Portal:Current events/2006 February 24
February 24, 2006 (Friday)
- Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo declares a state of emergency in attempt to subdue a possible military coup. (INQ7.net), GMANEWS.TV (Reuters)
- Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy: A Finnish editor of the paper Kaltio, Jussi Vilkuna, was fired after refusing to remove a Muhammed-cartoon on the online version of the paper. This cartoon featured a westerner in the grips of Muhammad (who was masked), and Finnish politicians burning Danish flags. (NewsRoom Finland)
- It is revealed that MI5 (British Intelligence) withheld vital anti-terrorism intelligence just months before the Omagh bombing in 1998. [1]
- Venezuela orders US airlines to reduce the number of flights into the country by up to 70% in a dispute over safety regulations. (BBC)
- NASA announces the unusual gamma-ray burst GRB 060218 that is not yet explained and may be a predecessor to a supernova. It was located 440 million light-years away and lasted for 33 minutes, closer and longer than any previous gamma ray burst. (Space.com)
- Ken Livingstone, the Mayor of London, is suspended from his position for one month by a three member panel of the Adjudication Panel for England for being "unnecessarily insensitive" in comparing a Jewish Evening Standard reporter to a Nazi concentration camp guard. Nicky Gavron, his deputy, will take over his responsibilities whilst Livingstone is suspended. (BBC)
- An explosion and gunshots are reported at Abqaiq, home of largest Saudi Arabian oil facilities. (BBC) (CNN)
- After months of an increasing political power struggle, the Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra dissolves the House of Representatives and calls for new election to be held on April 2. (The Nation)
- A fire in a textile mill in Chittagong, Bangladesh, kills 51 people and injures over 100. (BBC)
- Australian Member of Parliament and Treasurer Peter Costello challenges Muslim leaders to pledge their allegiance to Australia. (National Nine News)
