January 2006 - 4 January 2006 (Wednesday)

4 January 2006 (Wednesday)

• Turkey announces two confirmed human cases of the avian influenza. (BBC)
• The King of Saudi Arabia, Abdullah al-Saud, offers to pay for repairs to the Jama Masjid in Delhi, India. The King also offers to fund education in India. (BBC)
• Conflict in Iraq: At least 50 die following a series of insurgent attacks across Iraq, including a suicide bomb at a Shia funeral which left 36 mourners dead. (BBC)
• Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, 77, suffers "a significant stroke". He is " under anesthesia and receiving breathing assistance". Power is transferred to his deputy, Vice Minister Ehud Olmert. (CNN)
• Dow Jones & Co., one of the world's most important financial publishers, announces its new CEO, Richard Zannino, takes over from Peter Kann. Since Mr. Zannino is not a reporter, this breaks a century-old tradition of keeping newsmen at the helm. (New York Sun)
• A leaked intelligence report states that Iran has been "successfully scouring Europe" for the equipment needed to create a nuclear bomb, as well as parts for a ballistic missile. (The Guardian)
• Fourteen people are killed, with many more feared dead, after a landslide destroys a village in Java after flash floods in the region. It is the second such incident in the region within a week. (BBC)
• Fourteen people are now confirmed dead in the Bad Reichenhall ice rink roof collapse, with one person still trapped in the rubble. (New York Times)
• Israeli-Palestinian Conflict:
  • Israel shells eight roads in Palestinian areas of the Gaza Strip. (IMEMC)
  • Seven Qassam rockets are fired on civilian Israeli targets by Palestinian insurgents. Two rockets land near a gas station on a road leading to the Israeli town of Sderot, and another five land near Kibbutz Zikim. There are no reports of injuries or damage. (B92)