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A leaked memo in the UK, detailing a conversation between U.S. President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair in 2003, has revealed that Blair intended to follow the US into Iraq even without a UN resolution, and that Bush considered provoking a response from Iraq using falsely marked Lockheed U-2 spy planes to provide an excuse for war. (Guardian)
The United StatesexpelsVenezuelan diplomat Jeny Figueredo Frias in retaliation for yesterday's expulsion of suspected US spy John Correa from Venezuela. A State Department spokesman described the move as part of "tit-for-tat diplomatic games". (VOA)
Queues build up at vendors as the EuroMillionslottery offers a jackpot of €180 million after 11 successive rollovers (statistically expected once in 25 years). Some British vendors report a 1200% increase in sales. EuroMillions tickets are sold in Austria, Belgium. France, Ireland, Luxembourg, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. An Irish woman won €115,436,126 last July. (BBC), (Guardian). UPDATE: The winning numbers were 9 21 30 39 50 with Lucky Star numbers 01 and 03; the jackpot was shared between three winning tickets, two in France and one in Portugal. (UK National Lottery)
Two car bombs explode minutes apart in southern Baghdad, killing at least 16 people and wounding more than 90 others. (CNN)
A strong earthquake registering magnitude 5.9 shakes northeastern Japan, but there is no danger of a tsunami. (CNN)
Georgia, USA. 17 human rights activists sentenced to prison including one 81 year old retired World War II Veteran for protesting outside Fort Benning military camp. (Scoop, New Zealand)
Twenty-seven out of 35 countries on the IAEA's Board of Governors vote to refer the nuclear program of Iran to the United Nations Security Council out of concern over Iran's plans to enrich nuclear materials and to refuse IAEA inspection of the process. (BBC)
A stampede at a sports stadium in Pasig City, Metro Manila, Philippines, kills 73 and injures more than 320, mostly women. Tens of thousands of people had gathered to watch the anniversary presentation of the popular ABS-CBN early afternoon TV gameshow, Wowowee. (BBC)(CNN)
Israel bombs a sport club in Gaza. When people came to help the wounded they fired another missile. When they manage to get a badly injured into a car a third missile is fired at the car killing three persons. (SFT)
Mauritania denounces amendments to an oil contract made by former leader Maaouiya Ould Taya with Woodside Petroleum. The Mauritanian authorities declare that the amendments were signed "outside the legal framework of normal practice, to the great detriment of our country", and could cost Mauritania up to $200 million a year. (BBC)(Radio France International)
Isabelle Dinoire, the French woman who received the world's first partial face transplant appears before the media for the first time, saying she expects to resume a normal life. (CBC)
The AustrianEmbassy in Tehran is pelted with stones by some 200 youths, in retaliation for the printing of the Muhammed Cartoons by three Austrian newspapers.
As the Danish embassy in Tehran is attacked by hundreds of protesters, five people are killed in Afghanistan as protests against European Muhammed cartoons sweep across the country. (BBC)
Japan urges North Korea to return to six-party talks on its nuclear program and halt missile development, but a Japanese official said Pyongyang insists that Washington drop sanctions first. (Reuters)
The number of people attempting to view illegal child pornography on the web has risen since 2004, according to British Telecommunications (BT). They use a system to block sites carrying the images of children, which has been getting some 35,000 hits a day for the past four months. (BBC)
U.S. forces are searching for the USS Cole attacker who escaped from prison last Friday. According to Interpol, an al-Qaida operative who had been sentenced to death for plotting the bombing of the USS Cole in 2000 escaped with a group of convicts from their prison last week in Sanaá, Yemen. (BBC) This is not the first group to have escaped. 10 other chief suspects escaped from custody in Aden during April 2003 (BBC)
In Turkey, Istanbul's police chief said a bomb blast at an Internet cafe in the city had wounded 14 people. (ABC)
A suicide bombing occurs during a ShiiteMuslim procession in Hangu, Pakistan, resulting in riots during the Muslim branch's most important holiday, Ashura. At least 27 people were killed and dozens injured in the result violence. (ABC)
A large-scale slaughter is planned at a Nigerian farm where thousands of chickens have died from bird flu. (BBC)
Finance chiefs of the G8 countries meet this weekend in Moscow with energy security at the top of their agenda. (BBC)
Israel has criticised Russia's decision to invite Hamas leaders to Moscow for talks, following the militant group's victory in Palestinian elections. (BBC)
H5N1 avian flu virus: Bulgaria, Greece, and Italy report their first cases of H5N1-infected wild birds, all swans thought to have migrated from Russia in recent months. (BBC)
Steve Fossett completes the world record for the longest non-stop, unrefuelled, flight when the Virgin Atlantic Global Flyer lands at Bournemouth airport in southern England after a flight lasting 76 hours and 45 minutes which covered a distance of 26,389.3 miles (42,469.46 km). The aircraft had to declare an emergency landing after suffering total electrical failure, and had only 200 lb (90 kg) of fuel remaining. (BBC)
A royal tomb from the 2nd or 3rd century BC is found in Pella, Greece. It is the largest Greek tomb found to date. This announcement comes a few days after the Egyptian tomb in the Valley of the Kings was found. (Reuters)
United States military strategists reportedly are developing plans for a possible major military bombing campaign against Iranian nuclear sites as a "last resort" in the event that diplomatic efforts fail to convince Iran to voluntarily end what Western governments consider to be efforts at acquiring a nuclear weapon. (The Telegraph)
In a televised address to the nation, Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki announces the resignations of two government ministers in connection with two separate corruption scandals, the "Goldenberg" and "Anglo Leasing" affairs. Energy minister Kiraitu Murungi and education minister George Saitoti both deny any wrongdoing. (BBC)
In Baghdad, a suicide bomber detonates an explosive belt in a line of people waiting to receive government payments, killing at least eight other people and wounding about 30, including children and police. (CTV)
Saddam Hussein is forced to attend the latest session of his trial, wearing a traditional Islamic robe rather than his usual crisp suit, as he shouted "Down with Bush." (CTV)
Kenyan Police instruct 20 leading figures not to leave the country as investigations into two corruption scandals, the Goldenberg and Anglo Leasing scandals continue. Among the people told to hand in their passports is George Saitoti whose resignation as education minister was announced by President Mwai Kibaki yesterday. Meanwhile, 80 Members of Parliament have demanded the resignation of Deputy President Moody Awori, who is accused of involvement in the Anglo Leasing affair. (BBC)
A top Iranian official confirms that Iran has resumed small-scale enrichment of uranium at one of its main nuclear facilities last week. (CBC)
Iran's veterinary organization said the first cases of the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu had been detected in wild swans in the Islamic Republic. (Reuters)
The New York Times reveals the existence of a "destabilization plan" for Hamas, winner of the Palestinian legislative elections. The intention is, according to Israeli officials and Western diplomats, to make sure that Hamas officials fail in fulfilling their campaign promises so that the president, Mahmoud Abbas, is forced to call a new election. The plan would cut all Quartet funds from the Palestinian National Authority (PA), while Israel would refuse to release taxes and custom duties it collects on behalf of the PA and also block movements between the West Bank and the Gaza strip. A third of the Palestinian population would suffer from the Quartet's decision to cut funds to the PA. (NYT)
In Israel, the Tel Aviv Magistrates Court sentences Omri Sharon to a nine-month prison term, a nine-month suspended sentence, and a NIS 300,000 (USD 65,000) fine after he is convicted of violating political fundraising law and providing false testimony. (Ynetnews)
The United States and Israel deny a "destabilisation plan" of Hamas, winner of the January 2006 legislative elections, which was revealed on February 14 by the New York Times. However, they do acknowledge that they would cut off funds and transfers of tax-receipts to the Palestinian Authority. The aim of the "destabilisation plan" was to push the PA to organize new elections (NYT).
Haitian elections, 2006: In a case of apparent electoral fraud, hundreds of ballot boxes are discovered in a garbage dump in Haiti, throwing the results of the elections there in doubt. CBC
A United Nations report condemns the continued existence of Camp Delta, and multiple breaches of Human Rights by the US. (BBC). The UN says that prisoners held there should be immediately charged or released. Like many other countries that the UN Human Rights watchdog has heavily criticised, the US has attacked the report as invalid (BBC). The UN report is available online as a large 54 page PDF
US civil liberties groups have called for an inquiry into treatment of Iraqi detainees at Abu Ghraib after new images of apparent abuse were shown. (BBC)
Former Malawian Minister of Education and head of the country's anti-corruption campaign Yusuf Mwawa is sentenced to five years in prison for fraud and corruption. (BBC)
Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez threatens to cut off oil supplies after U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice claims that the Venezuelan government poses "one of the biggest problems" in the region. (CNN)
Retired scientist Don Kennedy suggests the entire population of Tuvalu should move to the Fijian island of Kioa, to preserve Tuvaluan culture as their homeland becomes uninhabitable due to rising sea levels. (Pacific Magazine)
Russian and Iranian negotiators begin talks today on a plan that may have the former enrich uranium for the latter, as part of the international community's efforts to dissuade Iran from doing its own enrichment. (AP)
Enron: The High Court in London rules that three bankers may be extradited to the United States to face trial on Enron-related charges. The three, David Bermingham, Gary Mulgrew and Giles Darby, former executives at Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC unit Greenwich NatWest, had argued unsuccessfully that since the majority of the alleged offenses took place in Britain, any trial should be held in that country. (Houston Chronicle)
Eight men are acquitted of the 1999 murder which has many hundreds of witnesses of model Jessica Lal in India. The acquittal causes outrage among the Indian community with petitions to President Abdul Kalam for a review of the case (Hindustan Times).
At least 11 people are abducted from jail in Basra by gunmen dressed as police, and shot.
One person is killed in a Sunni mosque in Baquba, where a bomb targeting an Iraqi army patrol also kills 12 people. (BBC)
A roof at a marketplace in Moscow collapses under heavy snow at approximately 4:50am local time (0150 UTC), killing at least forty-nine people. The 1970s-built building had the same architect as the Transvaal Water Park, whose roof collapsed in 2004 killing 28 people. (BBC)(CNN)
A magnitude 7.5 earthquake occurred at 12:19am local time (Feb.22, 2219 UTC) in southern Mozambique, 140 miles southwest of the coastal city of Beira, centered near Espungabera, a small farming town in a remote and sparsely populated area near the border with Zimbabwe. (USGS), (AP)
Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy: A Finnish editor of the paper Kaltio, Jussi Vilkuna, was fired after refusing to remove a Muhammed-cartoon on the online version of the paper. This cartoon featured a westerner in the grips of Muhammad (who was masked), and Finnish politicians burning Danish flags. (NewsRoom Finland)
It is revealed that MI5 (British Intelligence) withheld vital anti-terrorism intelligence just months before the Omagh Bombing in 1998. RTÉ News
Venezuela orders US airlines to reduce the number of flights into the country by up to 70% in a dispute over safety regulations. (BBC)
NASA announces the unusual gamma ray burstGRB 060218 that is not yet explained and may be a predecessor to a supernova. It was located 440 million light-years away and lasted for 33 minutes, closer and longer than any previous gamma ray burst. (Space.com)
A New Jersey company is accused of harvesting body parts from New York funeral homes for transplants. An estimated 12,000 people received the body parts. (Washington Post)
Securitas depot robbery: British police announce that the total amount of cash stolen in last Wednesday's Securitas depot robbery was GBP £53 million (USD $92.6 million, €77.8 million). Five more people have been arrested in the last 24 hours and 10 properties searched in the ongoing investigation. (BBC)
The United NationsWorld Food Programme says that it needs 11 million USD to be able to continue its Afghanistan operations to June this year. "Poor and hungry schoolchildren who receive take-home rations of food as an incentive to attend school will receive at most half their usual ration and in some cases none at all," says the U.N. More than 50% of the nation's children are malnourished. (Reuters)
Another series of bomb attacks in southern Iranian cities of Dezful and Abadan wounds at least six people. Eight people died when bombs exploded in the provincial capital Ahwaz a month ago. The Iranian government again accuses Britain of being behind the attacks, although a small Arab separatist group claimed responsibility on its website.(BBC)
Post-invasion Iraq: The deadline set by the kidnappers of Jill Caroll, after which they said they would execute her if their demands were not met, passes with no word yet on whether she has been killed. An Iraqi official says he believes she is still alive and that they know her original kidnapper's name and address, although Carroll may have been sold to another group since. (AP)(ABC)(CSMonitor)
Sixty-eight people have been killed so far today in Baghdad, Iraq. Car bombs and mortar barrages rocked Baghdad streets, as news pundits speculate about the possibility of Iraq becoming embroiled in a full fledged civil war. (MSNBC)
Congolese government forces and United Nations peacekeepers (part of the MONUC mission) engage militia fighters in the wartorn Ituri district in a battle to retake the town of Tchei. The operation is in conjunction with a more aggressive disarmament policy by the U.N. peacekeepers in the region. (CNN)
