Portal:Current events/2006 January 24

January 24, 2006 (Tuesday)

A US federal judge issues a summary judgement against Christopher William Smith and awards AOL US$5.3 million in damages and US$287,000 in legal fees, after Smith refused to participate in the lawsuit filed against him by AOL under the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003. Smith is accused of sending millions of spam e-mails to AOL customers. (The Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
Venezuela buys a further ^US$312 million of Argentina's national debt, adding to the ^US$1 billion already purchased. The government of Hugo Chávez says that the scheme will further South American integration. (Reuters)(Bloomberg)
Miyeegombyn Enkhbold is chosen as the new Prime Minister of Mongolia by the State Great Khural. (BBC)
Two mergers are announced in the American entertainment industry: Disney and Pixar Animation Studios will merge in a ^US$7.4 billion deal. (Story from E! Online via Yahoo.com) And CBS Corporation and Warner Bros. announce they will merge UPN and The WB television networks into a new network called The CW in fall 2006. (AP/Yahoo!)
A bomb in the southern Iranian city of Ahvaz kills six and injures up to 40. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was due to have visited the city today, however the trip was called off at the last minute. Lebanon's al-Manar television said the president had called off his trip after a security tip-off. Local MP Nezam Molla-Hoveyzeh accused Britain of being behind the attack. (Reuters)^{[permanent dead link‍]} (BBC)
- Later, US President George Bush warns Iran over threat of "retaliation" against Israel. Moqtada Sadr has vowed to defend Iran. (Turkish Weekly), (LKBN ANTARA)^{[permanent dead link‍]}
Defeated Canadian prime minister Paul Martin announces he will resign as leader of the Liberal Party. (CBC)
Opera web browser releases free "mini" mobile phone browser. (Red Herring), (InformationWeek)
Web sites encouraged to support IE rivals, as Firefox 1.5 passes the 20 million downloads mark. Firefox browser has 11 percent of the UK market.(VNUNet), (iT News)