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Canada's richest man dies at age 82 Kenneth Thomson, Canada's richest man and the 9th wealthiest person in the world according to Forbes's 2005 ranking, died Monday morning at his office in Toronto. The cause of death is reported to be a heart attack. Rhode Island representative Patrick Kennedy pleads guilty to DUI Representative of Rhode Island, Patrick Kennedy has pleaded guilty to driving while under the influence of prescription drugs after he was involved in an early morning car accident in May close to the United States capitol. According to police, Kennedy said he was "headed to the Capitol to make a vote."

Featured story
Large meteorite strikes in Norway A large meteorite struck in Norway slamming into the side of a mountain near the areas of Troms and Finnmark at about 2:05 a.m. on June 9, 2006. Scientists say the explosive force of the meteorite could have been "compared" to the "Hiroshima bomb."

Wikipedia Current Events
Two specimens of Mesozygiella dunlopi, dating to the Early Cretaceous and the oldest known orb-weaver spiders, are discovered in amber. The Islamic Courts Union captures the Somali town Jowhar from the secular warlords of the Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism, one week after taking over Mogadishu. Abu Bakar Bashir is released from prison after serving a 26 month sentence for his role in the 2002 Bali bombing.

Diesel spill in northern Saskatchewan
Early indications are that between 5,000 and 6,000 litres of fuel leaked from a storage tank into a stream leading to Welcome Bay, which is near Wollaston Lake in the northeast part of the province.

The RCMP are still investigating cause of the spill. "We're trying to determine the circumstances around the leak, whether it was an intentional act or whether it was due to a problem with the tank," RCMP spokesperson Sgt. Brian Jones said.

Germany beat Poland and top Group A
Germany beat Poland with an injury time winner from Oliver Neuville to send the host nation almost certainly into the knock-out round of the World Cup, Wednesday.

Poland, who lost their first round match, had hoped for a draw. But a sending off, an incessant German offensive, a couple of strikes against the woodwork and then an injury time winner defeated them. The German fans then cheered the six points that put the team top of Group A.

The Polish tackled furiously but in the 75th minute had the extra handicap of having Radoslaw Sobolewski sent off. He tugged Miroslav Klose from behind earning a second yellow card from the Spanish referee.

It took until two minutes into injury time for the German team to score the decider. This was not for lack of chances. In the first half Klose, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Lukas Podolski had all failed to get shots on target.

Klose might have had three goals in the second half; he missed a cross, had a shot saved and, in the 90th minute, hit the crossbar with a header. Michael Ballack smacked the rebound onto the same piece of Artur Boruc's woodwork.

If playing 10-men helped Klinsmann's team so did his substitutions. He removed the young Germans Poldolski and Schweinsteiger. They had appeared inhibited by the aggressive Polish defence.

Of the three substitutions made, two would combine to score the winner: the experienced Neuville and young sprinter David Odonkor. On 92 minutes Ondonkor was sent down the right wing. He crossed and the ball was met on the bounce by Neuville in front of Artur Boruc.

Pawel Janas's side did not have many chances. On 27 minutes Ireneusz Jelen had an opportunity to set up a goal but chose to shoot. In the second half his long range shot did not trouble Jens Lehmann. Poland now need Costa Rica to take three points from Ecuador on June 15, to have any chance to progress in this competition.

The German team were always dominant in and around the Polish penalty area. They had 58 per cent of ball possession, three times as many shots on goal and six more corner kicks as the Poland side. One reason why was left-back Philipp Lahm; this right-footed player was Fifa's man of the match.

His brilliant movement and passes created chances for the German strikers. Lahm got forward even more in the second half after Sobolewski's sending off; and when Odonkor was brought on to run down the other wing it seemed only a matter of time before one of the combination cracked the Polish defence.

North Korea to test missile that could reach U.S. mainland
South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon says that North Korea is prepared to test an ICBM called Taepodong 2, a missile which is suspected of having a range of 3,500 miles.

A missile with such a range could reach the United States mainland. On Tuesday, Lee Tae-sik, South Korea's ambassador to the United States, confirmed the reports saying that "preparations did appear to be under way."

"If North Korea fires a missile now while the six-party talks remain off and questions are being raised in the international community about the effectiveness of the talks, there is a possibility it will have a seriously negative impact on the resolution of the North Korean nuclear problem," said Ki-moon.

Ki-moon also says that N. Korea should set aside its plans to launch the test missile and return to talks with South Korea, the United States, Japan, Russia and China, on its nuclear program.

However; Tae-sik states that "the signs that [N. Korea] is moving in that direction, yet we cannot rule out the possibility that at the last moment it will change its mind." He also said that the preparations could be "quite worrisome", but also said that the U.S. and other nations should not "make a conclusion" that N. Korea will test the misile.

CNN quoted an anonymous U.S. intelligence official as saying, "[N. Korea] is doing everything you would expect if you are going to launch a missile. There is reason to think they are doing it for show."

According to Alexander Vershbow, the US ambassador to Seoul, the U.S. will respond to the test of the missile with "appropriate measures."

N. Korea last tested a short range missile in 1998 which shot over Japan's mainland and landed into the Pacific Ocean. This will be N. Korea's first long-range test since the nation imposed a "moratorium" in 1999. According to Tae-sik, N. Korea may be abandoning the moratorium in a move to pressure the U.S. into making diplomatic concessions.

N. Korea is currently refusing to hold talks with the 5 nations because of financial sanctions placed on the nation.

Former Irish taoiseach Charles Haughey passes away
The Former Irish Taoiseach Charles J. Haughey passed away on at his home in Kinsealy, County Dublin. He was 80 years old.

Haughey was leader of the Fianna Fail parliamentary party and served three terms as the Taoiseach as well as holding ministerial posts. Widely credited with founding the Celtic Tiger economy, he was never far from controversy with the Arms Crisis and various planning and corruption scandals attributed to him. Tributes were paid to Mr. Haughey by Irish President Mary McAleese, by the current Taoiseach and Fianna Fail leader, Bertie Ahern, the TÃ¡naiste Mary Harney and leaders of several Irish political parties, as well as a tribute from his great adversary of the 1980's, former Fine Gael leader Garret Fitzgerald.

Although no cause was given, Haughey was suffering from prostate cancer. A state funeral will be held on Friday, June 16.

New Zealand's National Party's bill blocked
The National Party has gone over its allocated funding for the past election, because it forgot to include the Goods and Services Tax (GST). The National Party had an allocation of $900,000 but spent more than that. Because of this the National Party tried to get a bill passed so they could get a one off exemption that would allow them to pay the money owed to TVNZ, TV3, Prime, Sky Television and radio stations. However three parties; New Zealand First Maori Party and the Greens blocked this from happening, by one vote, on June 13, 2006.

It is prohibited to go over the allocation of money by the Broadcasting Act.

Winston Peters, head of New Zealand First and Foreign Minister, says "National has already broken the law by using more election advertising than it was entitled to and should just pay up. The law should not be changed to accommodate National's dilemma."

Don Brash, head of the National Party, says that he finds the statements "quite unbelievable".

The National Party has two options, they could lose the amount owed from the next elections budget or break the law and pay.

Saudi Arabia and Tunisia share dramatic draw in Group H
Sixty-six thousand in the Allianz Arena, Munich, saw a dramatic finish to Tunisia and Saudi Arabia's Group H tie.

Saudi Arabia lost 8-0 to Germany in their first game in the World Cup of 2002 but looked more composed against Tunisia, Wednesday, when they overcame a goal deficit to lead before Roger Lemerre's North African team grabbed an injury time equaliser.

Two different styles were evident as Brazilian coach Marcos Paqueta set his Saudi Arabian side up playing a short passing game. Tunisia, nicknamed by fans the Carthage Eagles, were strong on set plays and used long balls to reach striker Zaid Jaizi.

Jaizi missed an opportunity with an early header from a corner but scored after 23 minutes when a set play from the right was not cleared. Jaizi was patient and waited for the ball to drop then kicked it on the volley in controlled sissor motion.

In the first half Saudi Arabia did not test the Tunisian defence as they did in the second when they were able to score twice on the breakaway. Their best shot was on 37 minutes from a Nawaf Al Temyat free kick. Ali Boumnijel saved.

The goal came from the side in the all green strip in the 57th minute from a beautiful sweeping move down the Tunisian left flank. The ball, crossed low into the box, met Yasser Al-Kahtani rushing in at the near post. The striker's deft touch was soon followed by a billowing net high behind Boumnijel.

Though they were vulnerable to high balls into the penalty area Saudi Arabia were disciplined in defense and did not get cautioned in the game. They conceded just six shots at goal of which only the two that were goals were on target; the Saudis themselves achieved double those statistics at the other end.

The 84th minute goal that put Saudi Arabia in the lead was scored by Sami Al Jaber. Two minutes earlier he had joined the action as substitute for the younger Al-Kahtani. One of his first touches was to beat Boumnijel in a one-on-one.

The dramatic finish had four minutes of injury time. In the 91st minute the joint of crossbar and post stopped a deflected Saudi Arabian free kick making the score 3-1.

Then, in the 93rd minute, another long ball found its way to Tunisia's best player, Jaizi. In line with the goal Jaizi chipped to Radhi JaÃ¯di who leaped high and headed powerfully downwards. The ball went underneath Mabrouk Zair's grasp and the score was 2-2.

Miami beats Dallas 98-96 in third game of the NBA Finals
Miami, Florida â The Miami Heat beat the Dallas Mavericks by a score of 98-96 in the third game of the NBA Finals. Dallas leads the series 2-1.

Miami led at half-time by nine points, but Dallas outscored them in the third quarter 34-16.

Dallas held a 89-76 led with 6:30 left in the fourth quarter. A late 17-5 run led by Dwyane Wade put Miami back into the game. With 9.3 seconds left, Miami's Gary Payton hit the game winning shot. Dirk Nowitzki had a chance to tie the game for Dallas, but failed to hit his freethrow.

Miami head coach, Pat Riley, said "The basketball gods were good to us tonight, that's all you can say."

The next game will be June 15, 2006 in Miami. Dallas needs to win two more games and Miami needs to win three more games to become the 2006 NBA champions.

Spain beat Ukraine 4-0 in Group H
Spain won their first World Cup Group H match against Ukraine 4-0 in Leipzig, Wednesday.

Luis Aragones might like to play the yellow shirted Ukrainians again because after only one quarter of the match it looked effectively over as a contest. And a red card against the Ukraine team just after half-time helped the red shirts complete the rout with two more goals.

Spain, with only Carlos Puyol in the starting line up from a team that reached the 2002 World Cup quarter finals, had been unbeaten in 21 matches under Aragones. Their superb form showed in a great understanding between players with passes meeting runs all over the pitch.

After four minutes Ukraine's long free kick from the left touchline found Vladimir Yezerskiy but he could not direct his header toward goal. Ukraine got flagged offside six times in the first period.

Then two goals came in a five minute spell for Spain. On 13 minutes Marcos Senna drove a shot from long range which was tipped over by Oleksandr Shovkovskyi. The resulting corner was met by a stooping Xabi Alonso at the near post who deflected the ball into the net.

Four minutes later a free kick was awarded against Andriy Rusol 30 yards from goal. The tall, dark-haired Ukrainian number six stood in the wall and promptly received the shot from David Villa on the side of his head. Shovkovskyi, in mid-flight, could not adjust his position to stop the ball going in the net.

Two goals down Ukraine did not get another chance on goal until the second half when substitute Sergi Rebrov shot over on 72 minutes. Illustrating a one-sided game, Spain had 10 shots on target to Ukraine's two.

David Villa, with Luis Garcia and Fernando Torres was one of Spain's three forwards. He got his second goal on 47 minutes when he fired low to Shovkovskyi's right from the penalty spot.

Vladyslav Vashchuk was sent off for his foul on Torres; as the Athletico Madrid striker burst through the Ukrainian defence the referee judged Vaschuk had pulled on the Spainard's shorts.

The first three goals were from still ball set-ups but the brilliance of the fourth showed the team work, movement and accurate passing that characterised the play of the Spainish.

Curly-haired Puyol charged from the half-way line and gave the ball off in field; he kept running and received the ball again near the penalty area; headed into the path of Torres, and the 22-year-old shot right footed past Shovkovskyi.

In the 77th minute 19-year-old Cesc Fabregas was given a substitute appearance in the game. The midfield player became Spain's youngest player to play at a World Cup.

Four goals down, Ukrainian coach Oleg Blokhin was shown on television smiling. He might reflect that Tunisia and Saudia Arabia, the two other teams in Group H, had not been highly touted as potential World Cup winners.

Canada's richest man dies at age 82
Kenneth Thomson, Canada's richest man and the 9th wealthiest person in the world according to Forbes's 2005 ranking, died Monday morning at his office in Toronto. The cause of death is reported to be a heart attack.

He was the former Thomson Corp. chairman and the company's controlling shareholder. He made most of his money by making his father's trans-Atlantic newspaper (The Globe and Mail) into one of the world's leading resources for electronic information and data.

Mr. Thomson is survived by his wife, Marilyn; three sons, David, who succeeded him as chairman of Thomson in 2002, Peter and Taylor; and a sister, Audrey Campbell. A memorial service will be held on a date that has yet to be announced.

Alleged spiritual leader of Jemaah Islamiyah freed from prison
Abu Bakar Bashir, 68, the accused spiritual leader of Jemaah Islamiyah a militant islamic organisation with links to Al-Qaeda has been released from an Indonesian prison after serving his 25 month sentence.

Bashir was convicted for conspiracy, in connection with the 2002 Bali bombing. Bashir was accused of playing a pivotal role in planning the attack which killed 202 people, 88 of whom were from Australia. The Judges ruled that he was not involved in the attacks, but had approved of it.

Bashir has denied having links to JI or any other militant organisation and has denied all charges against him. He has also condemned the Bali bombing as a "brutal act".

As Bashir was released from Cipinang prison in Jakarta, he was greeted by hundreds of supporters who yelled "God is great". Bashir gave a brief address to his supporters, thanking Allah for his freedom, vowing to uphold "Islamic sharia (law)" and said Indonesia needed to the law and was shrouded "in darkness".

The Australian government has expressed its disappointment at the release of Mr Bashir. Speaking before the Australian House of Representatives, Prime Minister John Howard said "I want them (the Indonesian government) to understand from me, on behalf of the Government, how extremely disappointed, even distressed, millions of Australians will be at the release of Abu Bakar Bashir," he said.

"Many Australians will see that particular outcome, although a product of the Indonesian justice system, as an extremely disappointing result."

Australia's foreign minister, Alexander Downer assured the families of those killed in the attacks that the government shares their pain. "We ... accept the decisions of the Indonesian courts, but we are deeply disappointed with that release today and we share the pain with those families that suffered so much as a result of the Bali bombing," Mr Downer said.

The United States has also expressed dismay at Bashir's release. Speaking in Jakarta, US embassy spokesman Max Kwak said "we were deeply disappointed that a person convicted of a sinister conspiracy was given such a short prison sentence".

Muhammad Hikam, an Indonesian politician claimed Bashir would have got a longer term if Indonesia was given access to Riduan Isamuddin Hambali by the United States who have him imprisoned. Hambali is believed to be mastermind of the Bali bombings and is alleged to have links to Bashir.

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Roethlisberger upgraded to fair condition
On Tuesday, NFL quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was upgraded to fair condition at Pittsburgh's Mercy Hospital. The extent of his injuries is now known. Roethlisberger lost two teeth and chipped others, suffered a concussion, a broken upper and lower jaw, a broken nose, broken facial bone, a 9 inch laceration to the back of his head, and road rash injuries to his knees which thankfully do not extend to the joints. Police confirmed that Roethlisberger was riding without a helmet and additionally, did not have a Pennsylvania motorcycle license; he had a learner's permit which expired March 29, 2006. Given this fact, Roethlisberger was in fact legally obligated to wear a helmet in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Steelers officials and Roethlisberger's agent, Leigh Steinberg, confirmed that Ben had received a letter last year from team representatives warning him that parts of his contract might be affected if he were to be injured while riding a motorcycle. The letter was apparently sent in order to both put the team on solid legal footing were a major accident to occur, and apprise Ben of the risks he is taking by riding a motorcycle.

Records kept by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation indicate that 180 helmet-wearing motorcyclists died in wrecks in 2004 and 2005 in Pennsylvania. In the same period, 157 helmet-free bikers died in wrecks.

Beazley gaining office would threaten Australia's economy: Treasurer
Australian treasurer, Peter Costello (Higgins, Liberal) told parliament on Tuesday that the greatest threat to Australia's economy would be for opposition leader Kim Beazley (Brand, Labor) to gain office.

Mr Costello said that the Australian economy would suffer with Mr Beazley at the helm. "The greatest threat to the Australian economy domestically... wouldbe the election of the Leader of the Opposition," said the treasurer.

"I can think of nothing that could be worse for the Australian economy than Kim Beazley being in a position of influence."

Mr Costello told the House of Representatives that despite unemployment dropping below five percent last week, Mr Beazley made no comment on the matter. Mr Costello referred to a statement made about the oppositon leader in The Australian newspaper which said "Beazley is the leaf blower of Australian politicsâlots of noise but all that comes out is hot air."

The treasurer went on to say that Mr Beazley is "not an economic four-cylinder leaf blower,"

"He is a V8 turbocharged double-exhaust leaf blower. There is no end to the leaf blowing and the hot air that comes out as a consequence."

Mr Costello said Labor's proposed changes to the government's controversial industrial relations laws (known as Workchoices) would harm the economy. Costello defended his government's IR reforms saying that countries around the world were moving to make their labour markets more flexible.

The treasurer warned that Labor's proposed changes would return industrial relations in Australia to the 20th and 19th centuries.

Today in History
1215 - King John of England put his seal to the Magna Carta.

1389 - In the Battle of Kosovo, Turks defeated Serbs and Bosnians.

1752 - Benjamin Franklin conducted an experiment to prove that lightning is electricity by flying a kite in a thunderstorm.

1904 - The General Slocum burned in New York's East River, killing over 1,000 people.

1954 - The Union of European Football Associations was founded in Basel, Switzerland.

Quote of the Day

"Responsibility's like a string we can only see the middle of. Both ends are out of sight."
~ William McFee

Word of the Day

poobah; n
A person holding multiple offices or positions of power, all at the same time.

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