June 17, 2005

June 17 2005 (Friday)

* A mudslide in San Antonio Senahu, Guatemala, kills 23 people, including several children. Most of the dead were of Mayan descent. [http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N17579435.htm (alternet)]
* The murder weapon used to kill Leon Trotsky is purported to have surfaced in Mexico. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4103306.stm (BBC)]
* A United Nations investigation has concluded that Rafik Hariri, the former Prime Minister of Lebanon, was killed by a truck bomb. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4103374.stm (BBC)]
* Controversial Pakistani scientist AQ Khan is said to be stable after suffering a heart attack. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4102672.stm (BBC)]
* In Kyrgyzstan, hundreds of protesters seize a government building in the capital of Bishkek. They support presidential candidate Urmat Baryaktadasov, who was denied registration because the government says he is also a citizen of Kazakhstan. Police later seized the building. [http://en.rian.ru/world/20050617/40537268.html (RIA Novosti)] [http://edition.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/asiapcf/06/17/kyrgystan.protest.ap/ (CNN)] [http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-5080511,00.html (Guardian Unlimited)] [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4102294.stm (BBC)]
* The 2005 Presidential election begins in Iran. Most pre-voting polls favor Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani. [http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=13789 (Middle East Online)] [http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/749B7F3A-0F25-46BC-94B5-262B742811CE.htm (Al-Jazeera)] [http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2005-06-17T072143Z_01_N17199788_RTRIDST_0_NEWS-IRAN-ELECTION-DC.XML (Reuters)] [http://iht.com/articles/2005/06/17/africa/web.0617iran.php (IHT)]
* Cambodian police have arrested a security guard who allegedly planned the hostage drama in Siem Reap. [http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific/view/153220/1/.html (Channel News Asia)] [http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=worldNews&storyID=2005-06-17T054732Z_01_N17392039_RTRIDST_0_INTERNATIONAL-CAMBODIA-HOSTAGES-DC.XML (Reuters)]
* The Supreme Court of the Republic of China rejects the opposition's appeal to nullify the results of the 2004 presidential election. Chen Shui-bian won the election by a narrow majority. [http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific/view/153230/1/.html (Channel News Asia)] [http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000080&sid=aNd0uRCXXMO8&refer=asia (Bloomberg)]
* In the United Kingdom, the Ugandan-born bishop of Birmingham Rt Rev Dr John Sentamu is named the new Archbishop of York. He is the first ever black person to be appointed an Archbishop of the Church of England. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/4102582.stm (BBC)] [http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2005-06-17T085010Z_01_SCH731728_RTRUKOC_0_RELIGION-BRITAIN.xml (Reuters)]
*The Vatican announces that it has taken the unusual step of suspending the announced beatification of the Reverend Leon Dehon in order to investigate charges of anti-Semitism. [http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050617/ap_on_re_eu/vatican_french_priest AP]
* Dennis Kozlowski, the former chief executive of Tyco International, and Mark Swartz, its erstwhile chief financial officer, are found guilty by a New York state court jury on all but one of 31 counts of grand larceny, conspiracy, falsifying business records and securities fraud. [http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/business/3230906 (Houston Chronicle)]