October 2006 | MumbaiForums.com

October 2006 was a month that began on a Sunday.

The month was marked by a nuclear test by North Korea that prompted that passing of Resolution 1718 by the United Nations Security Council.

Also at the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon was elected to succeed Kofi Annan as the secretary-general and Belgium, Indonesia, Italy and South Africa were elected to two-year terms on the Security Council; the four nations and Ban Ki-moon began their tenures in January 2007. A fifth temporary on the Security Council was still up for grabs at the end of the month.

The Nobel Prizes for the year were awarded, with Muhammad Yunus and the Grameen Bank receiving the Nobel Peace Prize. Lesotho adopted a new flag, Several national elections took place around the world during October 2006 and a scandal involving former United States Congressman Mark Foley was at the forefront just ahead of November elections in the United States. Microsoft Corporation released version 7 of its Internet Explorer internet browser software.

The following events also occurred during the month:

October 1, 2006 (Sunday)

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General elections are held in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BBC)
A BBC investigation finds that, before he became Pope, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger enforced the Catholic Church's secret policy on Crimen sollicitationis to cover up child sex abuse cases involving the clergy. (BBC) (BBC)
The Social Democratic Party of Austria has won today's election in Austria. (International Herald Tribune)
Georgia-Russia spying dispute:
- Russian President Vladimir Putin has said Georgia's arrest of four Russian army officers for spying was "an act of state terrorism with hostage-taking". (BBC)
General Elections 2006 in Brazil are taking place.
Incumbent President of Zambia Levy Mwanawasa is in the lead in early results in the Presidential election, according to the Electoral Commission of Zambia.
General Surayud Chulanont is appointed interim prime minister of Thailand by the ruling military regime, following the recent coup. (Channel News Asia)
A superbug, Clostridium difficile, is said to have killed at least 49 people at hospitals in Leicester, England, according to a National Health Service investigation. Another 29 similar cases are being investigated by coroners. (BBC)
The last Israeli troops leave Lebanon in accordance with UN Resolution 1701, two months after occupying the territory. UNIFIL officials, however, claim that they still occupy the border village of Ghajar. (Reuters)
New laws against age discrimination in the workplace - officially titled the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006 - come into force in the United Kingdom. (BBC)

October 2, 2006 (Monday)

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South Korea's Foreign Minister, Ban Ki-Moon, wins a crucial informal poll for the next United Nations Secretary-General with no opposition from any of the five veto-bearing Security Council members. (Reuters)
Zambia's President, Levy Mwanawasa, is re-elected, according to the Zambian Electoral Commission. (BBC)
At least five pupils, a teacher's aide, and a gunman are dead after an Amish school shooting in Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania, United States. Some reports have the number of dead at six. (The Guardian) (ABC) (CNN) (BBC)
Željko Komšić, Nebojša Radmanović and Haris Silajdžić are elected new members of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the country's collective head of state. (ABC)
Georgia-Russia spying dispute:
- Four Russian officers arrested as spies in Georgia leave for Moscow after being released. (BBC)
- Russia suspends all transport and postal links with Georgia. (The New York Times)
Two schools in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, Nevada, United States, are locked down, after a former student reportedly brought an AK-47 or other automatic weapons to school. (Wikinews) (KVBC)
Casino company Harrah's Entertainment receives an $81-per-share cash offer from private-equity firms Apollo Management and Texas Pacific Group. (Associated Press via Examiner.com)
Former U.S. Rep. Mark Foley, under FBI investigation for e-mail exchanges with teenage congressional pages, has checked himself into rehabilitation facility for alcoholism treatment. (Associated Press via Examiner.com)
Andrew Fire and Craig Mello win the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their work in controlling the activity of genes. (ABC)
Canada's Meteorological Service issues a tropical storm warning for the Avalon Peninsula in southeastern Newfoundland, including the cities of Cape Race and St John's, due to Hurricane Isaac. (CNN)

October 3, 2006 (Tuesday)

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Viktor Khristenko, the Russian Industry and Energy Minister, and Baktykozha Izmukhambetov, the Kazakh Energy and Mineral Resources' Minister, sign an intergovernmental agreement creating a joint venture to process gas from the Karachaganak field in West Kazakhstan. Russian President Vladimir Putin said the agreement was the solution to "the energy problems of key partners, including those in Western Europe." (Interfax)
The United States National Labor Relations Board determines that workers normally assigned as shift supervisors should not be covered by a federal law ensuring a right to union membership. (AP via Houston Chronicle)
EADS delays delivery of the Airbus A380 jet for the third time in 16 months, due to wiring problems, with the first plane now expected in late 2007. (Bloomberg)
North Korea announces plans to conduct a nuclear test. (BBC)
United States scientists John C. Mather and George Smoot win the Nobel Prize in physics for research into cosmic microwave background radiation that helps explain the origins of galaxies and stars. (Bloomberg)
Deposed Prime Minister of Thailand Thaksin Shinawatra has resigned as head of his Thai Rak Thai party due to "changing circumstances". (Reuters)
Turkish Airlines Flight 1476, a Turkish Airlines plane carrying 113 people from Tirana, Albania to Istanbul, Turkey, was hijacked, but lands at Italy's Brindisi Airport. The hijackers surrendered and were arrested by Italian police. (Fox News)

October 4, 2006 (Wednesday)

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The Dow Jones industrial average reaches another record high close, rising above 11,850 for the first time. (CBS News)
A United States Appeals Court in Cincinnati, Ohio rules that the U.S. government can continue to use its warrantless domestic wiretap program pending the Justice Department's appeal of a federal judge's ruling outlawing the program. (Reuters)
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Food and Drug Administration searches two spinach packaging companies in the Salinas Valley in California for evidence related to a recent outbreak of E. coli in the United States and Canada that made 200 people sick. (San Francisco Chronicle)
The European Union imposes an anti-dumping tarif on leather shoe imports from the Far East - 16.5% on imports from China and 10% on imports from Vietnam. China supplies about 1.25 billion pairs of shoes to the EU each year. (EUobserver.com)
American Roger Kornberg wins the 2006 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for describing the essential process of gene copying in cells, research that can give insight into illnesses such as cancer and heart disease. (Boston Globe)
Mark Foley scandal:
- The Drudge Report alleges that one teen with whom Mark Foley engaged in cybersex during a House vote was 18 years old at the time of the communications. (Drudge Report)
- A former page states that he was warned of Representative Foley's advances by a departing page in 1995. Among his claims are that Foley made him uncomfortable and offered to buy him ice cream on several occasions. (Chicago Tribune)
- House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert states that he will not resign from his position in the wake of the scandal. (Chicago Sun-Times)

October 5, 2006 (Thursday)

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The Dow Jones industrial average closes at a record high for the third day in a row. (ABC News Australia Online)
German authorities uncover 51 skeletons from a mass grave at the village of Menden-Barge in the Sauerland region of the country, thought to be remains of victims of Nazi atrocities during World War II. (BBC)
Mark Foley scandal
- The House Ethics Committee issued four dozen subpoenas to members of Congress and aides to discover who was aware of explicit exchanges between former representative Mark Foley and underage Congressional pages. (MSNBC)
Reports indicate that Abu Ayyub al-Masri, also known as Abu Hamza al-Muhajir, the leader of Al-Qaeda in Iraq who succeeded Abu Musab al-Zarqawi after his death, may have been killed in Haditha. A body initially tentatively identified as his is undergoing DNA analysis but most government sources are skeptical. (BBC)
The European Central Bank raises its interest rate from 3% to 3.25% representing the fifth rise in eleven months. The Bank of England decides to leave interest rates in the United Kingdom unchanged. (Marketwatch)
Edmund Daukoru, a Nigerian oil minister and president of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) flags that the organization will hold an emergency meeting to cut output. The Financial Times reports that OPEC has informally agreed to cut output 4% to defend the oil price. (USA Today)
Post-Soviet Georgia holds the municipal elections seen as a crucial test for the country’s current government amid the ongoing tensions with Russia. (International Herald Tribune)
NTV television in Turkey reports that 260 Turkish soldiers will join the peacekeeping force in Lebanon. (The Boston Globe)
NATO expands its security mission to the whole of Afghanistan, taking command of more than 13,000 U.S. troops in the east of the country. (CNN)

Thai authorities take steps to hold peace talks with two Muslim insurgencies, the Patani United Liberation Organisation (PULO) and Bersatu, who are fighting the Government in the Muslim-majority southern provinces of Thailand. (News Limited)
The Court of Appeal of England and Wales determines that a merchant ship, SS Storaa, is eligible for consideration for protection as a war grave under the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986. (BBC)

October 6, 2006 (Friday)

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President Bush has declared space to be essential to US defence in a new National Space Policy document. Not only has the United States declared that it has rights in space, but, if necessary, it will deny its adversaries access to space if those adversaries seek to impede those rights. The new policy was agreed upon in August but the document[[1] was not released until 6 October. See Wikinews[2]
A truce is called in Bolivia after a dynamite battle between rival groups of tin miners kills 16 people in the department of Oruro, with another 60 people injured. President Evo Morales sacks his mining minister for not anticipating the violence. (ABC News Australia)
Some 18,000 people are evacuated from the Apex area of the U.S. state of North Carolina and 13 are reported injured after a blast and fire at an Environmental Quality Industrial Services chemical plant. (CNN)
Negotiators from the European Union and the United States reach a deal on sharing trans-Atlantic passenger data used in anti-terrorism investigations. (The Independent)
The Roman Catholic Church's Theological Commission are reviewing the teaching of limbus infantium (limbo for infants who died before being baptised) and may recommend to Pope Benedict XVI that it be amended. (BBC)
The new Swedish Prime Minister, Fredrik Reinfeldt, presents his new cabinet. (BBC)
2006 Southeast Asian haze: Smoke from fires in western Indonesia causes air quality and visibility to plummet to unhealthy levels in neighboring Malaysia. (AP via CNN)
NASA releases close-up photos taken by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter of the planet Mars revealing its hidden, oceanic past. (The Times (UK))

October 7, 2006 (Saturday)

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New Guinea volcano Rabaul caldera erupts. Two hundred people are evacuated but favourable winds help protect nearby towns from the impact. (ABC News Australia)
Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya, famous for her criticism of President Vladimir Putin and his government's actions in Chechnya, is found murdered in Moscow. (Interfax), (BBC)
Sixty warning shots are fired by South Korean soldiers at the Korean Demilitarized Zone after they observe five North Korean soldiers crossing part of the boundary. (AP via CNN)
Latvian parliamentary election: The governing coalition led by Prime Minister Aigars Kalvītis wins re-election, the first Latvian administration to be re-elected since independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. (BBC)

October 8, 2006 (Sunday)

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The results of the Belgian municipal elections show losses for the liberals and progress for the conservatives and nationalists. (CNN)
Iraq's Environmental Secretary claims that 11 police officers have died of food poisoning in the Wasit province of that country. The governor of the Wasit province claims that no officers have died, but that several are in critical condition. It is unclear whether or not the poisonings were intentional. (Associated Press)

October 9, 2006 (Monday)

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The Supreme Islamic Courts Council of Somalia declare 'jihad' against Ethiopia following the Ethiopian military incursions into Bur Haqaba close to the shared border. (Reuters) (BBC)
French lawmakers introduce a bill to criminalize Armenian Genocide denial. The legislation would imprison offenders for one year and fine them up to €45,000. Turkey calls upon French legislators to vote against the bill. The Turkish Parliament is considering a bill that would criminalize denial of French human rights violations in Algeria. (TurkishPress)
Google officially announces that they will buy video sharing website YouTube for US$1.65 billion. (BBC)
South Korean Ban Ki-moon is nominated to succeed Kofi Annan as the United Nations Secretary-General in an affirmation vote by the Security Council. A confirmation vote by the General Assembly is expected within the next fortnight. (Reuters via CNN)
2006 North Korean nuclear testing
- The Korean Central News Agency of North Korea reports that the nation has tested its first nuclear weapon in an underground facility at Gilju in North Hamgyong province. This report was at least somewhat confirmed by a seismic event that was measured around the world. (AP) (Adelaide Now)
- The United States Geological Survey says it detected an earthquake of 4.2 in North Korea suspected to be caused by the effects of the underground blast. (AFP via ABS_CBN)
- China expresses its "resolute opposition" to what it described as North Korea's "brazen" nuclear test. (The Australian)
- United States President George W. Bush, UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, and South Korean President Roh Moo-Hyun, are among world leaders to condemn North Korea's nuclear testing, calling it "provocative", "irresponsible" and "a serious threat to peace", respectively. (BBC)
American Edmund S. Phelps wins the 2006 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for work on the trade-offs between inflation and unemployment. (ABC News)

October 10, 2006 (Tuesday)

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A passenger bus plunges into a ravine near the city of Chiantla in northwestern Guatemala, killing 42 people. (BBC)
BP shuts down the Prudhoe Bay oil fields due to losing power as a result of high winds. (AP via ABC News)

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei states that the country would pursue its right to develop nuclear technology and will not suspend uranium enrichment as the West demands, declaring: "Our policy is clear, progress with clear logic and insisting on the nation's right without any retreat." (Reuters)
A chartered Atlantic Airways Flight 670 skids off the runway at Stord Airport in Norway, killing four people. (BBC)

Iraq insurgency
- Iraqi police announce they have found a total of 110 corpses at locations across Baghdad in the previous 48 hours, thought to be more victims of insurgent death squads. In addition, a bomb planted under a car explodes in the city's southern district of Doura, killing 10 people. (CNN) (Reuters)
- United States military sources state that a total of 30 militants and 4 US soldiers have been killed since the weekend. (BBC) (Reuters)
- A mortar fired by insurgents landed on an ammunition dump at Camp Falcon U.S. military base on the outskirts of Baghdad, causing a huge fire. At least 30 explosions were reported. There were no reported casualties. (Reuters)
Six people die in a bomb attack on a festival in the town of Makilala in the Philippines. Two others are killed and four injured in a blast at a market in Tacurong, Sultan Kudarat. Officials blame Muslim extremist groups. (AFP) (Sun Star) (BBC) (CNN)
A naval base and oil facility in Bayelsa State, Nigeria, are captured by armed attackers who are now thought to be holding 60 people hostage. (CNN)
Hundreds of thousands of people made a protest against President Chen Shui-bian in Taipei, Taiwan, surrounding Office of the President, where Chen took part in ceremony marking Double Tenth Day. (BBC)

October 11, 2006 (Wednesday)

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A small aircraft crashes into a building at 524 East 72nd Street, on Manhattan's Upper East Side in New York City killing 2 people. FBI states that there is so far no reason to suspect terrorism, and the alert level hasn't been raised. The plane was registered to New York Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle. Lidle is reported to have been the pilot, and along with his flight instructor, was killed in the crash. (CBS 2 New York) (CNN) (The New York Times) (ESPN)
Minutes from the United States Federal Reserve meeting held on September 20 predict a "modestly better inflation outlook" due to a softening economy and lower energy prices. The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady. (Fox News)
Iraq War:
- An estimated 655,000 Iraqis have died since 2003 who might still be alive but for the US-led invasion, according to a survey by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The study is in dispute though since The Iraqi Ministry of Health places the death toll at 50,000. (BBC) (CTV News) (Reuters)
Twelve people have died following a train crash at Zoufftgen in north-east France, near the Luxembourg border. (BBC)
2006 North Korean nuclear testing
- A North Korean official stationed in Beijing tells the Yonhap news agency that "If all out sanctions are implemented, we will take it as a declaration of war". (News Limited)
- Kim Yong-nam, North Korea's number two leader, tells the Japanese news agency Kyodo that North Korea will have no choice but to take physical steps if the United States continues to adopt a hostile attitude towards it. (AFP via ABC Australia)
A United Nations report declares that abuse of children is "widespread and tolerated" in many parts of the world. A separate report by charity Save the Children states that more than a million children around the world are in prison. (BBC)
In Melbourne, Australia, the Eureka Tower residential building is officially opened. At 297.5m (976ft), the structure is the second tallest skyscraper in the Southern Hemisphere, and the second tallest residential building in the world.
In the International Space Station Gyro Failures may spell doom if focus of next Shuttle mission is not changed.[3]

October 12, 2006 (Thursday)

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The Federal Reserve finds that economic growth in the United States is "moderate or mixed" with "widespread cooling" in the housing market. (Fox News)
Members of the Janjaweed militia attack Sudanese refugees from the Darfur region in eastern Chad. (BBC).
Nine Palestinians have been killed during an Israeli raid in the Gaza Strip, reports say. (BBC)
The French parliament adopts a bill criminalizing Armenian genocide denial, despite significant lobbying efforts by the Government of Turkey. (BBC)
The New Zealand Auditor-General's report into 2005 election funding is released. NZ$1.17 million dollars was unlawfully spent during the election by seven parties, more than half of it by Labour. Labour immediately promises to repay the money. (NZ Herald)
Iraq insurgency:
- A gun attack on the office of a satellite TV station in Baghdad kills 11 people. (BBC)
- Sir Richard Dannatt, Chief of the General Staff and head of the British Army, gives an interview stating that British forces should "get out some time soon" from Iraq as their presence "exacerbates the security problems". (BBC)
Workers begin demolishing the one-room Amish schoolhouse in Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania where five girls were shot to death and five others were injured. (Forbes)
Turkish writer Orhan Pamuk, whose novels discover "new symbols for the clash and interlacing of cultures", wins the 2006 Nobel Prize in Literature. (The Washington Post)

October 13, 2006 (Friday)

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Record Snowfall in Buffalo, New York and surrounding metro area leaves up to two feet of heavy wet snow, three dead, damaged trees, and over 400,000 residents without power. [4]
Sharp and Fujitsu begin to recall laptop Lithium ion batteries made by Sony.(Associated Press via Houston Chronicle)
Vladimir Kramnik beats Veselin Topalov in a World Chess Championship reunification match. (NY Times)
Cellulose plant conflict: Demonstrators again block border crossings between Argentina and Uruguay after the World Bank announces its decision to continue funding the disputed paper mills. (BBC)
Abimael Guzmán, leader of Peru's Sendero Luminoso guerrillas, is sentenced to life imprisonment at the conclusion of his retrial on terrorism charges. (BBC)
Boulus Iskander, an Iraqi priest of the Syriac Orthodox Church, is kidnapped and beheaded by Islamist terrorists in Mosul. (MET) (ACI)
Ban Ki-Moon is elected to be the eighth Secretary-General of the United Nations, to succeed Kofi Annan in January 2007. (BBC)
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration bans fixed-wing aircraft from the East River corridor in New York City unless they are in contact with air traffic control. The change follows a crash of a plane into an apartment building earlier in the week. (AP via CBS)
Wal-Mart is ordered to pay $78 million in compensation to current and former employees for breaking labor laws in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania by forcing its employees to work through rest breaks and off clock. (USA Today)
The US government has rebuffed UK calls to close its controversial detention centre at Guantánamo Bay in Cuba. (BBC)
Iraq War:
- A coroner has recorded a verdict of unlawful killing on ITN reporter Terry Lloyd, who was shot dead by US forces in southern Iraq in March 2003. (BBC)
- Tony Blair has said he agrees with "every word" the new head of the British Army said on the Iraq war that UK troops "exacerbated" security problems and should withdraw "sometime soon". (BBC)
Two people protesting the impeachment of Plateau State governor Joshua Dariye are killed by riot police in Jos, Nigeria. (BBC)
The British and Irish governments set a provisional date of 26 March 2007 for restoring devolution to Northern Ireland through the St Andrews Agreement. (BBC)
Bangladesh's Muhammad Yunus and the Grameen Bank win the Nobel Peace Prize for working to advance economic and social development among the poor. (Bloomberg) (Nobel Foundation)
2006 North Korean nuclear test
- The United States is encouraging a vote on a United Nations resolution, which currently would impose an arms embargo and freezing of North Korean funds connected to North Korean nuclear and ballistic missile programs, despite opposition from the People's Republic of China, which has veto power. (Reuters)
Veterinarians are reported to use vasectomies to control elephant overpopulation in Africa. At Kruger National Park, their numbers have doubled in the last decade. (North County Times)

October 14, 2006 (Saturday)

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Six Palestinians from the armed wing of the militant group Hamas have been killed in an Israeli incursion into the Gaza Strip, Palestinian officials say. (BBC)
Thousands of people have been attending mass ceremonies in India at which hundreds of low-caste Hindus (Dalits) converted to Buddhism and Christianity. (BBC)
2006 North Korean nuclear testing
- The United Nations Security Council adopts Resolution 1718, imposing sanctions on North Korea in response to its recent nuclear test. (BBC)
- North Korea's ambassador to the United Nations, Pak Kil-yon, says Pyongyang "totally rejects" United Nations Security Council Resolution 1718 sanctioning his country, calling the measure "gangster-like". (AP via KCBI)
- President of the United States George W. Bush says the UN Security Council has taken "swift and tough" action and sent a clear message to North Korea about its nuclear weapons program. (San Francisco Examiner)
- UN Secretary General Designate Ban Ki-Moon says the vote represents a "strong and clear message" and promises, if necessary, to visit North Korea to discuss the situation. (BBC)
A re-enactment of the Battle of Hastings takes place in Sussex, UK to mark the 940th anniversary of the event which saw William of Normandy's forces defeat the Saxon army of King Harold II, and began the Norman conquest of England. (BBC)
Maria Borelius, Minister for Foreign Trade in the Cabinet of Fredrik Reinfeldt in Sweden, resigns after one week in office following allegations of tax evasion. (BBC) (CNN)
Chelsea FC goalkeepers Petr Cech and Carlo Cudicini both suffered serious injuries in a game against Reading FC. Cech suffered a depressed fracture of the skull after colliding with Reading midfielder Stephen Hunt. The injury kept him out of action until January 20th 2007. Cudicini suffered concussion after colliding with Reading defender Ibrahima Sonko as the ball curled in from a corner. John Terry took the position as goalkeeper for the remainder of the game.

October 15, 2006 (Sunday)

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Ecuador's presidential election goes to a second-round run-off between Rafael Correa and Álvaro Noboa, to be held on 26 November. (BBC News)
Hawaii earthquake: A 6.7-magnitude earthquake and a series of aftershocks hit the U.S. state of Hawaii at 7:07am local time, with an epicentre 9 miles (14 km) NNW of Kalaoa. 95% of power was lost throughout the state. Widespread structural damage on the Big Island is being reported, but no major injuries and no fatalities as of yet. Airports are only accepting incoming flights. (CNN) (USGS)
Israeli police recommend charging President Moshe Katsav with rape, sexual assault and fraud. The final decision on bringing charges is up to Attorney General Meni Mazuz. (The Washington Post)

October 16, 2006 (Monday)

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UN Security Council election: The United Nations General Assembly elects Belgium, Indonesia, Italy and South Africa to two-year terms on the Security Council, commencing 1 January 2007. The fifth seat remains deadlocked after ten rounds of voting between Guatemala and Venezuela and may be thrown open to other candidates from Latin America and the Caribbean. (BBC)
United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan condemns movement by Eritrea of 1,500 troops and 14 tanks into the UNMEE-monitored Temporary Security Zone with Ethiopia as a "major breach" of the ceasefire agreement that ended the Eritrean-Ethiopian War. (ABC News)
2006 North Korean nuclear test: The United States confirms that North Korea conducted a nuclear test on October 9, 2006. (FOX News)
The government of Sudan and the Eastern Front rebels sign a peace treaty in Asmara, Eritrea. (IRIN)
The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China starts its dual initial public offering (IPO) in Hong Kong Stock Exchange and Shanghai Stock Exchange, in what would be the world's largest ever IPO. (AP via International Herald Tribune)
Suspected Tamil Tiger rebels detonate a truck packed with explosives amongst a convoy of buses carrying Sri Lankan Navy personnel in the country's northeast. Approximately 102 people are killed, and 150 people are wounded. (AFP via Yahoo! News)
Swedish Minister for Culture Cecilia Stegö Chilò resigns after 11 days in office, the second resignation within the Cabinet of Fredrik Reinfeldt. (BBC)
The government of Hong Kong will not appeal a court ruling striking down the territory's sodomy law. (365gay.com)
American and Russian scientists announce the discovery of a new chemical element with the atomic number 118, temporarily designated as Ununoctium. (ABC News)
Uzbek President Islom Karimov fires Saidullo Begaliev, Governor of Andijan, for "short-sighted policies" and "lack of attention to the people's needs" that led to the Andijan massacre in 2005. Karimov appoints Ahmad Usmonov as Begaliev's replacement. (RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty)

October 17, 2006 (Tuesday)

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Iraq War:
- The United States military in Iraq says a marine and nine soldiers have been killed in Iraq, including four in a roadside bombing near Baghdad.(BBC NEWS)
UN Security Council election: The contest between Guatemala and Venezuela for a seat on the United Nations Security Council remains stalemated after a second day of voting. (BBC)
The population of the United States reaches 300 million people. (CNN)
- Married couples are now in the minority of the nation. (NPR: Talk of the Nation)
North Korea says the United Nations effectively declared war on the country when it imposed sanctions through United Nations Security Council Resolution 1718 in response to North Korea's nuclear test. (AP via CBS)
The military of Fiji issues an ultimatum to the government to drop legislation which would give an amnesty to the leaders of the 2000 coup, or resign. (SMH)
Whaling in Iceland is to resume, in contravention of a 20-year moratorium passed by the International Whaling Commission. (BBC)
Rapper Fabolous is shot at a Manhattan parking garage, spurring a sequence of events that left him both hospitalized in stable condition and under arrest. (San Francisco Examiner)
Two metro trains collide in Rome, killing at lea