Portal:Current events/2008 August 20
August 20, 2008 (Wednesday)
- Usain Bolt of Jamaica wins the 200-metre race in the 2008 Summer Olympics setting a new world record. (The New York Times)
- The United States and Poland sign an agreement to place an American missile defense base on Polish territory with Russia warning that its response will go beyond diplomacy.(The New York Times) (Houston Chronicle)
- Spanair Flight JK 5022 with 178 on board crashes on takeoff at Madrid's Barajas International Airport, causing 154 fatalities. (El País) (The International Herald Tribune) (AFP via Mercury)
- At least 11 people are killed and 31 injured in two bombings in the Algerian town of Bouira. (AFP via Google News)
- The United Kingdom Competition Commission recommends that BAA Limited should sell two out of its three airports in South East England (Heathrow, Gatwick, and Stansted) and one of its Scottish airports (either Edinburgh Airport or Glasgow International Airport) due to competition concerns. (BBC News)
- 2008 South Ossetia war:
- Human Rights Watch claims both Georgia and Russia violated rights of the civilian population during the conflict. Georgian ground offensive in South Ossetia included shelling of Tskhinvali, capital of South Ossetia, with Grad rocket systems and 'indiscriminate' use of tanks in the city, which caused 'numerous' civilian casualties and 'extensive' destruction. HRW says 'a hospital, apartment buildings, houses, schools, kindergartens, shops, administrative buildings, and the university' in Tskhinvali were 'severely damaged' during Georgian night-long 'uninterrupted' shelling of South Ossetian capital on August 7-8. Russian airforce, HRW reports, carried out bombardments of the two buildings in Georgian village in South Ossetia, 'that could be housing the Georgian military', and attacked presumably civilian convoy of several dozen cars. HRW also confirmed the Russian military's use of cluster bombs in two towns in Georgia, killing at least 11 civilians. (Human Rights Watch)
- An Amnesty International worldwide movement for human rights reported on August, 14, that the assault of the Georgian Army on Tskhinvali included '14 hours of bombardment' of the city. Amnesty International is still gathering information on the reported heavy civilian casualties, as well as reported bombings of non-military targets leading to deaths of civilians and the destruction of civilian buildings. (Amnesty International)
- Russia has rejected a draft UN Security Council resolution on Georgia as it did not include the full text of the EU-brokered ceasefire plan (BBC News). Russia then introduced its own draft resolution based on the Medvedev-Sarkozy plan. (ITAR-TASS)
- Medvedev: Russian troops will pull out from Georgia by Friday. (Xinhua)
- Russia moves closer to recognizing full independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, as both regions are to hold pro-independence rallies within days. (AFP via Google News)
- The 56 member states of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) agreed Tuesday to send up to 100 additional monitors to Georgia at a special meeting of its Permanent Council in Vienna. (Xinhua)
- Russian soldiers released the Georgian governor of Shida Kartli Region, Lado Vardzelashvili after 2-hour long detention. (Rustavi 2)
- Human Rights Watch claims both Georgia and Russia violated rights of the civilian population during the conflict. Georgian ground offensive in South Ossetia included shelling of Tskhinvali, capital of South Ossetia, with Grad rocket systems and 'indiscriminate' use of tanks in the city, which caused 'numerous' civilian casualties and 'extensive' destruction. HRW says 'a hospital, apartment buildings, houses, schools, kindergartens, shops, administrative buildings, and the university' in Tskhinvali were 'severely damaged' during Georgian night-long 'uninterrupted' shelling of South Ossetian capital on August 7-8. Russian airforce, HRW reports, carried out bombardments of the two buildings in Georgian village in South Ossetia, 'that could be housing the Georgian military', and attacked presumably civilian convoy of several dozen cars. HRW also confirmed the Russian military's use of cluster bombs in two towns in Georgia, killing at least 11 civilians. (Human Rights Watch)