White House Press SecretaryTony Snow said in a statement that "We are therefore increasingly concerned by mounting evidence that the Syrian and Iranian governments, Hezbollah, and their Lebanese allies are preparing plans to topple Lebanon's democratically elected government," and that "We're making it clear to everybody in the region that we think that there ought to be hands off the [Prime Minister Fouad] Siniora government; let them go about and do their business."(Reuters)Archived 2007-02-16 at the Wayback Machine
Turkish archaeologist Muazzez Ilmiye Cig is acquitted of inciting religious hatred; a charge made after she published a book stating that the Muslim headscarf originated in the clothing of Sumerian priestesses who initiated young men into sex. (BBC News)
Iran fires dozens of unarmed missiles to begin 10 days of militarywar games, with "ranges from 300 km to up to 2,000 km," some of which have "the capacity to carry 1,400 bombs," Iranian state television reported. (CNN).
The UKOffice for National Statistics announces that, in 2005, 565,000 immigrants arrived in the UK, mainly from Poland, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, while there were 380,000 emigrants, over half of whom were UK citizens. The most popular emigration destinations were Australia, Spain, and France. The net immigration total, 185,000, was 17,000 less than 2004's record. (BBC)
The North Korean Foreign Ministry releases a statement calling for Japan to leave the six-party talks regarding DPRK's nuclear program because the Japanese officials involved in the talks are "imbeciles" and Japan is a state of the U.S. The Foreign Ministry accuses the United States of "warmongering." (ABC News)
Reactions to the verdicts against Saddam and his compatriots vary with approval from some areas, particularly Iran and Shi'a regions of Iraq, but condemnation of the trial and process from some other quarters of the Muslim world. United States officials called it "a good day for the Iraqi people". The European Union, while welcoming the guilty verdicts, expresses its opposition to the imposition of the death penalty on humanitarian grounds. (CNN)(Reuters)
A large area of Western Europe is affected by power cuts, starting when two high-voltage transmission lines fail in Germany, and causing a cascading failure which also knocks out power in areas of France and other surrounding nations. (BBC News)
While Democrats have gained at least 5 seats in the Senate, the majority is still unclear. In order to take control, Democrats would need to take the seat in Virginia; they are leading in that state. (CNN)
Prime MinisterNuri al-Maliki states that he expects Hussein to be executed by the end of the year following conviction in his first trial, which Hussein is appealing. BBC
Operation Autumn Clouds: The Israeli Defense Forces began to pull its troops out of the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Hanun, Palestinian officials said. Fifty-three Palestinians, including 16 civilians, and an IDF soldier have been killed since the operation began on October 31. (Haaretz)
Israel braces itself for revenge attacks after yesterday's dawn barrage in the Gaza Strip leaves a family of 18 dead. The general in charge of Israel's Southern Command, Youav Galant, blames problems with the targeting device for the artillery strike. (The Times)
Iranian nuclear program: Israel threatens to launch air strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities "as a last resort", and the Iranian foreign ministry responds that it would "retaliate with a crushing blow" should Israel act. (BBC News)
Somali Civil War (2006): Heavy fighting broke out in central Somalia, officials said, a day after the transitional government rejected a peace initiative with the country's Islamic movement. (The Jerusalem Post)
Voters in South Ossetia vote 98-99% in favor of independence from Georgia in a referendum. 78% of the vote has been counted. Neither Russia nor the West recognize the poll's legitimacy. (CNN)
Lebanese Environment Minister Yaacoub Sarraf, a Christian allied with Hezbollah, joins the rank of five other cabinet members who resigned on November 11, 2006. The cabinet later unanmously approved a UN-proposed international tribunal to try suspects over the assassination of Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in February 2005. (Canadian Press)
Australia and Indonesia sign a security treaty on Lombok strengthening cooperation against terrorism, enhancing joint naval border patrols and formalising military exchanges. It also supports Indonesia's sovereignty over its provinces notably Western New Guinea. (ABC News)
The Parliament of South Africa passes a law to legalize same-sex marriage. It must now be signed by President Thabo Mbeki to become law. The change was required by a constitutional court, which ruled last year that the current marriage law unconstitutionally discriminated on the basis of sexual orientation. (CBC)
India and Pakistan agreed today to set up a panel to combat terrorism during the first peace talks between the countries in almost a year. However, there has been no progress in the core dispute over Kashmir, the mountain region both countries claim. (The Times)
Widespread flooding is reported in East Africa especially Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia, with at least five reported dead in Mogadishu where the Shabelle and Juba rivers have burst their banks and more than 70,000 people reported displaced in total. (SOS)
A patient in southern Kazakhstan has been accidentally infected with HIV. Earlier this year 79 children were accidentally infected resulting in a political scandal and the dismissal of Health Minister Yerbolat Dosayev and several lower level officials. There was another widespread infection in 2005. (RIA Novosti)
The European Commission plan to charge €39.60 ($51 / £27) green tax per return ticket on long haul flights from and to the EU by 2011, angering U.S. airline companies as they will need to buy permits to cover their European emissions. (The Times)
In an interview British Prime Minister Tony Blair says Iraq "is pretty much a disaster." (The Times)
The Government of the Netherlands announces it will introduce a bill banning the wearing of the burqa in public, stating that burqas disturb public order, citizens and safety. About 5% of the Dutch population is Muslim, but only a small percentage of those wear the burqa. (BBC)
The Government of the People's Republic of China blocks internet access to Wikipedia in China less than one week after a year-long ban was lifted. (CNN), (RSF)
About 150 soldiers and police officers from Australia and New Zealand have arrived in Tonga following an appeal for help to restore order after riots. (BBC)
An explosion on a train in East India at 1240 GMT kills 5 and injures 25 to 50 others. It occurs near a station in West Bengal, 550 kilometers (345 miles) north of the capital Kolkata. The cause of the explosion is unknown. (CNN)
A Berlin underground train rear-ends a stationary maintenance vehicle at the busy Südkreuz station injuring 33 people, two of them seriously, officials said. (AP via Yahoo! News)
An 18-year-old armed man takes hostage several children and teachers of his former school in the German town of Emsdetten. He dies from bullet wounds. According to a police spokesman, these wounds were self-inflicted. Several hostages are injured. (in German) (WDR)(Reuters)
A school bus carrying high school students falls nose-first 40 feet to the ground off an Interstate 565 overpass in downtown Huntsville, Alabama, killing four teenage girls. (Reuters)
Hinting at Iran, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert tells Orthodox Union (OU) in Jerusalem: "Israel's main problem is threat that comes from those who openly talk about wiping us off the map; we have heard these voices in the past; we can't afford to listen and not to react." (Yedioth Ahronoth)
Seven foreign oil workers are taken hostage in Nigeria. Four people die in a rescue effort including one hostage, a soldier and two of the kidnappers. (AP via ABC News)
Hamas claims responsibility for a suicide bombing attack in which a 57-year-old grandmother killed herself. She also admits to the use of women as human shields in order to save militant gunmen, (Breitbart)
Convicted killer and loyalistMichael Stone is seized by security guards and police at Northern Ireland's parliament building, Stormont, while carrying a gun, knife and several possibly "viable" explosive devices. (BBC)
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko calls for a "union" of foreign and energy policies between Belarus and Ukraine. At the same time, he says his government falsified the results of the last presidential election by reducing the size of his own majority. (RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty)
Chad's armed forces have retaken Abéché with no major fighting being reported. (Aljazeera)
Chadian forces have also claimed to have retaken Biltine, but rebel forces deny these claims. (BBC)
After earlier reports from The French embassy in Chad saying a large column of rebel vehicles had been spotted heading towards the capital N'Djamena, the embassy now says the progression has stopped. (BBC)
The British government rejects proposals to increase the length of sound recording's copyright protection from 50 years to 95 years. This means that Sir Cliff Richard's earliest songs will come out of copyright in 2008, and the earliest songs recorded by the Beatles in 2013. Songs composed and/or written will still have copyright for 70 years after the author's death. (BBC)
Rafael Correa will be the next President of Ecuador after winning the election with 57 per cent of the vote (94% counted). He will not be officially confirmed until all the votes are counted. (Reuters)
Chadian rebels said they shot down a government military plane with a captured ground-to-air missile in fighting near the eastern town of Abeche, which they briefly seized at the weekend. (Reuters)
A Chadian government spokesman said his nation was in "a state of war" with Sudan after a Chadian rebel group said it shot down a government plane. (CNN)
Government troops in the Central African Republic, backed by French forces, have launched an offensive to retake the northeast town of Birao from rebels, and have recaptured its airport, a French military spokesman said. (Reuters)
French forces have clashed with rebels in the Central African Republic during a government offensive to regain control of the northern town of Birao. (BBC)
Three British Airways planes are grounded in London and Moscow due to positive traces of radiation as the investigation into the death of Alexander Litvinenko widens. British Airways will attempt to contact the thousands of passengers who have travelled on the planes recently. (CNN)
An Australian ArmyBlack Hawk helicopter is lost at sea off the coast of Fiji where it had been operating from HMAS Kanimbla (L-51) preparing to evacuate Australian civilians in the event of a coup. The Fijian military is holding an exercise in the capital Suva claiming there are fears of a "foreign intervention". (News Limited), (BBC)
The United Nations Security Council unanimously passes a resolution that extends the mandate of the United States-led multinational force in Iraq until December 31, 2007. The new resolution requires a review of the mandate to begin by June 15, 2007, or sooner if the government of Iraq requests it. The government of Iraq can also revoke the mandate before its end if it chooses to do so. (Guardian UK)
Super Typhoon Durian (Reming), the strongest Typhoon to hit Philippines, impacts the Bical region. In Virac Catanduanes 265–300 km/h (165–186 mph) wind was recorded, while in Legaspi, Albay 4.66 mm (0.183 in) of rain is recorded and a total of 740 people are killed.
Windows Vista goes on sale for bulk license holders with home users being able to buy it on January 30, 2007. (CNN)
The science journal Nature publishes a new reconstruction of the Antikythera mechanism based on high resolution X-ray tomography. The Antikythera mechanism is an ancient Greek mechanical analog computer designed to calculate astronomical positions. (Sydney Morning Herald)
The U.S. Institute of Peace announces that the Iraq Study Group report will be released to the public December 6, 2006. The group, charged with conducting a forward-looking assessment of the situation in Iraq, is expected to present their findings to President George W. Bush on that day. The report will be available for download on USIP's web site. (Reuters)
At least 300 people were killed in clashes between Sudan's army and former rebels in the south earlier this week, aid workers say. (BBC)
