Portal:Current events/2005 September 12

September 12, 2005 (Monday)

In Colombia, an airplane hijacker and his son surrender peacefully after five hours of negotiations. Officials coaxed him out with what he later learned was a worthless bank cheque. (CNN)
In Norway, the Red-Green Coalition led by Jens Stoltenberg wins the 2005 election to the Storting (Legislature). (Reuters)
Los Angeles Power Outage:
- According to the Department of Water and Power, the power outage is of "non-malicious cause" triggered by an accidental error in connecting lines to a newly installed computer. DWP (Dept of Water and Power) General Manager Ron Deaton says repairs have been made and the system will be restored in an orderly manner. (Newsday)
- Despite the disruption to two million customers, the system's successfully controlled shutdown prevented a blackout from extending beyond the region.
Michael D. Brown resigns as the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency of the United States (FEMA) following several days of criticism concerning his handling of the disaster following Hurricane Katrina, and allegations that his official biography is misleading and contains unsubstantiated claims. (MSNBC)
Israeli-Palestinian Conflict:
- Israel withdraws the last of its troops from the Gaza Strip, effectively completing its unilateral disengagement plan. (Reuters)^{[permanent dead link]} (CNN) (Ha’aretz)
- Following the pullout many Palestinians rush into abandoned Israeli settlements in celebration, some burning down synagogues which Israel's ministers voted against dismantling due to their religious significance, while others scavenged through the rubble of demolished settlement homes, taking furniture, doors, electricity cables and what ever else they could find. (The Jerusalem Post),(YNETnews), (BBC), (Jerusalem Post)
- Several hours after the pullout two Qassam rockets are fired by Palestinian militants from the Gaza Strip. The first lands near the Israeli town of Sderot, while the second lands near Kibbutz Yad Mordechai. (Ha’aretz),(YNETnews)
According to witnesses, the Egyptian border patrol police opened fire at crowds swarming the Egypt-Gaza border at Rafah, killing a Palestinian man and injuring another. An Egyptian spokesman later denied that Egyptian troops fired the shots that killed the man. (Reuters) (Al Jazeera), (BBC)
Three Palestinian teenagers drowned as they rushed into the beachside at Neve Dekalim without knowing how to swim. (The Guardian)
eBay announced it will buy Skype, the Luxembourg-based web telephone network, in a $2.6 billion deal. (BBC)
Hong Kong Disneyland opens in a partnership between Disney and the Hong Kong government. This marks the first attempt of Disney tapping into the Chinese and southeastern Asian market. (BBC) (CNN)
Premier Dalton McGuinty of Ontario, Canada rejects the use of Islamic sharia law as well as religious arbitration of all other faiths, declaring that one public law is to be used for all family disputes. The decision follows a year of debate and worldwide protests. (Globe and Mail)
Oracle Corporation announced that it has agreed to purchase Siebel Systems for approximately $5.85 billion in cash. (BBC)
England wins the 2005 Ashes 2-1. Final Test match ends in a draw. (BBC)
Panic buying of petrol and diesel is in full swing across Britain, with long queues outside service stations in a worrying echo of the 2000 Fuel Protest. (BBC)