Portal:Current events/2006 July 11

July 11, 2006 (Tuesday)

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)
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)