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August 2006
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "August_2006".
August 2006 was a month with thirty-one days. On August 10, an alleged plot to detonate ten airliners over the Atlantic Ocean was revealed to the general public as London Metropolitan Police arrested alleged conspirators. The month-long conflict between Israel and Hezbollah came to a halt after a ceasefire endorsed by the United Nations Security Council went into effect on August 14. The Fields Medal was awarded for the first time since 2002 and the International Astronomical Union redefined the term planet, resulting in Pluto losing its planetary status.
The following events also occurred during the month:
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- El Paso, Texas is hit by heavy, intense rain, causing much flooding and making the Rio Grande overflow its banks, reaching levels not seen in over 50 years. Roads are destroyed, dirt and rocks litter the streets. The West and Northeast sides are most heavily hit. Ciudad Juárez, across the United States-Mexico border is also devastated. (El Paso Times)
- Tropical Storm Chris forms east of the Lesser Antilles, prompting the issuance of tropical storm warnings for ten islands as well as tropical storm watches for Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. (National Hurricane Center)
- There is major outcry in Iran following death of democracy activist Akbar Mohammadi in Evin Prison. Mohammadi was condemned to death for his role in the 1999 student protests at Tehran University. He had been on a hunger strike for more than a week, protesting the refusal by the Islamic Regime to allow him to seek proper medical treatment for life threatening injuries suffered as a result of torture. Reportedly he was beaten severely by prison guards the night of his death.(Persian Journal), (AKI), (Guardian)
- 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict
- A political scandal involving the Parliamentary Secretary for the Japanese Trade Ministry, Satsuki Katayama, and Yamaha Motor Company, accused of illegally exporting a helicopter into China by the trade ministry, deepens. (Asahi Shimbun)
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- The Dechatu River in Ethiopia floods, killing over 200 people.(BBC) (Reuters)
- Fifteen local employees of the French charity organisation Action Against Hunger are found dead in a town in northeastern Sri Lanka at the center of heavy fighting between Tamil rebels and government forces. Both sides have denied involvement in the killings. (BBC)
- The Déby administration of Chad establishes official relations with the People's Republic of China. Chad had recognized the Republic of China (Taiwan) from 1997-2006. Chadian diplomats cited the prospects of greater financial investments and the PRC status in the United Nations Security Council as the principal factors motivating the diplomatic shift. (Bloomberg)
- 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict:
- Lebanon rejects a draft U.N. resolution calling for an end to the conflict between Israel and Hizbollah, insisting it must include an explicit demand for a full Israeli pullout from south Lebanon.(The Hindu)
- In an interview with the German magazine Welt am Sonntag, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert asks European nations, "Where do they get the right to preach to Israel? European countries attacked Kosovo and killed ten thousand civilians. Ten thousand! And none of these countries had to suffer before that from a single rocket. I'm not saying it was wrong to intervene in Kosovo. But please: Don't preach to us about the treatment of civilians." (al Jazeera)
- Israeli troops attack the Lebanese town of Qana claiming to destroy the launchers that launched the missiles at Haifa. (USA Today)
- At least six rockets hit Haifa, Israel; one more rocket hits right outside of Haifa, and others hit the Ma'alot, Carmiel area, and Kiryat Shmona. The death toll is at least three in Haifa and 12 for Northern Israel as a whole. (Ynet News), (AP)
- Reuters has pulled a photograph of Beirut, Lebanon, admitting that it was altered by the photographer, Adnan Hajj, saying "photo editing software was improperly used on this image. A corrected version will immediately follow this advisory. We are sorry for any inconvenience." (Ynet News)(Reuters)
- Hezbollah rockets kill at least ten people in Israel. (Associated Press)
- Israel arrests the Speaker of the Palestinian Parliament, Abdel Aziz Duwaik. Duwaik is a member of Hamas. (ABC News)
- Tomo Križnar, the Slovenian diplomatic envoy and human-rights activist to Sudan, is formally charged with espionage and illegally entering Darfur. Križnar, who admits entering Darfur without the required visa, was arrested in July. (BBC)
- Tajikistan President Emomali Rahmonov began a state visit to India. (IRNA)
- About 800 South Korean Christians left Afghanistan after their planned "peace festival" was called off due to concerns that their presence could spark violence. (Yahoo News)
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