Portal:Current events/2006 June 13

June 13, 2006 (Tuesday)

U.S. Supreme Court, in its decision of Hill v. McDonough, allows challenge of constitutionality of lethal injection. (Chicago Tribune)
In House v. Bell, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that new DNA forensic evidence is permissible during post-conviction appeals for death row inmates. (Washington Post)
The cancellation of end-of-the-year exams and a nationwide strike by teachers protesting low pay sparks a large scale riot in the Guinean capital of Conakry. 16 people are killed. (CNN)
U.S. President George W. Bush makes a surprise 5-hour visit to Iraq to meet with newly named Prime Minister of Iraq Nouri al-Maliki, President of Iraq Jalal Talibani, national political leaders and U.S. troops. The visit was kept a secret from al-Maliki until five minutes before they met. (MSNBC)
Israeli investigation brings evidence that a buried explosive device caused the Gaza beach blast in which seven Palestenian civilians were killed, rather than an artillery shelling as stated by the Hamas-led Palestenian government. A former Pentagon official paid by the Human Rights Watch organization asserts than an Israeli shelling caused the tragedy. United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan retracts earlier skeptic remarks he made on Israel's position on the incident. Süddeutsche Zeitung reports numerous flaws in the Palestenian footage from the beach, including a dead man later walking around. (Ynet),(Guardian),(The Australian),(Reuters),(Haaretz),(Süddeutsche Zeitung) Subsequent examination of the evidence by The Guardian supports the Human Rights Watch assessment.
70,000 coalition forces begin a crackdown on insurgents in Baghdad, the Iraqi PM's office says. (CNN)
Two Israeli missiles fired from an aircraft hit a van carrying a Palestinian rocket-launching squad in Gaza with Grad 122 mm rockets. Two Islamic Jihad militants and seven civilians are killed, including two schoolchildren and three medical personnel. Israeli Defense minister expresses sorrow, but no apology. (Reuters), (Haaretz)
At least 10 people are killed and 20 others are wounded in car bombing attacks in a popular market in Kirkuk, Iraq. (Sydney Daily Telegraph)
The South Central Farm in Los Angeles, California, reportedly the largest urban farm in the United States, is raided by the LAPD, with assistance from the Los Angeles Fire Department. [1] [2] [3]