Portal:Current events/2006 July 13

July 13, 2006 (Thursday)

Alaksandar Kazulin, a candidate for President of Belarus against Alexander Lukashenko, is jailed for five and a half years for organising protests against Lukashenko's re-election. (Reuters)
A Harrier Jumpjet en route to the Air Tattoo at RAF Fairford crashes onto a road near Tackley in Oxfordshire. The pilot, who managed to eject before impact, was praised for his skill ensuring no loss of life occurred; the aircraft went down in a relatively populated area. (Reuters)
The United States vetoes a United Nations resolution condemning Israel's military operations in the Gaza Strip. (AFP)
North Korean diplomats quickly leave a meeting with South Korea and a U.S. diplomat, and leave the region after a week of diplomacy. (Reuters)^{[permanent dead link]}
Merck & Co. wins a trial over a grandmother's claim that its Vioxx painkiller caused her to have a heart attack, reducing pressure on the company to settle 12,000 other cases about the drug. (Bloomberg)
A complete First Folio edition of William Shakespeare's plays is auctioned in London for £2.8 million. It had been owned by Dr Williams's Library, which paid about £500 for it in 1716. When new in 1623, the Folio would have cost £1. (BBC)
Two explosions hit oil installations belonging to an Italian company in Nigeria's southeast region. Sabotage is the suspected cause. (Associated Press)
The United States is considering establishing an independent command for South Korean troops. South Korea has command of its forces during peacetime, but currently the United States would take control if there were a war. (Reuters) Archived 2005-06-20 at the Wayback Machine
A man claiming to represent Al-Qaeda in India claims that they have set up a network in Kashmir and appeals to Indian Muslims to take up jihad. (Los Angeles Times)^{[permanent dead link]}
2006 Israel-Lebanon crisis:
- Haifa city is hit by rocket artillery fired from Lebanon. Israeli Ambassador to the US Daniel Ayalon describes the unprecedented strike on Haifa as a "major, major escalation" by Hezbollah. (Haaretz), (Ynet), (Getty)
- Lebanon announces it refuses to abide UN Security Council's Resolutions 1559 and 1583, calling Lebanon to assert full control over its border with Israel. (Haaretz)
- Israeli jets attack a Lebanese army air base near the Syrian border, destroying runways, the first attack against Lebanon's army in Operation Just Reward. (Fox News), (Jerusalem Post), (Associated Press)
- More than a hundred Katyusha rockets hit northern Israeli cities and towns, killing two civilians in Nahariya and Safed. Approximately 150 civilians are wounded, including women and children. Hezbollah threatens to launch long-range rockets at Haifa metropolis if the southern suburb of Beirut is attacked. (Ynet), (Haaretz), (Getty)
- Israel imposes an air and sea blockade on Lebanon. (Associated Press)
- An Israeli aircraft fires three rockets into Beirut international airport killing 22 civilians. All incoming air traffic is diverted to Cyprus. Israel claims that the airport was used to supply weapons to Hezbollah, and was about to be used to smuggle its kidnapped soldiers away to Iran. Israeli navy later attacks fuel tanks at the airport, setting them ablaze. (Haaretz), (BBC), (Reuters) Archived 2006-07-10 at the Wayback Machine, (Fox News), (CNN)