Portal:Current events/2006 August 21

August 21, 2006 (Monday)

Democratic Republic of the Congo general election: As a meeting between Bemba and foreign ambassadors representing the International Committee Accompanying the Transition to Democracy (CIAT) is taking place in Kinshasa, clashes break between Kabila and Bemba forces; Bemba's residence, hosting the meeting, comes under attack, reportedly by heavy machine guns and artillery. Several hours later, the UN spokesperson in the DRC, Jean-Tobias Okala, announced the foreign diplomats, including MONUC chief William Swing, were successfully evacuated to UN headquarters. (Mail & Guardian) (CBC)
2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict:
- Italy offers to lead the United Nations peacekeeping forces in Lebanon instead of France. Italy has offered to provide 2,000 forces, more than any other nation, and France is only offering to provide 200 civil engineers. (UPI)
The government of Kyrgyzstan warns that the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, a terrorist group affiliated with al Qaeda, and other militant Islamic groups, are preparing to attack southern cities like Osh. (RFE/RL)
Eleven suspects are charged over the 2006 transatlantic aircraft plot in the United Kingdom as police find bomb-making equipment and martyrdom videos during their inquiries. (Independent)
The Channel Tunnel, which connects the UK to France, closes after smoke is seen coming from a freight train in the tunnel. (BBC)
U.S. university Virginia Tech closed campus and canceled classes today, the first day of classes, during the search for a man who was suspected of murdering a hospital security guard and a police officer. The suspect, William Morva, is in custody. (WTOP)
A bomb goes off in a Moscow market, killing 10 and wounding about 40. Authorities are not ruling out terrorism. It appears to have been intentional. (Reuters) (BBC)
In New Zealand, Tuheitia Paki, the eldest son of Dame Te Atairangikaahu, is selected as the new Māori King. (NZ Herald)
Carla Del Ponte, the chief Yugoslav war crimes prosecutor, criticises Serbia for its failure to arrest former Bosnian Serb army chief, General Ratko Mladić as the war crime trials of seven Bosnian Serb military and paramilitary commanders continues. (ABC America)
At least 51 people are killed and another 138 injured in a train crash north of Cairo when two trains travelling on the same line collide. (Mail & Guardian South Africa)