Portal:Current events/2005 May 11

May 11, 2005 (Wednesday)

President George W. Bush signs the Real ID Act into effect.
Guantánamo Bay Qur'an desecration allegations: Riots over a Newsweek story (later retracted) lead to dozens of injuries and at least three deaths in Jalalabad, Eastern Afghanistan. Afghan police use live ammunition to stop the Anti-American rioting organized in protest of the alleged desecration of a copy of the Qur'an. (BBC), (Reuters)^{[permanent dead link]}
A Katyusha rocket hits the northern Israeli town of Shlomi, damaging a bakery but no injuries. The rocket appears to have been launched from within Lebanon while Israel celebrated its 57th Independence Day. (Haaretz)
Justice officials in Kuwait, with assistance from United Nations war crimes expert Sharif Basyouni, complete an indictment against Saddam Hussein and several former Iraqi officials for crimes against humanity during the 1990 invasion of Kuwait. (Yahoo!)
The Irish government gives the go-ahead for the building of the controversial M3 motorway through the archaeologically sensitive Tara-Skyrne Valley, amid an international outcry by academics and environmentalists. (RTÉ)
The White House and United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. are evacuated, amid reports of an incoming aircraft. The US Secret Service subsequently issues an all-clear. (BBC)
Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin has set May 19 for a vote in the House of Commons on the federal budget. He said if his government loses the vote of confidence, he will seek the dissolution of Parliament. This means an election could come as early as June 27. (CBC)
The Austrian parliament ratifies the European Union constitution with only one dissenting vote. (ORF)
Conflict in Iraq: At least 60 people die following a series of bombings throughout Iraq. (BBC)
The Bulgarian parliament ratifies the EU membership treaty. (Bulgarian News Network) (Sofia News Agency) (BBC) (CNN)
Authorities in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh investigate the attack of social worker Shakuntala Verma after she had investigated claims of illegal child marriages. One of her hands was severed and the other was badly wounded. (Newindpress) (Telegraph) (Times of India)
In Yemen, the number of cases in a polio outbreak rises to 63. (BBC) (ABC) (Reuters AlertNet)
Javier Zanetti, captain of the Inter Milan football club, says the team could accept the invitation to a game to play against Mexico's Zapatistarebels. (BBC)
The presidents of Nigeria and Cameroon have not made progress in talks on the disputed Bakassi peninsula. They agree to negotiate a new date for the pullout of Nigerian troops. (Cameroon-Info) (BBC) (Reuters AlertNet)
Medical researchers and health organizations condemn AIDS dissident Matthias Rath who had placed full-page ads in the New York Times and International Herald Tribune with a slogan "Stop AIDS Genocide by drug cartel". Rath claims that antiretroviral drugs are poisonous and his vitamin supplements can cure the disease. Researchers of Harvard University state that Rath misrepresents their findings. South Africa's Medicine Control Council announces investigation of the Rath Foundation. (Reuters AlertNet) (BBC) (Pretoria News) (Business Day) (News24)