Portal:Current events/2006 August 29

August 29, 2006 (Tuesday)

Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad challenges George W. Bush to a live television debate. U.S. government officials decline and criticize the suggestion.(Al Jazeera)
2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict:
- Israel must lift its blockade of Lebanon soon, UN chief Kofi Annan tells Israel's defence minister.(BBC)
- Kofi Annan says that the United Nations hopes to double the strength of the peacekeeping force by Friday. (ABC News America)
Tropical Storm John becomes Hurricane John, the sixth hurricane of the 2006 Pacific hurricane season and threatens Mexico's Pacific Ocean coast, including the port city of Acapulco. (The Australian)
New Orleans and the United States mark the one year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. (Fox News)
In London, three more men are charged with conspiracy to murder and preparing acts of terrorism over the alleged 2006 transatlantic aircraft plot, bringing the total number of suspects facing these charges to eleven. (BBC) (International Herald Tribune)
A magnitude-5.4 earthquake strikes off the Maluku Islands in Indonesia. Officials currently state that a tsunami is not possible, as their initial magnitude estimates have been downgraded. [1] This follows four magnitude-5 foreshocks the previous day. [2]
Warren Jeffs, the fugitive leader of a polygamist Mormon sect and one of the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives, has been arrested in southern Nevada. (AP)^{[permanent dead link]}
Vivendi Universal, the world's biggest music group, has signed a deal to make its music catalogue available on a free legal downloads service.(BBC)
Public school teachers in Detroit begin a strike after failing to reach an agreement with school district officials. (Detroit Free Press)
Residents in south Florida prepare for Tropical Storm Ernesto with concerns that the storm could again strengthen and become a hurricane after it leaves Cuba. (Boston Globe)
Conflict between Shiite militia and the Iraqi military in southern city of Diwaniyah leaves at least 19 dead. (BBC)
British rail company South West Trains begin a series of one-day strikes over claims that unqualified company managers were allowed to drive trains.(BBC)