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East Timor Prime Minister resigns The East Timorese Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri has resigned from his position. He cited the growing violence and the threat by President Xanana Gusmao to resign if he did not. Digg 3 released Today, the Internet news site Digg launched the third version of its site, expanding into new news categories.

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Film project aims to raise £1 million to make a Creative Commons-licenced film Matt Hanson aims to raise £1 million to fund the production of a feature-length film which would be distributed freely via the internet under a Creative Commons licence, all funded through 50,000 people each donating £25 to the project, which he's called 'A Swarm of Angels'.

Wikipedia Current Events
Israel has now sent infantry units, elite brigades and armored forces, backed up by tanks, to the Gaza border because of a previous kidnapping of the Israeli solider Gilad Shalit. Electronic IDs will be distributed to all under the age of 12 in Belgium, as a means of protection from child abduction, and will carry a special code in addition to a hotline. President George W. Bush criticises disclosure of program to monitor financial transactions by suspected terrorists as "disgraceful". White House Press Secretary Tony Snow has also stated that news organizations, including the New York Times, should think if "the public's right to know, in some cases, might override somebody's right to live..." Waziristan War: a suicide car bombing kills six Pakistani soldiers. Mari Alkatiri resigns as Prime Minister of East Timor after weeks of political unrest. A suicide bomb in Pannapittya, Sri Lanka kills three people, including Parami Kulkathunga, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Sri Lankan Army. Israel has stated that they will ensure that the Hamas-controlled Palestinian government is "toppled" if their captured soldier, Gilad Shalit, is killed. Three Palestinian groups claiming to hold Shalit, refuse to provide information about his health via the Palestine Red Crescent, unless all jailed Palestinian women and teenagers are released from Israeli prisons. Italians refuse modification in constitution with referendum. "No" beats "Yes" aproximately 61% to 38%, thus keeping the text unchanged. The Northern league had announced retirement from the centre-right opposition coalition if reform was defeated. Votes of Italians living abroad still to be counted

Ukraine win penalty shootout; beat Switzerland for quarter-final spot
Ukraine beat Switzerland 3-0 in a penalty shootout to get to the quarter-finals of the 2006 Fifa World Cup after a goalless deadlock, Monday.

Both teams started the game knowing their round of sixteen opponents were not ranked in the Fifa top 10 and appeared determined not to make mistakes. Tackles went in quick and hard but no side took any risks to win the game.

The statistics suggest Switzerland had more shots but they arguably were the more defensive team as they had started with one forward, Alexander Frei, whereas the Ukraine had three.

Frei's single shot came from a first period freekick which shook Oleksandr Shovkovskyi's lintel. Ukraine's forward men amassed six shots; Andriy Shevchenko went closest on 20 minutes when his diving header came off the ground and onto the crossbar.

Ukraine did not play well and despite their more attack-minded formation were so wasteful with possession that they made statistically fewer chances than the Swiss with their 4-5-1 formation. Switzerland had 55 per cent of the ball in the game.

From a viewer's perspective the Mexican referee Benito Archundia added to a grotty fixture by being lenient with tough challenges. A game with 44 fouls - one every three minutes - might have been livened up with a few men sent off; instead it became a virtual black hole that sucked away two hours of primetime television in Europe.

The single yellow card was awarded on the hour to Tranquillo Barnetta for pushing a Ukrainian player as he ran toward the penalty area.

15 minutes each way for extra-time felt far too long; neither side attacked hard and in the second period there were no shots at all. Switzerland almost got one but Andriy Gusin blocked Marco Streller 12 yards from goal.

Ukraine took and missed the first penalty but won the shootout 3-0 after Artem Milevskiy scored first with a impudent chip down the middle. For the Swiss Barnetta hit the bar, and then Shovkovskyi made two saves low to his right and left to send Ukraine through to a quarter-final match against Italy.

Switzerland was eliminated from World Cup competition without having allowed a goal during the entire tournament (excluding penalty shootout goals), the first time this has happened in World Cup history.

Princess Anne to visit New Zealand
It was announced today that Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal will visit New Zealand next week.

Princess Anne will arrive for a four-day visit on 9 July to take part in the closing sessions of the 2006 inaugural Emerging Pacific Leaders' Dialogue.

The Emerging Pacific Leaders' Dialogue openes June 28 in Brisbane and closes on July 12 in Auckland and includes study tours to 10 Pacific Pacific, about individuals from around the Pacific are taken part in the event.

Princess Anne will deputize for her father, Prince Philip, the patron of the Emerging Pacific Leaders' Dialogue.

Princess Anne will also take part in events with organisations she has taken a personal interest in over the years while she is in New Zealand. These include the Mission to Seafarers, Save the Children New Zealand, the Royal New Zealand Corps of Signals, and Riding for the Disabled

Princess Anne is the only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II.

Italy win with last kick against Australia; into quarter-finals
A Francesco Totti penalty deep in added time put Italy through to the next round of the 2006 Fifa World Cup at the expense of Australia, Monday.

Australia had best of the play in the game but did not fashion the good chances Italy had. Even after they were down to ten men the Azzurri crafted more shots and shots on target than the Socceroos.

The game was played at a slow pace in bright sunshine with both teams willing to attack. Australia had the vast majority of ball possession in the game, a fact that increased after Marco Materazzi was shown a straight red card.

Australia looked to have gained an advantage when Marco Bresciano surged through the Italy defence and Materazzi slid in to trip him up. Though there was an Italy defender on Bresciano's shoulder, Spainish referee Luis Medina Cantelejo seemed to consider the challenge worth more than a single yellow card.

Italy were down to ten men, but Australia did not solve their defence.

Both sides had a number of good opportunities to score but in space in the area hit shots too close to the goalkeepers. The best save of the game was made by Mark Schwarzer from a Luca Toni effort after 20 minutes when he saved with his legs while also allowing for a shot the opposite way.

Guus Hiddink delayed making attacking substitutions against ten-men Italy possibly to consider the impact of extra time on both team's fitness. Hiddink's first, John Aloisi, came on 80 minutes while Marcello Lippi by that time had made three, including the crucial one of Totti five minutes earlier.

In the attack Totti was a straight swap for Alessandro Del Piero, a fresh pair of legs which ensured Italy were a threat on the break right until the end of the regular period of play.

The controversial penalty kick was won by Fabio Grosso five minutes into added time. To the right side of Schwarzer's goal Grosso was obstructed by Lucas Neill. The central defender had fallen to the ground early and Grosso, though not tripped, was impeded and fell over him. Medina awarded the penalty.

Totti, dropped from the game in favour of Del Piero, grinned slightly as he placed the ball on the spot. Firmly struck high to the right of Schwarzer it was the last kick of the game and the Italians celebrated.

The prize was a quarter-final match against the lowest ranked FIFA team in their half of the knock-out tree, Ukraine.

UCC Minister in Church/State controversy in Connecticut
Scott MacLean, an ordained United Church of Christ (UCC) minister and the early morning Newscast Director at WFSB-TV, Channel 3 in Hartford, Connecticut, is running for the Republican nomination as the U.S. Representative in the Connecticut first district, and according to an email sent by MacLean to Republicans in Connecticut, MacLean has been using First Church in Hartland Congregational UCC to hold campaign meetings. In the email, MacLean claims that "the good folks from the First Church in Hartland-Congregational (my home church) have graciously let me use the Parish Hall for campaign meetings".

This is the second church/state issue in Connecticut in the last month involving the United Church of Christ. Americans United for Separation of Church and State is investigating a deal between the Governor of Connecticut, the UCC and the Hartford Civic Center to keep the UCC General Synod in Connecticut. According to a report in the June, 3, 2006 Hartford Courant, the state is "taking care of the $100,000 fee for the Civic Center" for the UCC's General Synod next July.

The MacLean controversy also comes on the heals of a controversy in Ohio where two megachurches are being accused of illegal political activities for their support of Republican candidate for Governor, Ken Blackwell. A group of Columbus clergy, headed by UCC minister Eric Williams, has filed a complaint with the IRS questioning the tax-exempt status of the churches. The complaint alleges that the megachurches have used their facilities for partisan politics.

Production of oil in Iraq reaching new highs
Since Saddam Hussein was toppled in the allied invasion of Iraq in 2003, Iraqi oil production figures have been bleak. However, new signs are being revealed that Iraqi oil output is at its best since the fall of Hussein. The Iraqi oil minister, Hussain al-Shahristani, stated that about 2.5 million barrels of oil are now produced per day, a figure that has seen a rise lately. During the invasion of Iraq, lead by the United States, oil output was at about 2 million barrels per day (bpd) and before the invasion oil production ranged from 3 million to, at its peak, 3.5 million bpd. Mr Shahristani told CNN that he expects Iraqi oil exports to soon target that of the oil giant Saudi Arabia. Citigroup, a large investment and banking firm, stated that, "Shahristani announced that Iraq hoped to be producing 4.3 million bpd by 2010, and perhaps less convincingly, suggested that Iraq would be challenging Saudi Arabia by 2015."

Digg 3.0 released
Today, the Internet news site Digg launched the third version of its site, which sees it expanding from exclusively technology-related news into tech, entertainment, world, business and science news. The site has also had a redesign.

Screenshots of the third version of Digg site have being released to various blogs like TechCrunch and also Valleywag over the last few weeks. Shortly after the first screenshots, AOL launched a social news site similar to Digg, located at a subdomain of Netscape. This received a negative response from the majority of the blogosphere.

Last Thursday a launch party for Digg 3.0 was held at a San Fransisco bar. Kevin Rose gave a preview of the new version of Digg and features to come out in July, 2006. Diggnation video of the launch party is located at http://videos.revision3.com/diggnation/0051/diggnation--0051--2006-06-22--small.m4v.

Pamela Anderson visits Greece, promoting the MAC AIDS Fund
The famous Baywatch star, Pamela Anderson, arrived today in Athens, Greece, taking part in the pan-European promotion of the MAC cosmetic products as well as in the fight against the sprawl of HIV (AIDS). Anderson held a press conference at a central Athens Hotel, during which a 30,000-Euro check issued by the MAC AIDS Fund was handed to Kentro Zois, a Greek non-profit organization. Later today, fans of Pamela Anderson would have the opportunity to meet her in downtown Athens, in the crowded Ermou street, in an organized appearance of the famous actress in a specific store.

Accompanying the Hollywood actress in Athens is Peter Lichtenthal, MAC global general manager. Established in Toronto, Canada, in 1984, MAC soon flourished through cool combinations of recycling strategies and show-biz glitz. The famous Canadian-American actress is committed to the fight against HIV/AIDS, including working with children and supporting associations such as People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. MAC company's cosmetics are known for pushing the limits of the global beauty industry. The same happens when it comes to its efforts in fighting AIDS, for which the company is currently collaborating with Pamela Anderson, organizing a promotion-trip around Europe.

Stem cells used to cure paralysis in rats
Dr. Douglas Kerr, a neurologist at Johns Hopkins University, has recently led a research team to identify enough of the chemicals necessary to regrow motor neurons. They have succeeded in partially restoring paralyzed rats' ability to walk.

These results represent major progress towards curing many nerve-related problems in humans, such as Lou Gehrig's disease and spinal cord injuries. However, Dr. Karr emphasized that it will be many years before any possible treatments for humans become available.

Dr. Naomi Keitman of the National Institutes of Health's neurology division said "They did something that people have been trying to do for at least 30 years and literally hit a brick wall until now."

The research will be published in the Annals of Neurology.

East Timor Prime Minister resigns
The East Timorese Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri has resigned from his position. He cited the growing violence and the threat by President Xanana GusmÃ£o to resign if he did not.

"I am assuming my own share of responsibility for the crisis affecting our country, I am determined not to contribute to any deepening of the crisis," said Mr Alkatiri.

The news of the Prime Minister's imminent departure comes after the the Foreign Minister, Jose Ramos Horta, a former Nobel Peace Prize winner, resigned from his position earlier in the week stating he could not work with Alkatiri. He resigned by means of an SMS text message to Prime Minister Alkatiri.

The resignation was greeted by cheers and drum beats by thousands in celebration. Around 200 buses and vans drove through East Timor's capital city of Dili with their horns sounding. Alkatiri is widely blamed for the violence that erupted in Dili in May.

Israeli soldier taken captive
Following a pre-dawn cross border raid by Palestinians from the Gaza Strip on an Israeli military position near Kerem Shalom on Sunday, two Israeli soldiers and three Palestinian gunmen are dead. There are also a number of Israeli soldiers wounded.

A 19 year old Israeli Soldier, Corporal Gilad Shalit, was taken captive during a raid that gained entry into Israel via a more than 300 metre long tunnel. At least seven Palestinian militants took part in the offensive.

After crossing the border via the tunnel, the militants split into three groups and attacked a watch tower (where three Palestinians were killed and a number of Israeli soldiers wounded by an explosion); an empty Armoured personnel Carrier; and the third group attacked a tank with rocket propelled grenades.

Two Israeli deaths, Lieutenant Hanan Barak, 21, and Staff Sergeant Pavel Slutsker, 20, occurred during the tank attack. The missing soldier was also part of the tank crew. A fourth member of the group was seriously injured.

Israel has responded by limited incursions into the Gaza Strip in the search for their missing soldier who is thought to still be alive following Palestinian Authority announcements. Currently, the militants are reportedly demanding several conditions until they release the presumed Israeli soldier hostages. The release from Israeli jails of women and children is supposedly one of these terms.

Warren Buffett to donate $37 billion (USD) to Bill Gates' charity
Warren Buffett, the billionaire investor of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., announced on June 25 to Fortune magazine that he would be donating $37 billion (USD) to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which is already worth over $29 billion. Buffett, at 75, is one of the richest people on the planet with a fortune estimated at $44 billion. Buffett previously stated that he would give a mass portion of his wealth away to philanthropic purposes in his will when he died.

New Zealand house prices to fall says the Reserve Bank Governor
Reserve Bank of New Zealand Governor, Dr. Alan Bollard, says that the price of New Zealand houses is to fall after a meeting of central bankers at Switzerland.

Dr. Bollard told Bloomberg Television, "house prices will start falling by the end of the year, as higher interest rates start to bite."

He continues, "house price inflation has been a key driver of monetary policy, with prices rising by 69% between 2000 and 2005 according to OECD figures."

Dr. Bollard comments, alongside an OECD report, that New Zealand has the most vulnerable property market in the world.

Australian man arrested after dragging dead possum behind car
Police in the Australian state of New South Wales have arrested a 22-year-old man following an incident in Narrabeen, a Northern suburb of Sydney on Saturday. Police allege the man dragged a dead possum behind his car along a busy Sydney road.

According to a police statement, a number of citizens contacted them after seeing a vehicle driving along the Wakehurst Parkway in Narabeen with what appeared to be an animal tied to the rear. The police were told that the animal was dragged for several hundred metres before breaking free from the rope.

After receiving further information from the public, police found the body of a brush tail possum on the side of the road. Witnesses then provided police with further information that assisted them to locate a 22-year-old male, believed to have been driving the vehicle the possum was tied to.

Police attended a house where the man was staying and took him to Dee Why police station where he was interviewed. Police have stated that another three youths have been interviewed regarding the incident.

The 22 year-old man was charged with offensive conduct and is to appear in court on a later date. Under NSW law, the maximum penalty the man faces is 3 months in jail or an AUD$660 fine.

Police and the RSPCA will conduct an autopsy on the possum, which they expect will confirm that the possum was already dead before being dragged.

Today in History
678 - Saint Agatho began his reign as Pope.

1846 - Irish potato famine: An Irish newspaper ran a story about a new potato blight.

1954 - The world's first large-scale nuclear power plant opened in Obninsk, in the Soviet Union.

1967 - The world's first automatic teller machine was installed in the London Borough of Enfield.

1969 - The Stonewall riots began in New York City, starting the modern gay rights movement.

1979 - Muhammad Ali announced his retirement from boxing.

1986 - The International Court of Justice ruled against the United States in Nicaragua v. United States.

1991 - Yugoslavia launched the Ten-Day War, invading Slovenia two days after that country's declaring independence.

Quote of the Day

"For the future, let all people live in harmony ... Men should be taught and won over by reason, not by blows, insults, and corporal punishments." ~ Julian

Word of the Day

rorqual; n

Any whale with longitudinal skin folds running from below the mouth to the navel, allowing the capacity mouth to expand greatly when feeding.

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