May 25, 2005

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[edit] May 25 2005 (Wednesday)

• Human Rights:
  • Amnesty International releases its annual Human Rights report for the year 2004. Amnesty Report
  • Human Rights Watch releases a report accusing the FBI of misconduct in the illegal detention and torture of two American citizens. (NYTimes)
• Elections in Suriname: General elections are underway in Suriname. Likely winner could be former dictator and drug smuggler, Dési Bouterse. (Scoop)
• The American Family Association, a Christian group, ends its nine-year boycott of the Walt Disney Company but continues to boycott Kmart and Abercrombie & Fitch and the book One of the Guys by Robert Clark Young. [1]
• Voyager 1, the most distant man-made object, has entered the heliosheath and is on the cusp of leaving the Solar System and entering the interstellar medium. (BBC)
• The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development predicts that economic growth will slow a bit in the industrialised world this year to an annual rate of 2.6 percent. The OECD's report blames rising energy costs and economic problems in Europe for the slowdown. (VOA News), (The Telegraph)
• The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, the longest oil pipeline in the world, begins operations today, with an opening ceremony in Azerbaijan. (BBC)
• Elections in Egypt: Egyptians vote in a referendum on a constitutional amendment allowing multi-candidate presidential elections while opposition groups call for a boycott, saying that requirements for candidates are too hard and still favour the ruling National Democratic Party. (Egypt Election DAily News) (Al-Jazeera) (Khaleej Times) (Bloomberg) (Reuters)
• Soledad Alvear, former Chilean foreign minister, withdraws her presidential candidacy and supports Michelle Bachelet. (MercoPress) (BBC)
• An ETA car bomb explodes near Madrid, Spain after a warning call. (EITB24) (Scotsman)
• In Guinea-Bissau, an armed group of men led by former President Kumba Ialá briefly occupies the presidential palace. The ousted president claims that he is still in charge. (BBC)
• At Atatürk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul, Liverpool F.C. scores three goals in six minutes to tie the game and after extra-time goes on to defeat AC Milan 3-2 in a penalty shootout to win its first UEFA Champions League title since 1984. Goals from Steven Gerard, Vladmir Smicer and Xabi Alonso levelled he game in the second half.* In Russia, a 10.00 AM explosion in a power substation causes a power outage that cuts electricity from Moscow and four surrounding regions. Government blames Unified Energy System and the Prosecutor General's Office opens an investigation for "criminal negligence". UES CEO Anatoly Chubais accepts responsibility. Energy minister Viktor Khristenko states that the power cuts have nothing to do with terrorism. (Moscow Times) (RIA Novosti) (IHT)
• Accused Canadian serial killer Robert Pickton is charged with a total of 27 murders (CTV) (National Post) (Reuters Canada) (New Criminologist)
• In Panama, police has clashed for three days with demonstrators that protest new pension reforms of president Martín Torrijos (Reuters AlertNet)
• In Bolivia, Commander-in-chief of Bolivian army, Luis Aranda, refutes claims that military is planning a coup [] (Bloomberg) (Reuters AlertNet) (BBC)
• NATO soldiers raid the home of son of Radovan Karadžić but fail to apprehend him. (FENA) (BBC) (Reuters AlertNet)
• Slovenian government charges former communist leader Mitja Ribičič of genocide when he was a Yugoslavian security chief after World War II (BBC) (Reuters AlertNet)
• In Haiti, former prime minister Yvon Neptune is formally charged with political killings in 2004. He has been in a hunger strike. (Caribbean Net News) (Jamaica Observer) (BBC)