July 25, 2005

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[edit] July 25, 2005 (Monday)

• British Prime Minister Tony Blair says he is "desperately sorry" that Brazilian electrician Jean Charles de Menezes was shot dead at Stockwell Tube station last week when he was mistaken by police for a suicide bomber. (BBC), (Sify News)
• Israel has summoned the ambassador from the Vatican to explain why the Pope did not condemn Palestinian militant attacks on Israelis, in a statement on Sunday, July 24, Pope Benedict XVI said that he deplored attacks in "countries including Egypt, Turkey, Iraq and Britain". (BBC)
• Bilateral negotiations have resumed between the US and North Korea. (BBC).
• The Service Employees International Union and the Teamsters, the two largest unions in the AFL-CIO, announce their intentions to leave the labor federation, underscoring a major schism within the U.S. labour movement. (IHT)
• Two men, one today, one yesterday, have been arrested in the New Southgate area of London during police investigations into the recent London bombings. (Daily Mail) (This is London)
• At least five people have been killed after grenades were thrown at a night-club and official residences in Ethiopia's Somali region. (BBC)
• A mystery illness spreading through Western China has claimed its 17th victim. Doctors have confirmed the disease is neither bird flu nor SARS (BBC). Chinese health officials announce that autopsies point to the swine bacteria Streptococcosis II as the probable culprit. (Xinhuanet).
• Conflict in Iraq:
  • Sunni Muslim Arab representatives appointed to the committee tasked with writing up a new Constitution of Iraq have ended their boycott. (BBC)
  • At least seven people have died following a twin suicide car bomb attack on police checkpoints in the centre of the Iraqi Capital Baghdad. (BBC)
• The New Zealand general election 2005 is set for Saturday September 17, 2005. (NZ Herald) (Stuff.co.nz) (Reuters)
• Philippine electoral crisis, 2005: Opposition files impeachment complaint against president Gloria Arroyo for election fraud. President has declared a day a holiday and intends to make a key policy speech. (SABC) (Sun Star) (Manila Bulletin) (Philstar) (Channel News Asia) (Reuters)
• Brazil hosts annual AIDS conference in Rio de Janeiro. (BBC)
• Italian court issues arrest warrants of new 6 CIA operatives for involvement of kidnapping of Osama Mustafa Hassan (ANSA, Italy) (Reuters) (BBC)
• In Lebanon, Samir Geagea, former Maronite militia chief, leaves prison (Al-Jazeera) (Reuters)
• In Senegal, former prime minister Idrissa Seck is arrested for "endangering national security" (AllAfrica) (Reuters AlertNet) (BBC)
• In Sri Lanka, investigators that investigate alleged misappropriation of funds of tsunami relief after 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, state that they have not found any evidence of wrongdoing. Opposition United National Party claims that prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa had siphoned off 83 million rupees to his own constituency (Reuters AlertNet)
• In Brazil, Paulo Henrique Machado, priest who led the support group of victims of the Nova Iguacu massacre, is shot to death in Rio de Janeiro (BBC)
• Denmark protests over visit of Canadian defense minister Bill Graham to disputed Hans Island near Greenland (CBC) (BBC)
• In Malawi, president Bingu wa Mutharika bans all exports of maize and fertilizers to alleviate the food crisis in the country (IOL) (BBC)
• Eyepatch of Moshe Dayan, former Israeli defense minister, is in sale in eBay (Ha'aretz) (BBC)
• Four adult Boy Scout leaders are electrocuted in Fort A.P. Hill, Virginia, when a tent pole comes into contact with a power line.(New York Times) (The Boston Globe) (USA Today)