[edit] 24 September 2005 (Saturday)

• Unofficial reports from Hong Kong say the second Chinese human spaceflight, Shenzhou 6, is expected to launch October 13 carrying two astronauts on a five day mission. (RedNova News)
• Human Rights Watch reports whistleblowers accuse U.S. troops of routinely torturing Iraqi prisoners and declining to investigate complaints. (Human Rights Watch), (IPS news), (USA Today) (NYT)
• Israeli-Palestinian Conflict:
  • The Israeli Military stations troops and artillery on the edge of Gaza and seals the borders of the Gaza Strip and West Bank. (BBC)
  • At least five Israelis are injured after Palestinian militants fire some 30 Qassam rockets from the Gaza Strip on Israeli communities. (The Jerusalem Post) (YNETnews)
  • Four Hamas militants are killed after the Israeli Air Force launches air strikes on Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip. (ABC News) (The Jerusalem Post)
• Hurricane Rita makes landfall as a Category 3 hurricane on the Texas - Louisiana border at 2:38 a.m. CDT . The storm was downgraded within four hours to Category 2. As of 10 p.m. CDT (0300 UTC, September 25), the center of Tropical Depression Rita was located on land 40 miles (65 km) north of Shreveport, Louisiana. Rita was moving north at 10 mph (16 km/h) with maximum sustained winds of 35 mph (55 km/h) (CNN)
• Hundreds of thousands of people protest wars in the September 24, 2005 anti-war protest
• Sydney Swans beat West Coast Eagles to win the AFL Grand Final by 4 points.