Bolivian Gas War: PresidentEvo Morales has signed a decree nationalising the nation's natural gas industry, instructing foreign energy firms to channel their activities through the Bolivian government within a six-month deadline or face expulsion, and ordering the Bolivian military to occupy and secure key energy installations. (BBC)
Puerto Rico budget crisis: The government of Puerto Rico is partially shut down, including public schools. More than 90,000 employees of the public sector are put in license without salary. Their salary will not be paid until further notice, but they will remain employed whether they present themselves to work or not. If they present themselves to work it will be on a voluntary basis without retroactive payment. (Reuters)
Beaconsfield mine collapse: Rescuers at a mine in Beaconsfield, Tasmania have begun work after two miners were detected alive. The two had been trapped alive over 1 kilometre underground for the past five days. (BBC)
Immigrant workers and their supporters across the United States stay home from work or school and abstain from commerce during the 2006 Immigration Policy Boycott in the United States, also called the "Great American Boycott" or "Day Without Immigrants", a protest against the enforcement of immigration law. Demonstrations are planned nationwide. In Latin America, a one-day boycott of American products called the "Nothing Gringo Boycott" is planned in conjunction with U.S. events. (Guardian)(CNN)(SFGate)
German hostages René Bräunlich and Thomas Nitzschke returned home to Germany. They landed safe on a governmental aircraft at 2:24 pm at Berlin Tegel Airport. (BBC)
The latest update is the 2006Red List. It evaluates 40,168 species as a whole, plus an additional 2,160 subspecies, varieties, aquatic stocks, and subpopulations.
A disgruntled bus driver goes on a rampage in Dublin, Ireland, smashing through stopped and on-coming vehicles as he drives through streets, across tram lines and up the wrong side of a dual-carriageway. One woman is killed and 13 people more injured, including five Gardaí (Irish Police). Armed Gardaí open fire on three occasions to try to stop the bus. (RTÉ News)
A Historic Election is about to take place in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. Where two major parties AIADMK and DMK are contesting to capture the power.
Sony unveils its PlayStation 3 game console, and makes an embarrassing impression in its E3 presentation.
Ernie Fletcher, Republican governor of the U.S. state of Kentucky, is indicted on three misdemeanor counts of conspiracy, official misconduct and political discrimination for hiring, promoting, demoting and firing state employees based on political loyalties.(Lexington Herald-Leader)
Results for the state election held in Tamil Nadu, India, on May 8 were announced and the DMK and its allies have captured the power.And the AIADMK becoming a stronger opposition in the history of Tamil Nadu.
The State of West Bengal also made a History. "The Communist Party of India (Marxsist) emerged victorius for another 5 years, making its stand of almost 35 years at a stretch"
Eight bombs explode in a coordinated strike in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa. Three people are killed and 48 are wounded. No group has yet claimed responsibility. (AP)
FUC spokesman Albissaty Saleh Allazam announces that none of the eight organizational members that make up the Chadian rebel alliance will end attacks on the Déby administration despite the recent peace deal between ARFWS and the Government of Sudan. (CNN)
The UNHCR has opened a new refugee camp within Chad just outside of the city of Habila to accommodate the 7,000 Fur refugees who fled Janjaweed attacks in western Sudan. (IRIN)
The Israeli Navy intercepted a Palestinian boat carrying a large amount of explosives near the Gaza Strip in an attempted smuggling operation. The boat contained about 450 kg of TNT and parts of mines. (The Statesman), (Israel MFA)
Italian centre-left leader Romano Prodi is given the mandate to form a new government by PresidentGiorgio Napolitano. Prodi is supposed to present his list of ministers on May 17. (BBC)
At least 23 people have been killed in a shooting and bombing attack in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, police say. (BBC)
A British-Ugandan team reports a substantial reduction in glacial cover atop the Rwenzori Mountains in Central Africa, attributable to increases in air temperature over the past four decades. This "Mountains of the Moon", according to 2nd century geographer Ptolemy, is one of the sources of the Nile, and is projected in the study to disappear in two decades. (BBC)
Captain Nichola Goddard, 26, of 1st RCHA is killed while engaged in combat against Taliban forces near Kandahar, Afghanistan. Captain Goddard is Canada's first female casualty since World War 2, and Canada's first female combat arms casualty. (BBC)
The European Parliament committee examining the claims of para-legal deportations of individuals for torture-based questioning, known as "extraordinary renditions", reports that it has CIA confirmation that between 30 and 50 individuals underwent such deportations to seven "black sites" in Asia, Europe and Africa. Those in Europe have reportedly been closed down following the public outcry, but there is still one such site operating in a North African country. (EU Observer)(UPI)(Reuters)
The AP has reported refutations by numerous people, including Iranian legislators and the Jewish Member of the Legislature Morris Motamed. (AP) The National Post, which broke the story, has also carried a story listing numerous refutations (National Post)
The United StatesSenate votes on an amendment to an immigration reform bill which would "... declare English as the national language of the United States", giving English an increased de jure capacity (in addition to a de facto one) as the official language within the country. The bill, S. 2611, has yet to be voted on in the Senate. (AP via Forbes)(CBS)(U.S. Senate)
The case of Khaled el-Masri, who says he was abducted and tortured by the CIA because he was mistaken for another person, is dismissed by a district court in Alexandria, Virginia, as it would be a "grave risk" of damage to U.S. national security by exposing government secrets. The court rules that if the claims are true he "deserves a remedy" but this cannot be found in the court. (Deutsche Welle)(Washington Post)
5,000 medical students, doctors, and lawyers rally in New Delhi, India against the boosting of quotas for lower-caste students in medical, engineering and other colleges from 22.5% to 49.5%. (ChannelnewsAsia.com)(Wikinews)
Watford F.C. stand to gain the largest amount of money from any single sporting event by securing approximately 39 million pounds (72 million US dollars) through beating Leeds United in The Championship play off final.
For the first time in 175 years a brown bear touched German soil by entering Bavarian territory. The brown bear killed several sheep and caused minor property damage. Even Germany's WWF branch agrees that the bear should be captured or killed because it presents a threat to people. The animal, called Bear JJ1 or "Bruno", is shot dead on June 26. (BBC),1, (BBC),2
Mobs of angry garment workers set fire to seven fabric factories in Bangladesh in response to the announced death of Rana, a workers' rights leader. 100 people were injured amidst clashes between police and firefighters and protesters. Workers are forced to work overtime and seven days a week.(San Diego)
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas issues an ultimatum to Hamas, giving them ten days to recognise Israel or have the question put to the people in the form of a plebiscite.(CNN)
The United States Capitol building complex in Washington, D.C. is locked down after reports of what sounded like gunfire reached US Capitol police. The United States Senate was in session as a report of at least one person seeing a gunman in the Rayburn House Office Building gym was issued. Police say that the sound was likely that of a pneumatic hammer and that the 'gunman' may have been a plainclothes police officer. (CNN)
President Alvaro Uribe gets reelected in a landslide in the Colombian presidential election, 2006, winning 62.2% of the votes in a landslide. This is the first time a Colombian President gets reelected in more than a century. He will serve another 4-year term.
Britishmobile phone operator Vodafone posts the largest annual loss in British corporate history – £21.8 billion – as it writes down the value of company purchases made mainly in Germany in the years up to 2000. (Guardian)
The board of the Engelhard Corporation agreed to a takeover by BASF. BASF will become the world's largest manufacturer of catalytic converters. BASF will pay USD 5.0 billion for Engelhard, which translates to $39 per share. (BBC)
The European Court of Justice rules illegal an EU-US agreement to pass airline passenger data to the US authorities, as it does not ensure privacy protection for European passengers. (BBC), (Guardian)
The United States is expected to change its policies regarding Iran and its nuclear program. Condoleezza Rice, Secretary of State of the USA said that the USA may join Iran nuclear talks. (MSNBC)(CNN)
The Pirate Bay is closed when servers located in Stockholm, Sweden, are confiscated in a police raid initiated by the Swedish anti-piracy bureau. Massive media-discussion and criticism against the bureau's methods and the acts of the Swedish police follows, since at least 20 non-piracy sites are taken down at the same time - including the website of Piratpartiet, a Swedish political party aimed to run in the 2006 elections. (ABC)
