August 2005 - August 3, 2005 (Wednesday)

August 3, 2005 (Wednesday)

• The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and United States Department of Justice give approval to the proposed merger of Sprint and Nextel, to create the new company of Sprint Nextel
• Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin will announce on Thursday that Michaëlle Jean has been chosen to succeed Adrienne Clarkson as Governor General of Canada. (CBC)
• Two people are known to have died following a bomb blast in Istanbul, Turkey. (BBC) (Al-Jazeera) (Reuters AlertNet)
• The BBC has uncovered documents which reveal that in 1958 the British Government helped Israel attain nuclear weapons. (BBC)
• The chairman of the British Council of Mosques and Imams has advised British Muslim women to refrain from wearing clothing, such as the Hijab, which identifies them as Muslim following a large increase in "Islamophobia" and Hate crimes. (BBC), (BBC)
• Mo Mowlam, the former Northern Ireland Secretary, has been admitted to hospital, apparently critically ill. (BBC)
• Conflict in Iraq: 14 US Marines have been killed following an insurgent attack in Haditha, north-western Iraq. U.S. Officials deny that a Marine has been taken hostage. (BBC)
• More than 800 people have been wounded and 84 killed in the violence which erupted in Sudan after ex-rebel southern leader John Garang died in a helicopter crash. (BBC) (Reuters)
• In Singapore, an announcement was made declaring the election date for the presidential election to be on 27 August, with nomination day slated for 17 August. (CNA)
• NBC Universal gets permission from parent company General Electric to buy Dreamworks SKG. (Yahoo)
• Adidas acquires Reebok for $3.8 billion. (Economic Times) (BBC)
• Oracle Corporation acquires i-flex for $909 million. (Business Standard)
• In Australia, Morris Iemma becomes the 40th Premier of New South Wales after being elected unopposed as leader of the state Australian Labor Party.
• In Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad officially becomes new president. (IRNA) (Al-Jazeera) (Reuters)
• In Saudi Arabia the new King Abdullah has been invested. Tony Blair and Jacques Chirac, along with many European Monarchs are present for the "bayaa" ceremony while George H. W. Bush and Dick Cheney will meet with the new King the following day. (BBC)
• In Malaysia, former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim receives apology and compensation from former chief of police Rahim Noor, who beat him September 1999 ago when he was arrested on dubious grounds. In return, Ibrahim drops the case again him. (Channel News Aaia) (Reuters)
• Australian justice minister Chris Ellison wants to create tough laws against practice of sending young girls overseas to forced marriages. (The Australian) (BBC)
• Reports from Mauritania indicate that the Army has seized control of the government. State media is reportedly taken over by troops, signaling a military coup while President Ould Taya is out of the country attending the funeral of Saudi Arabia's King Fahd. (Middle East Online) (BBC) (afrol News)
• In China, death toll of the pig-carried disease rises to 38, The Ministry of Agriculture announces a new prevention program (Xinhua) (Channel News Asia) (Xinhua)
• In USA, fake Saudi princess who used a name Antoinette Millard, pleads guilty to fraud in New York court and is sent to mental hospital for one year (Newsday) (Reuters)
• In Norway, thieves steal three worthless copies of Edvard Munch's paintings from an Oslo hotel (Aftenposten) (Reuters)