Portal:Current events/2006 June 29

June 29, 2006 (Thursday)

A new audio tape, allegedly from Osama Bin Laden, is released praising Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. (Associated Press)
Internet Explorer Version 7 Beta 3 is released for Windows XP and Windows Server 2003
The United States House of Representatives votes to end a 25-year ban on off-shore drilling. (MSNBC)
Former Governor of Alabama Don Siegelman is convicted of bribery and conspiracy. (WTVM)
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes up over 215 points as a result of the United States Federal Reserve saying that it would consider the overall economy, and direction of inflation, in setting the interest rate. The Federal Reserve raised interest rates for the 17th consecutive time to 5.25% due to ongoing concerns about inflation. (Associated Press)^{[permanent dead link‍]} (Yahoo) (International Herald Tribune)
A suicide bomber attacks the funeral of a Shiite soldier in Kirkuk, Iraq, killing four and wounding 27. (USA Today)
The Supreme Court of the United States rules in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld that the Bush Administration has no authority to try detained prisoners held in Guantanamo Bay by military tribunal, and that the proceedings violate the Geneva Convention as well as the US constitution. (BBC)
British House of Commons by-elections for the constituencies of Blaenau Gwent and Bromley and Chislehurst are held to fill vacant parliamentary seats. (BBC)
Operation Summer Rains:
- Israeli government puts off an offensive to the northern Gaza Strip, and freezes military operations in the southern Gaza strip, to allow further time for diplomatic negotiations. There have been no Palestinian fatalities in two days of Israeli operations in the Gaza Strip and West Bank. (Haaretz)
- Six Qassam rockets are launched from the northern Gaza Strip against Israeli towns. The Israel Defense Forces fire over 400 artillery shells at unpopulated areas in the Gaza Strip, to suppress further rocket attacks. (Ynet)
- Russia asks Israel to avoid harming Palestinian civilians in any offensive in the Gaza Strip and urges militants to free the abducted Israeli soldier. (Independent SA)
- The body of Israeli student Eliyahu Asheri is found buried in a field near Ramallah with a head shot. Asheri, 18, was kidnapped and killed on Sunday night by a Palestinian militant group. (Haaretz)
- Failed Israeli air strike against two Islamic Jihad militants in Gaza leaves one civilian lightly wounded. (Ynet)
- The body of Noam Moskovich, an Alzheimer's patient who was claimed to be abducted by Palestinian militants, is found in Rishon LeZion. Police ruled out both criminal and terrorist motives. (Jerusalem Post)
- Israeli soldiers arrest 62 Hamas members in the West Bank, including 8 ministers and 20 lawmakers in the Palestinian Authority, raising concern at concurrent G8 summit. Israeli officials announce that further arrests are expected, and that the suspects will face standard criminal proceedings. (Haaretz), (Reuters Alertnet)
Kuwait holds a Parliamentary election, the country's first with universal suffrage. Opposition parties win a parliamentary majority but no women are elected.(Fox News) (Turkish Press)
The cabinet Balkenende II of the Netherlands resigns after a row between the coalition partners about the citizenship of former MP Ayaan Hirsi Ali. (Expatica.com), (BBC)