Portal:Current events/2006 November 15

November 15, 2006 (Wednesday)

General John Abizaid, head of the United States Central Command, tells the United States Senate Committee on Armed Services that he is optimistic that "we can stabilize Iraq." (CNN)
An earthquake measuring 8.1 on the Richter scale occurs at 11:14:19 UTC on the Pacific Ocean seafloor with an epicentre 390 kilometres (244 miles) east of Etorofu island (latitude 46.7 North, longitude 153.5 East). Tsunami warnings and watches are issued by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center and the East Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center. After expectations of a tsunami at least 2 metres (6 feet) high, the largest wave to hit Hokkaidō measures only 40 centimetres (16 inches).(BBC News) (CNN)
Joseph Kabila wins the presidential run-off election in the Democratic Republic of the Congo with 58% of the vote according to the electoral commission. His opponent Jean-Pierre Bemba claims that there were widespread instances of fraud. (BBC)
India and Pakistan agreed today to set up a panel to combat terrorism during the first peace talks between the countries in almost a year. However, there has been no progress in the core dispute over Kashmir, the mountain region both countries claim. (The Times)
Senator Mitch McConnell becomes the leader of the Republicans in the United States Senate. (Reuters)
Widespread flooding is reported in East Africa especially Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia, with at least five reported dead in Mogadishu where the Shabelle and Juba rivers have burst their banks and more than 70,000 people reported displaced in total. (SOS)
A patient in southern Kazakhstan has been accidentally infected with HIV. Earlier this year 79 children were accidentally infected resulting in a political scandal and the dismissal of Health Minister Yerbolat Dosayev and several lower level officials. There was another widespread infection in 2005. (RIA Novosti)
Al Jazeera establishes a 24-hour English language news channel Al Jazeera English, formerly Al Jazeera International, and started broadcasting today. (Bloomberg)
Forests begin to revive as global devastation of trees is reversed. A new study offers hope for endangered species and climate change. (The Times)
United States Army soldier James P. Barker pleads guilty to raping and murdering a girl in Iraq thus avoiding a possible death sentence. (BBC News)
Richard Causey, former Chief Accounting Officer at Enron is sentenced to 66 months or five and a half years in prison for his role in the collapse of the company. (Reuters)
A building collapses under the force of a British Columbia wind storm. The storm has also prompted the evacuation of West Vancouver neighbourhoods because of the forceful gusts. (CTV) Archived 2009-07-27 at the Wayback Machine