[edit] 19 October 2005 (Wednesday)

• The death toll in the 8 October Kashmir earthquake exceeds 79,000. (Guardian)
• Hurricane Wilma goes through one of the fastest and most amazing rapid intensification processes in hurricane history to become the third Category 5 storm of 2005. Its central pressure falls to 882 mb (hPa), becoming the most intense hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic. To date, the 2005 Atlantic Basin Hurricane Season has seen 21 storms of tropical storm strength or greater and 12 hurricanes, both of which tie the records set in 1933 and 1969, respectively. (NHC) (AP/YahooNews)
• Saddam Hussein goes on trial in Baghdad for crimes against humanity. The former President of Iraq is led into court with seven associates, charged with ordering the killing of 143 Shi'a men in the town of Dujail in 1982. If convicted, Hussein could face capital punishment. (BBC)
• Avian influenza:
  • China reports 2600 birds have died of the H5N1 virus near Hohhot, Inner Mongolia. (BBC)
  • Russia reports outbreaks of the virus in Kurgan Oblast, west Siberia, and in Tula Oblast, western Russia. (Mosnews) (AP/Canada.com)
  • The European Union suspects a new outbreak has occurred in the Republic of Macedonia. (CNN)
• Liverpool City Council, UK, issued an apology for the destruction of the Welsh community of Capel Celyn in 1965 to create the Llyn Celyn reservoir, which supplies Liverpool and the Wirral with drinking water. (BBC)
• Former Congressman Bob McEwen of Ohio is considering challenging incumbent Jean Schmidt in the 2006 Republican primary. (The Cincinnati Enquirer)