Portal:Current events/2007 September 5

September 5, 2007 (Wednesday)

Apple released a new selection of iPods, creating an "iPod touch," updating the "nano," and re-branding the "classic" iPods.
A battle between Somali police and insurgents in Mogadishu results in six casualties. (AP via Google)
A Congressional committee has voted to remove the President of the Senate of Brazil Renan Calheiros as a result of a corruption scandal. (BBC)
Two candidates from Rigoberta Menchú's Encuentro por Guatemala party are shot dead as part of a wave of campaign-related violence that has claimed 50 lives. (AP via the Guardian)
2007 Pacific hurricane season: Hurricane Henriette makes landfall near the port of Guaymas in the Mexican state of Sonora. (ABC News America)
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Gordon Brown launches the International Health Partnership consisting of the World Health Organisation, the World Bank, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation as well as the governments of the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway and Portugal. (AFP via ABC News Australia)
Fred Thompson, a former U.S. Senator and actor, announces that he is a candidate for the Republican nomination in the 2008 presidential election. (CanWest via National Post)
Judge William Hoeveler places a stay on ex-Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega's extradition from the United States to France so that his defence can present a new appeal. (BBC)
Lawyers for U.S. Senator Larry Craig (R-ID) ask the Senate Select Committee on Ethics to reject a complaint following a guilty plea to disorderly conduct charges in Minneapolis. The Ethics Committee rejects his plea. (UPI) (Fox News)
Reynaldo Francis, the Governor of Nicaragua's North Atlantic Autonomous Region, estimates that the death toll from Hurricane Felix has risen to at least 21. Since his statement, the death toll has risen to 38, with 80 people missing. (AFP via the Philippines Inquirer) (Reuters via ABC)
The World Bank launches its Lighting Africa initiative, aiming to provide modern lighting by renewable or mechanical means to 250 million people in sub-Saharan Africa who lack access to electricity. (AFP via Google)
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority in the United Kingdom allows the creation of human-animal hybrid embryos for research purposes in principle. (AFP via Google)
Norman Hsu, controversial fund-raiser for the U.S. Democratic Party, skips a bail hearing, prompting a new warrant for his arrest. (LA Times)
Paul Gillmor, United States Representative from Ohio's 5th congressional district, is found dead in his Washington, D.C. apartment. (AP via CNN)
The Australian Government files appeal against court decision to set aside Indian doctor Mohamed Haneef visa cancellation.
The Swedish Minister for Foreign Trade Sten Tolgfors becomes Defense Minister, succeeding Mikael Odenberg who resigned after being overruled by the Finance Minister Anders Borg in budget talks. (Aftonbladet) (TT)
Three suspects arrested on terrorism charges yesterday appear before the Federal Court of Justice of Germany in Karlsruhe. (AP via The Guardian)
War in Afghanistan: Afghan and U.S led coalition forces kill 20 insurgents while two Afghan policeman die in a bomb attack. (AP via The Canadian Press)
Israeli tanks and bulldozers enter the Gaza Strip in a limited operation against rocket launchers. (AP via IHT)
Singapore jails the leader of the Singapore Democratic Party Chee Soon Juan for failing to pay a fine of S$4,000 for trying to leave the city-state without permission. (Reuters)
A group of 50 asylum-seekers held in an Australian facility on Nauru have started a hunger strike. (SBS and AAP)
Japanese and North Korean envoys begin in Ulan Bator, Mongolia to resolve long-standing differences. (BBC)
Special prayers are said at the tomb of Mother Teresa at her tomb in Calcutta in honour of the tenth anniversary of her death. (BBC)
The Solomon Islands government rejects an extradition request by Australia for Attorney-General Julian Moti to face child-sex charges. (AAP via Sydney Morning Herald)
Pakistani police arrest approximately 50 supporters of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League in Punjab prior to his return to Pakistan next week. (AFP via Google)
APEC
- The Prime Minister of Australia John Howard and the President of the United States George W. Bush agree to discuss upgrading the defense relationship with Australia to enjoy the same access to US military technology as the United Kingdom. (ABC News Australia)
- Prime Minister Howard assures President Bush that "Our commitment to Iraq remains". (AP via CNN)
- The New South Wales Supreme Court upholds an application by the New South Wales Police Force to change the route of a protest march on Sydney on Saturday. (ABC News Australia)
The Military Times reports that a United States Air Force B-52 bomber carried six nuclear warheads from Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota, to Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, in violation of rules concerning the handling of nuclear weapons. In addition, the bombs were not reported as missing from the Minot weapons inventory. The squadron commander was relieved of his position, but Representative Ike Skelton says that his committee would investigate the incident. (New York Times), (MSNBC).