- The United Kingdom unveils a new terror alert status system, similar to the United States' Homeland Security Advisory System. It is currently at "severe" on a scale of low, moderate, substantial, severe and critical. (Associated Press)
- Hundreds of thousands of children are potentially fingerprinted in the UK, some as young as five years old and without parental consent. (Mirror), (IndyMedia)
- U.S. President George W. Bush will likely cast the first veto of his presidency if the Senate passes a bill expanding federal funding for embryonic stem-cell research, Karl Rove says. The House has already passed the bill. (Drudge Report)
- U.S. Chief Judge Thomas Hogan rules that a Federal Bureau of Investigation raid on the Capitol Hill office of Congressman William J. Jefferson was legal. (Minneapolis St. Paul Star Tribune)
- The Indian GSLV rocket carrying the INSAT 4C satellite fails. (CNN.com)
- The U.N. Security Council's five permanent members and Japan agree today to postpone the vote on possible sanctions against North Korea. (Associated Press)
- 2006 62nd Street explosion: A three-story building located on 62nd Street between Madison and Park avenues collapses in Manhattan at 9 AM EDT following an explosion, and then followed by flames erupting in the building. FDNY labels it a "major incident." (MSNBC/AP), (Reuters), (WNBC), (Associated Press), (CNN), (WABC), (Associated Press)
- A Palestinian girl is critically wounded when a Qassam rocket launched by Palestenian militants hits her home in the Gaza Strip. (Ynet)
- Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert criticises the European Union for its refusal to condemn the daily Palestinian rocket attacks against Israeli civilians, leaving Israel to take effective measures by itself. (Haaretz)
- Fighting erupts in Somalia, with fighting between Somalian fighters aligned with defeated warlords and Islamic militants killing 60 people and wounding 100. (Reuters)
- A chlorine gas leak at a Chinese chemical plant has hospitalized 164 people. It occurred at the Xing'erte Chemical Products Co. (Associated Press)
- India's test-firing of a nuclear-capable IRBM, Agni III, is unsuccessful after plunging into the Bay of Bengal after going 12 km, 8 mi, or about 5 minutes, then losing altitude. Pakistan was notified prior to the test per treaty with India. (Reuters)
- Chechnya's terrorist Shamil Basayev is allegedly killed, according to Russian authorities. He was said to have been killed together with other Chechen fighters working with him at the time of his alleged death. (Reuters)
- Japan says it is considering whether a pre-emptive strike against North Korea's missile bases would be a violation of its constitution. This is ahead of a possible UN vote on sanctions against North Korea. (Associated Press)
- PIA Flight 688, a Pakistan International Airlines Fokker F-27 plane, crashes at Multan International Airport, killing all 45 passengers on board. (CNN), (Associated Press)
- The defense starts the concluding remarks in the trial of Saddam Hussein.
(NBC) |
