Three Christian Indonesian girls are beheaded as they walk through a cocoaplantation near a private Christian School in Central Sulawesi. The motive for the attacks is unclear, but the area is noted for episodes of religious violence. (BBC)
As the relief operation of 2005 Kashmir earthquake is facing great difficulties in reaching victims due to bad weather, mountainous terrain, landslides and blocked roads, Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz makes an appeal to millions of survivors in the mountains to leave their villages and come down to the valleys and cities for shelter before the start of winter in about three weeks. (Bloomberg)
Former Northern IrishfootballerGeorge Best's medical condition worsens in an intensive care unit at a private English hospital, as he is reportedly suffering from serious internal bleeding. (BBC News)
For the first time in Iranian history, Indian soldiers killed fighting for the British in Iran have been commemorated in an official ceremony in Tehran. (BBC)
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad quotes the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who called for the destruction of Israel, calling it a "disgraceful blot" that should be "wiped off the map". Ahmadinejad made the reference to 3,000 students during a speech at the "World without Zionism" conference. (Reuters)(AP)
Marine Corps Air Station Futenma is to be relocated from the south island of Okinawa to the main island, affecting thousands of U.S. Marines. Protests from residents, environmental groups, local businessmen and politicians on both sides are likely to ensue. The move is partially due to the rape of a local Okinawa girl, a helicopter crash into a university campus in Ginowan last year, and racial tensions between locals and Marines. (AP)(BBC)
The "Al-Tawhid trial" in Düsseldorf, Germany results in sentences between five and eight years against the defendants, four Palestinian men charged with plotting attacks on Jewish installations in Germany on the orders of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
The British Government, after several days of debating, confirms its plans to ban smoking in public places in England with the exemption of pubs and clubs not serving food. (BBC)
A Wal-Mart internal memorandum determines that benefits costs are unsustainable, driven by an aging work force. A recommendation is to shift to more part time associates to lower health care enrollment. (WalmartWatch)(NYT)
What may be the first pyramid in Europe has been discovered in Bosnia. (BBC)FENA
An Irish government-commissioned report, carried out by a retired Supreme Court judge, condemns two Irish bishops, the Roman Catholic Church, the Garda Siochána (police) and health authorities for their failure to deal with clerical sex abuse over 40 years in the Diocese of Ferns (Wexford). The report suggested that 10% of priests in the diocese sexually abused children. (RTÉ)(BBC)
BBC World Service announces that it will launch an Arabic language TV news channel in 2007. Radio services in ten languages, mainly Central European but including Kazakh and Thai, will be abandoned in 2006 to release funding for the new service. (BBC)
The Swedish telecoms manufacturer Ericsson has bought most of the troubled British telecoms manufacturer Marconi. (Guardian)(BBC)
The Government of Nepal seized equipment used by the Kantipur FM radio station for the normal transmission of news at Bhedetar, Dhankuta. Dhankuta lies in the eastern part of Nepal.(Kantipuronline)
Avian influenza is detected in Croatia. Six of twelve swans were infected by a H5 type of virus. The swans were found near Orahovica. It is suspected that they came to Croatia from a still unknown place in the European Union.
Saadoun Sughaiyer al-Janabi, the defense lawyer of Awad Hamed al-Bandar in the Al-Dujail trial, is found dead of gunshot wounds near a Baghdad mosque, after having been kidnapped on Thursday evening by unknown assailants. AP
In Portsmouth, UK, the parents of the brain-damaged baby Charlotte Wyatt have won a partial victory in their legal battle to have her resuscitated by doctors if she falls seriously ill. (BBC)
An earthquake measuring 5.9 on the moment magnitude scale hits the Turkish city of İzmir, injuring 15 people and causing one fatal heart attack. This is the fourth strong tremor this week. (AFP)(AP)(USGS)
Two weeks after the Kashmir earthquake death toll reaches 79,000, the UN estimates that 500,000 people are cut off from relief aid. The UN appeals to the international community for more aid, warning that tens of thousands of people could die if aid does not reach them before the harsh winter. (Guardian)(USA Today)
Conflict in Afghanistan: Several US soldiers are caught setting fire to dead Taliban fighters, in defiance of Muslim beliefs and practices, in scenes broadcast on Afghan TV. (BBC)
Guinea's government announces that municipal elections will be held on 18 December. (Reuters)
Hurricane Wilma goes through one of the most intense rapid intensification processes in hurricane history to become the third Category 5 storm of 2005. Its central pressure falls to 882 mb (hPa), becoming the most intense hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic. To date, the 2005 Atlantic Basin Hurricane Season has seen 21 storms of tropical storm strength or greater and 12 hurricanes, both of which tie the records set in 1933 and 1969, respectively. (NHC)(AP/YahooNews)
The independent electoral commission in Iraq issues a statement saying that statistical irregularities in the constitution ratification referendum on October 15, 2005 require that the balloting be audited, which will delay the announcement of the final count. According to the New York Times, "The statement made no mention of the possibility of fraud." though according to the BBC "Iraq's independent electoral commission says statistical irregularities in last week's referendum could indicate fraud." (BBC), (New York Times)(mirror), (MTV)
Spinnaker Tower in Portsmouth is formally opened. Five years overdue and massively over budget, the tower offers the highest public vantage point in the UK. Project manager David Greenhalgh becomes trapped in the tower's external glass lift for over an hour at the opening. (BBC). (BBC)
Authorities closed one of two highway tunnels carrying traffic under Baltimore, Maryland's harbor following a threat to detonate explosive filled vehicles.
2 Umrah pilgrims die as the ship they were returning in crashed into a cargo ship in the Suez Canal. Initial reports of 20 fatalities proved unfounded, though over 90 people were injured. (BBC)
Japanese prime minister Junichiro Koizumi visits the Yasukuni shrine which honors Japan's war dead including 14 Class A war criminals of World War II. This is Koizumi's fifth visit to Yasukuni since taking office in 2001. (CNN)
More than 4 million people vote in Italy for the primaries of the center left to elect the person that should represent the main antagonist to the current Prime MinisterSilvio Berlusconi. (La Repubblica)
Jean Ziegler, a Human rights investigator and senior United Nations official, has accused the US and occupying forces of "using hunger and deprivation of water as a weapon of war against the civilian population" in Iraq. (BBC)
The Iraqi people go to the polls to vote on whether to approve the proposed constitution, amidst heavy security. (AP)
Crown Princess Mary of Denmark gives birth to her first child, a 3.5 kg boy, at 0157 local time (2357 UTC Friday). The prince, likely to be named Christian, is second in line of succession to Europe's oldest crown. (Reuters)
The Brazilian government extends a state of emergency to cover the whole of Amazonas, the country's largest state, following a severe drought which has seen many rivers and lakes dry up. (BBC)
Zimbabwean state-owned media announces that the Zimbabwean government briefly detained the American ambassador, on Monday, October 10. The United States considers the matter closed following a formal apology. (Wash. Times)
2005 Kashmir earthquake: SOS Children have been appointed temporary custodian of unaccompanied children. SOS will run the family tracing database and look after children in their emergency centre in Islamabad and in other six villages in Kashmir. (SOS)
Futures industry regulators, brokerages, and futures exchanges in the United States engage in furious talks over how to avoid, or how to minimize the consequences of, the impending failure of Refco, a global commodities broker-dealer. (MSN Money)
Security concern over Google maps - India's President has warned that the Google map service could help terrorists by providing satellite photos of potential targets.
Former President of Ecuador, Lucio Gutiérrez Borbúa, deposed by the Ecuadorian military on April 20, 1995, after days of civil disturbances in Quito, returns voluntarily to Ecuador and is immediately locked in a maximum security prison cell in Quito, on charges of attempting to subvert national security, after having repeatedly stated to the international media that he continues to be the legitimate President of the Republic of Ecuador. (El Universo, Guayaquil) (article in Spanish).
The United Nations is to evacuate some staff from Sudan's West Darfur state because of an increase in violence. U.N. officials said that the violence had hindered aid access to 650,000 refugees in the region. (Reuters)
ABC investigative reporter Brian Ross reports that security at nuclear reactors on U.S. college campuses is easily compromised. (ABC)(BadgerHerald)
Shenzhou 6 could be brought back one day earlier than planned due to weather conditions at the landing area and the physical condition of the astronauts. The People's Republic of China's second human spaceflight was originally planned for the mission to last five days. (SpaceDaily)
Scores of suspected Chechenseparatist rebels attack the southern Russian city of Nalchik in a coordinated operation against Russian security forces, killing dozens of people. BBC 85 killed and map: (Washington Post)
Six armed Somalipirateshijack the MV Miltzow, a freighter that is carrying United Nations food aid. After its cargo of 850 tonnes of food aid was offloaded in the port of Merka, the ship was forced to sail down the coast to Barawa before being released two days later. (Reuters)
Syria's interior minister, Ghazi Kanaan, who was head of the country's military intelligence in neighboring Lebanon for nearly 20 years, has committed suicide. (CNN)
