February 2006 - 11 February 2006 (Saturday)

11 February 2006 (Saturday)

• United States Vice President Dick Cheney accidentally shoots and injures Harry Whittington while hunting in Corpus Christi, Texas. (ABC News)
• H5N1 avian flu virus: Bulgaria, Greece, and Italy report their first cases of H5N1-infected wild birds, all swans thought to have migrated from Russia in recent months. (BBC)
• Steve Fossett completes the world record for the longest non-stop, unrefuelled, flight when the Virgin Atlantic Global Flyer lands at Bournemouth airport in southern England after a flight lasting 76 hours and 45 minutes which covered a distance of 26,389.3 miles (42,469.46 km). The aircraft had to declare an emergency landing after suffering total electrical failure, and had only 200 lb (90 kg) of fuel remaining. (BBC)
• Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon undergoes emergency surgery due to digestive problems. His condition is critical. (Reuters)
• Tokelau begins voting in a referendum to determine whether it remains a New Zealand territory, or becomes a state in free association with New Zealand. (NZ Herald)
• In the United States, it has been revealed that the White House knew of extensive flooding of New Orleans in the hours after Hurricane Katrina struck last August. Michael Brown, the former head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), told a Senate Committee that he informed the White House of the seriousness of the situation at a time when even the media were not fully aware of the extent of the flooding. (ABC)
• Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy:
  • The Danish editor who first published the Muhammad cartoons that sparked global protests has been placed on leave. (ABC)
  • Thousands of people are planning to gather in London on Saturday to rally against the controversial cartoons of the Muhammad. (Channel4)