Portal:Current events/2005 July 18

July 18, 2005 (Monday)

Eight former Serbian secret police officers, and supporters of Slobodan Milošević, have been found guilty of the murder of former President Ivan Stambolić and sentenced to between 15 and 40 years in prison. (BBC)
The Federal Constitutional Court, the highest Court in Germany, has ordered the release of Mamoun Darkazanli who has been accused by Spain of having funded the September 11, 2001 attacks. (BBC)
Hurricane Emily slams into the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico. Tens of thousands of tourists and residents were evacuated from the beach resorts in and around Cancún and Cozumel in the state of Quintana Roo. (BBC), (CBC), (Reuters)
In Taiwan, authorities evacuate hundreds of people when Typhoon Haitang hits the country. The typhoon is heading towards Okinawa (Taipei Times) (Channel News Asia) (Japan Today) (Bloomberg)
In Australia, Indigenous leaders pay tribute to Sir Ronald Wilson, white Indigenous rights campaigner, who died last Friday (ABC) (The Australian) (SBS)
In Malaysia, a group of 30 people attacks the religious commune of Sky Kingdom (Malaysian Star) (BBC)
In Lebanon, the Parliament grants amnesty to the imprisoned Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea. Geagea was arrested since 1994. (AlJazeera) (Ya Libnan) (Newsday)
In Morocco, Ali Salem Tamek, human rights activist and supporter of independence of Western Sahara, is arrested when he returns from Europe. Government accuses him of fomenting riots (Al-JAzeera)
The European Union is planning an operation to monitor peace process in Aceh (Channel News Asia) (Reuters AlertNet)
According to AIDS study of United Nations Council of Foreign Relations, most of the HIV strains in Asia originate from Myanmar (Burma). Study used genetic fingerprinting to find spread of the virus strains (Reuters)
In Ukraine, president Viktor Yushchenko wants to abolish traffic police because it is too corrupted (BBC) (MosNews)
General William Westmoreland, once the commander of U.S. forces in Vietnam, dies peacefully in a retirement home in South Carolina. (Globe and Mail)