the Colombian government after being held captive by FARC guerillas.
  
• A Palestinian man drives a front-end loader into several vehicles in Jerusalem, killing three before being shot dead.

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July 6th

• Rafael Nadal of Spain wins the 2008 Wimbledon Championships for the first time defeating Roger Federer of Switzerland in an epic match, winning 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-7 (8), 9-7. And Venus Williams of the United States wins the women's singles title at the 2008 Wimbledon.(AP via The New York Times)
  
  
• NBC agrees to buy the Weather Channel. (Bloomberg).
  
  
• The United Arab Emirates forgives the 7 billion dollars (USD) of foreign debt Iraq owes it. (CNN)
  
  
• World leaders arrive in Japan for the G8 summit to be held in Tōyako, Hokkaidō. (Reuters)
  
  
• An explosion near the Red Mosque in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad killed at least 10 people. The attack came on the first anniversary of the deadly siege and storming of the Red Mosque. (France 24)

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[poopoy]

July 7, 2008
(Monday)

• A suicide car bomber strikes outside the Indian embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan with estimates of at least 7 people killed. An explosion near the Lal Masjid in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad kills at least 10 people on the first anniversary of the deadly siege and storming of the mosque. (Reuters), (AP via Google News)

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July 10, 2008
(Thursday)

• The Senate of the United States confirms the appointment of General David Petraeus as the Commander of the United States Central Command and Raymond T. Odierno as the Commander of the Multinational Force Iraq replacing General Petraeus. (AP via Google News)

• The United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice warns Iran that it should have no doubt that the United States will defend its allies including Israel. (Reuters)

• French petroleum company Total S.A. refuses to invest in Iran because it is "too politically risky". (BBC)

• Iran claims to have tested more medium and long range missiles a day after test firing the Shahab-3. (CNN)

• Georgia recalls its ambassador from Moscow after Russia concedes military flights into the Georgian airspace. Civil Georgia

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[poopoy]

July 11, 2008
(Friday)

• India submits its nuclear safeguards agreement to the International Atomic Energy Agency to implement the Indo-US nuclear deal.

• In Grenada, Tillman Thomas succeeds Keith Mitchell as the new Prime Minister following the National Democratic Congress' win in the general elections.

• Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie is awarded The Best of the Booker, as the best novel to have won a Man Booker Prize in the first 40 years of its existence. (BBC News)

• The Prime Minister of Lebanon Fuad Siniora forms a 30 member national government. (AFP via Google News)

• The President of South Korea Lee Myung-bak proposes resumption of stalled summit talks with North Korea. (AP via The International Herald Tribune)

• The first global study of coral reefs finds that one-third of coral-building species face extinction. (BBC News)

• British politician David Davis wins the Haltemprice and Howden by-election, caused when he resigned his seat to highlight his concerns over civil liberties. (BBC News)

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[poopoy]

July 13, 2008
(Saturday)

• Pope Benedict XVI arrives in Sydney, Australia for World Youth Day 2008 celebrations. (Sydney Morning Herald)

• At a donors' conference in Brussels, 1.2 billion euros (1.9 billion U.S. dollars) are pledged to Kosovo's socio-economic development. (MarketWatch) (Xinhua)

• The U.S. federal government's Office of Thrift Supervision closes down the IndyMac Bank, the largest savings and loan bank in the Los Angeles area, after determining that it is unlikely to be able to meet depositors' demands. (AP via Google News)

• Wildfires force 10,000 Californians to evacuate their houses in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, with one man dying in Butte County after refusing to evacuate. (Bloomberg)

• Okmok Caldera on the island of Umnak in the Aleutian Islands erupts forcing the evacuation of the eastern side of the island to Unalaska Island. (Reuters)

• French President Nicolas Sarkozy announces that Syria and Lebanon have agreed to establish embassies in each other. (AP via CNN)

• Six party talks being held in Beijing agreed to steps on verification of the end of North Korea's nuclear weapons program. (Al Jazeera)

• North and South Korea exchange words over the death of a South Korean tourist shot dead at the Kumgangsan resort in North Korea. (AP via Google News) (AP via the Guardian)

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[poopoy]

July 14, 2008
(Monday)

• The Prime Minister of Israel Ehud Olmert states that Israel has agreed to swap five prisoners with Hezbollah to provide the bodies of two Israeli soldiers captured in 2006. (AFP via Google News)

• A suicide bomber blows himself up next to a police patrol in Orūzgān Province of Afghanistan killing at least 18 people. (AP via Google News)

• Belgian Brewer InBev buys St. Louis based Anheuser-Busch for 50 billion dollars. (MSNBC)

• IndyMac Bank is placed into conservatorship by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation in one of the largest banking failures in United States history.

• Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie is awarded The Best of the Booker, as the best novel to have won a Man Booker Prize in the first 40 years of its existence.

• Three members of the Turkish police force are killed during an armed attack on the United States consulate in Istanbul, with three attackers also dead.

• In Grenada, Tillman Thomas succeeds Keith Mitchell as the new Prime Minister following the National Democratic Congress' win in the general elections.

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July 15, 2008
(Tuesday)

• The prosecutor for the International Criminal Court, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, requests a warrant for the arrest of Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir in connection to the conflict in Darfur.

• The International Astronomical Union classifies Makemake as a dwarf planet.

• Dayana Mendoza of Venezuela is crowned Miss Universe 2008.

• European Union members and other nations bordering the Mediterranean Sea form the 43-member Union for the Mediterranean.

• A videotape of an interrogation of terrorism suspect Omar Khadr by Canadian officials at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp is released publicly. Let's hope that the interrogation didn't include interrogator offering Omar a "cock sandwich" if he didn't give the info they wanted to hear. If he didn't co-operate and the they did attempt to give the sandwich I hope he was able to attempt mashing interrogators privates with a mallot.(AP via ABC News America)

• An earthquake with a 6.3 magnitude strikes near the island of Rhodes in Greece leading to one death. (AP via Google News)

• Belgian prime minister Yves Leterme resigns after less than four months in office. (AFP)

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[poopoy]

July 21, 2008​

(2008-07-21)​

(Monday)​

• The first terrorism trial of a Guantanamo Bay inmate begins with Salim Ahmed Hamdan, the former driver and bodyguard of Osama bin Laden pleading not guilty. (CBC)

• Yahoo! reaches a deal with Carl Icahn giving him three seats on its board of directors. (Bloomberg)

• Zimbabwe introduces a new 100-billion-dollar bank note as the annual inflation rate hits 2.2 million percent. (BBC News) (The Guardian)

• Robert Mugabe, the President of Zimbabwe, and Morgan Tsvangirai, the leader of the Movement for Democratic Change sign an agreement to start talks on a powersharing arrangement in Zimbabwe. (AP via Google News)

• Nepal's presidential election concludes with Ram Baran Yadav winning with majority. (China Daily)

• At least three people die and 14 are injured in deliberate explosions on buses in the city of Kunming, the capital of Yunnan province in the People's Republic of China. (Reuters)

• A United States Air Force B-52 bomber crashes near Guam in the western Pacific Ocean. (AP via MSNBC)

• Pope Benedict XVI holds a special mass in Sydney for victims of sexual abuse by Roman Catholic Church clergy. (Al-Jazeera)

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• 162 people die in a stampede at a Hindu temple in Naina Devi in the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. (AFP via Google News)

• North Korea says that it will expel "unnecessary" South Korean staff from the Kumgangsan resort and threatens military action in an escalation of tension over the shooting of a South Korean tourist. (Reuters)

• The third launch of privately developed SpaceX launcher Falcon 1 fails to reach orbit. (Spaceflightnow.com)

• Australia's Civil Aviation Safety Authority launches an investigation into safety at Qantas after three emergencies in two weeks, beginning with the explosion aboard Qantas Flight 30. (ABC News)

• At least 21 street cleaners are killed by a roadside bombing in Mogadishu, Somalia. (CNN)

• 12 people are killed when a minibus explodes in Baghdad, Iraq. (CNN)

• 11 climbers are feared to have died in an avalanche at K2 mountain in Pakistan. (CNN)

 

[poopoy]

August 27, 2008 (2008-08-27)

• Thousands of protesters storm the Thai Prime Minister's office and other government buildings, demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej (Reuters)

• Tamil Tigers carry out an air raid on a major naval base at Trincomalee on the east coast of Sri Lanka, injuring four sailors. (BBC News)

• Flight delays hit more than two dozen United States airports because of a communication network problem in a Federal Aviation Administration facility in Atlanta, Georgia. (MarketWatch), (Chicago Tribune)

• At least 28 people are killed after a suicide bombing in the province of Diyala, Iraq. (Reuters via The Ottawa Citizen)
  
  
• Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim wins a landslide victory in the by-election in Permatang Pauh. (AP via Yahoo News)

• 2008 South Ossetia war:

Russia recognises the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.(New York Times) (Earth Times)
U.S. President George W. Bush says Russia's president should not recognize two breakaway regions of Georgia as independent countries, despite pleas from Russian lawmakers (Rustavi 2). White House spokesman Tony Fratto says shortly after Russia's recognition that Russia is making a number of "irrational" decisions that puts its place in the world at risk.(AP)
Swedish foreign minister Carl Bildt condemns Russia's "deliberate violation of international law", saying that "the Russian government leadership now has chosen this route means they have chosen a policy of confrontation, not only with the rest of Europe, but also with the international community in general".(Warsaw Business Journal) (The Local)

• Hurricane Gustav (2008)

Tropical Storm Gustav becomes Hurricane Gustav as it approaches Haiti. (Reuters)
A Haitian man dies in a landslide caused by Hurricane Gustav. (AP Newsalert via Google News)
The Koshi River breaks embankment to pick up the course abandoned over 200 years ago causing floods in the Indian state of Bihar and killing 42 people. (CNN-IBN)

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[poopoy]

August 28, 2008 (2008-08-28)

2008 South Ossetia war:

• China condemns Russia's actions (Rustavi 2).

• Rusia's PM Vladimir Putin accuses U.S. of orchestrating Georgian war (CNN).

• The EU consider sanctions for Russia over the Georgian crisis (Sky News), (Independent), (BBC), (VOA).

• 12 Georgian soldiers are exchanged for General Roman Dumbadze (Rustavi 2).

• Asian countries refused to back Russia in Russia-Georgia crisis (Delfi). Russia's Asia allies fail to back Georgia action (Globe and Mail), (RTE).

• A mass funeral was planned near Tbilisi for 43 unidentified corpses handed over to Georgian authorities, all of them seriously damaged (IOL).

• Georgia buries 26 Unknown soldiers (Civil).

• 85 Georgian hostages were exchanged for 13 Ossetian captives (Rustavi 2).

• Russia facing isolation over Georgia crisis (RTE).

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[poopoy]

August 29, 2008 (2008-08-29)

• Italian airline Alitalia files for bankruptcy protection. (BBC)

• 2008 U.S. presidential election: John McCain picks Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his vice-presidential running mate for the Republican nomination for the U.S. presidential election. (AP)

• Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadžić refuses to enter pleas to charges including genocide and crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court at the Hague.(AP via Google News)

• At least 11 people die this week and five are missing as a result of floods and landslides caused by heavy rain in Hà Giang province in northern Vietnam. (AFP via ABC News)

• Energy group E.ON cuts 1,800 jobs as it closes two-thirds of its domestic service centres in Germany. (BBC)

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[poopoy]

August 31, 2008 (2008-08-31)

Hurricane Gustav:

• New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin orders the mandatory evacuation of the city ahead of Gustav. (NYT)

• President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney cancel visits to the 2008 Republican National Convention due to Gustav. (Los Angeles Times)

• Heavy rains in central Japan cause flood situation in Okazaki city forcing evacuation of thousands of people. (CNN)

• Journalist Magomed Yevloyev, owner of the non-government news agency Ingushetiya.ru, is shot dead in police custody in Ingushetiya. (BBC) (The Australian) (AP)

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August 20th, 2008 (2009-08-20)

• Car bombs explode in Baghdad, Iraq, killing 95, injuring 563, and breaching the Green Zone perimeter.

• The MV Arctic Sea, a merchant vessel missing since being hijacked in July, is found near Cape Verde by the Russian Navy.

• An accident at the Sayano–Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station in Russia kills 12 and causes power shortages in Siberia.

• The bombing of a police headquarters in Nazran, Ingushetia, Russia kills 20 and injures 138.

• At the 2009 World Championships in Athletics in Berlin, Usain Bolt of Jamaica sets a new world record of 9.58 seconds for the 100 m sprint.

• In badminton, Lu Lan wins the women's singles and Lin Dan wins the men's singles at the 2009 BWF World Championships in Hyderabad, India.

• Y. E. Yang wins the 2009 PGA Championship, becoming the first Asian-born golfer to win a men's major golf championship.

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[poopoy]

August 23rd, 2008 (2009-08-23)

• Tianyuraptor, a new genus of short-armed dromaeosaurid dinosaur, is described from the Early Cretaceous Yixian Formation.

• At the 2009 World Championships in Athletics in Berlin, Jamaica's Usain Bolt (pictured) sets new world records of 9.58 seconds for the 100 m sprint and 19.19 seconds for the 200 m sprint.

• Car bombs explode in Baghdad, Iraq, killing 101, injuring 563, and breaching the Green Zone perimeter.

• The MV Arctic Sea, a merchant vessel missing since being hijacked in July, is found near Cape Verde by the Russian Navy.

• An accident at the Sayano–Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station in Russia kills 66 and causes power shortages in Siberia.

• The bombing of a police headquarters in Nazran, Ingushetia, Russia kills 20 and injures 138.

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