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14 US soldiers dead after helicopter crash in Iraq At least 14 United States troops, four crew and 10 passengers, were killed in Tikrit, Iraq when their UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter crashed. 11-year-old boy dies after being shot in Liverpool An 11-year-old boy has died after being shot in Liverpool, U.K. . An eyewitness said a teenager, believed to be male, on a BMX bicycle fired three shots at the boy and his friends from approximately 30 metres away, one hitting the victim in the neck.

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Scottish archaeology student discovers 5,000 year old chewing gum in Finland An archeology student from Scotland has discovered a 5,000 year old piece of chewing gum on a dig in Finland.

Wikipedia Current Events
Top British tennis player Tim Henman has confirmed he will retire from the sport after this year's Davis Cup in Croatia. The Supreme Court of Pakistan issues a ruling allowing former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his brother Shahbaz Sharif to return to Pakistan. Officials in Ohio declare a state of emergency in nine counties as a result of flooding. Two people are killed in Ermera, East Timor in another outbreak of political violence. The South African Communist Party launches an investigation into what happened to a political donation of 500,000 rand allegedly made in 2002. The European Union lifts a ban on the export of British livestock, meat and dairy products imposed after a recent foot and mouth disease outbreak in Surrey. MySpace and MTV join forces to let candidates in the 2008 United States presidential election hold online webcasts with young people. At least 25 people are killed, 22 arrested and five abducted as suspected Al Qaeda in Iraq militants attack a Sunni mosque in Baquba, Iraq. Japanese political activist Yoshihiro Tanjo is charged with intimidation for cutting off his little finger and sending it to the Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe over Shinzo's refusal to visit the Yasukuni shrine to commemorate Japan's World War II dead. Hurricane Dean is downgraded to a tropical depression over Mexico after killing 20 people in the Caribbean. Two youths aged 18 and 14 are arrested in Liverpool, England on suspicion of shooting dead an 11-year-old boy in Croxteth. More than 1200 Ford workers in Victoria, Australia are stood down due to an industrial dispute over unpaid entitlements owed to workers in a Ford supplier. Vendors selling puffer fish meat as salmon has led to 15 deaths and 115 people being sickened in Thailand over the past three years. U.S. Customs and U.S. Navy officials seized a submarine-like vessel filled with $352 million worth of cocaine off the Guatemalan coast.

Two arrests made over Croxteth shooting
Two teenagers, aged 14 and 18, have been arrested on suspicion of the murder of an 11-year-old boy. The boy, identified by detectives as Rhys Jones, was shot last night in the Croxteth area of Liverpool, on his way home from playing football, by a hooded youth. The police are expecting to make further arrests during the week.

Merseyside Police have said the youths, both males, are also from the Croxteth area. They have since been bailed, and the police are now looking for a person aged 13 to 15-years-old. There is some speculation that a gang known as the "Croxteth Crew" may have been involved.

Bernard Hogan-Howe, Merseyside Police Chief Constable, has made it clear that the police are still considering other leads, saying: "There have been two arrests in this case, but that doesn't prove anything. The principal thing I need to get over to the public is we need your help, and we are not yet at all certain as to who committed this crime." He went on to state the police are looking for both the killer and the person who provided the weapon.

PM Gordon Brown has described the incident as a "heinous crime that shocked the whole of the country", while Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said she is "shocked and saddened to hear about this tragic shooting". They both joined calls for the local community to cooperate fully with the police.

The leader of Liverpool City Council, Warren Bradley, has called for "a summit consisting of community leaders, police, emergency services and reformed criminals of all major cities to be held with the home secretary to find solutions to the issues we all face". He says gun crime "is an issue that all major cities face".

Utah mine co-owner: this will be the last chance for the missing miners
Today rescue workers will drill a sixth hole into the collapsed Utah mine in a final effort to rescue the trapped miners who have been missing since August 6.

The previous holes, which have been dug as deep as 1,500 feet underground at the Crandall Canyon Mine, have not produced any signs of the trapped miners.

Bob Murray, the mine's co-owner, said this sixth attempt to reach the miners will be the last. Murray also said that this last attempt will bring him closure. However, he realizes the families may never find the closure they are calling for. A spokesman for the families said they do not want the rescue efforts to stop until they find the men. One family member said, "He doesn't realize that what we have now is hope, and maybe our family members are not alive, but we want our bodies out...We want proper burials."

Mining will not be resumed in the area, Murray said.

Salvage operation begins to retrieve black boxes from Adam Air Flight 574
A salvage ship owned and operated by the United States firm Phoenix International has arrived in the Makassar port on the island of Sulawesi, Indonesia. It intends to recover the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder (colectively refered to as "black boxes") from the wreckage of Adam Air Flight 574, which crashed into the ocean nearby early on new year's day, killing all 102 on board.

Adam Air spokesman Danke Drajat told reporters that the company would first survey the area, and that "If their studies show it is possible to do so, they will immediately try to retrieve the black boxes," adding, "it is our moral commitment to have the black box retrieved." He also said the survey alone would take several days.

A US navy vessel, the Mary Sears, sent to the scene of the plane's disappearance had located the black boxes within weeks of the disaster, along with the rest of the wreckage, but recovery was significantly delayed because of a dispute over who would foot the bill for their recovery. With the recorders at a depth of approximately 1,700 meters (1 mile), salvage operations could cost as much as US$6 million (€4.45 million).

Experts have predicted that the recovery could be further complicated by strong currents in the area, which may have buried the recorders in sediment or else dislodged them from their original location.

According to one crew member, the recovery vessel - the Eas - has a sixteen member crew, and carries a mini-submarine which can reach depths of 6,000 meters (20,000 feet), as well as being equipped with sonar and deep sea cameras.

The crash is one of three this year which, in combination, have caused all Indonesian airlines to be added to the list of air carriers banned in the EU. The other two are Adam Air Flight 172 and Garuda Indonesia Flight 200.

The cause of the Boeing 737s loss currently remains a mystery. It is known that while cruising at 33,000 feet (10,000 meters) the aircraft encountered a storm immediately before it's disappearance, and, based on the distribution of wreckage on the seabed, it is also known that the aircraft did not experience an in-flight breakup.

2007 FIFA U-17 World Cup: Ghana vs. Germany
Germany have qualified for a place in the Round of 16 at the 2007 FIFA U-17 World Cup by defeating Ghana 3-2 in their 2nd Group F match at the Cheonan Sports Complex today.

The Germans put the Africans under pressure from the first whistle and were rewarded for their positive attitude by a 5th minute goal from Sascha Bigalke. The outstanding playmaker Bayern Munich's Toni Kroos increased Germany's lead in the 12th minute when his free-kick from 20 yards out 1st hit the post before bouncing in off Ghana keeper Joseph Addo. Kroos made it 3-0 for Germany in the 27th minute after a through ball from Bigalke.

Ransford Osei and Sadick Adams got a goal a piece in the 52nd minute and 53rd minute respectively to make it 3-2..

Germany's Konstantin Rausch was shown a red card in the 2nd half, but they held on for the win.

Heiko Herrlich (GER), Germany coach: "We were magnificent in the first half. We could have scored five or six against a team of the calibre of Ghana. We just had that little bit of luck in the end, but even when we were down to ten men, the boys fought for each other. When you look at the game as a whole, I think it was a more than deserved win, despite the tight finish. Toni Kroos led the team superbly and took on more responsibility when we went down to ten men. He is a true captain."

Sellas Tetteh Teivi (GHA), Ghana coach: "Of course we are disappointed. In the second half, we showed the form we were aiming for in the first half. We definitely need to talk about that and change it for the future. We have to win our last game against Colombia now. If we get a second win we'll definitely reach the Round of 16."

Toni Kroos (GER), Germany midfielder: "We played fantastic football in the first 20 minutes and created a lot of chances. After getting into such a good position, we were then focusing on not conceding a goal. The two goals right at the start of the second half threw us off our game, but we'd got back on track again by the end."

Sadick Adams (GHA), Ghana forward: "We are very disappointed. We were determined to win this game, but we couldn't find our form in the first half. It was a great comeback in the second half, but it just wasn't enough. We really need to win our last game now. We have certainly learned a lot from this match."

Scottish archaeology student discovers 5,000 year old chewing gum in Finland
An archaeology student from Scotland has discovered a 5,000 year old piece of chewing gum on a dig in Finland.

Sarah Pickin, a 23-year-old part-time barmaid studying archaeology with Derby University, discovered the gum during a dig in the north-west of the country. The gum is a lump of birch bark tar, and still has visible tooth marks. It has been sent away for analysis, and radio carbon dating is predicted to show the gum to be 5,000 years old.

Ms Pickin said of her discovery "I had heard of ancient chewing gum being found before on previous European digs so when I found it in the trench, it was the first thing that crossed my mind.

"However, it looks just like a dirty piece of modern chewing gum with no smell or taste and I was also worried it could have been a bit of fossilised poo, so I asked a few of the other students to make sure.

"Thankfully they agreed that it was birch-bark gum and it's now away to be carbon dated and have the teeth marks analysed before it goes on display."

It will be displayed in Finland’s Kierikki centre, which is devoted to finds from the area. Sarah Pickin also discovered a piece of an amber ring, a slate arrowhead and a hair needle. All the finds date to the Neolithic period.

It is believed the gum was chewed as an aid against gum disease, as it contains antiseptics.

Euro 2008 Qualification: Finland defeats Kazakhstan 2-1 in Euro 2008 qualifier
Finland has defeated Kazakhstan 2-1 in a home qualifying game for Euro 2008 championship. 13,000 people attended the match, which was refereed by Hungarian Viktor Kassai.

Finland had taken the lead as early as the 13th minute with a goal from Alexei Eremenko. This was equalised by Kazakhstan in the 23rd minute by a header from Dimitriy Byakov, taking Finland goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen by surprise.

Finland continued to have the main possession of the ball, but were continually thwarted by Kazakhstan goalkeeper David Loriya, only scoring again in the 59th minute. The goal came from Tottenham midfielder Teemu Tainio.

The win gives Finland, who are playing in group A, a total of 17 points, bringing them two behind group leaders Poland.

U.S. heat wave kills at least 50
Record-high temperatures are being reported across parts of the Midwest and Southern United States. However, the extreme heat has turned deadly for many. Over 50 deaths are being blamed on the heat, with the latest deaths coming from Alabama and Missouri.

In Kentucky, a fire broke out at an electricity substation, forcing the Tennessee Valley Authority to request major electrical consumers to reduce their power use.

In Nashville, yesterday's high temperature reached 102ºF. Nashville has seen 13 days this month where the high temperature reached above 100ºF.

The extreme heat wave is now expected to move into Ohio, a state where very heavy rainfall caused evacuations and considerable structural damage. The National Weather Service predicts heat indexes to soar as high as 104 degrees.

New fossils from 10 million year old ape found in Ethiopia
Researchers say that new, 10 million year old fossils found in Ethiopia, prove that the theory that humans may have evolved from a species of great apes 8 million years ago, may not be true, but that humans may have split from apes as long as 10.5 million years ago.

At least nine fossilized teeth, one canine tooth and 8 molars, of a previously unknown species of apes found in Africa were discovered by a team of researchers from Ethiopia and Japan who then compared the 3-D make up of the teeth to other fossils that date back as far as 8 million years and found that the fossils are likely a "direct ancestor" of apes currently living in Africa and that the new ape fossils were that of a species of gorilla who ate mostly plants high in fiber.

Current fossils and research say that the evolutionary split from apes to humans occurred at least 8 million years ago. The new fossils say that the split may have happened as long as 10.5 million years ago.

"Based on this fossil, that means the split is much earlier than has been anticipated by the molecular evidence. That means everything has to be put back," said researcher at the Rift Valley Research Service in Ethiopia and a co-author of the study, Berhane Asfaw.

Despite the finds, other researchers are not convinced that the findings are correct.

"It is stretching the evidence to base a time scale for the evolution of the great apes on this new fossil. These structures appear on at least three independent lineages of apes, including gorillas, and they could relate to a dietary shift rather than indicating a new genetic trait," said a Professor at the London Natural History Museum in the United Kingdom, Peter Andrews who also added, "but the fossil evidence for the evolution of our closest living relatives, the great apes, is almost non-existent.

Researchers have named the newly discovered species Cororapithecus abyssinicus whose remains were found in the Afar Region of Ethiopia, the same place where the remains of Lucy were discovered in 1974.

Virgin opens up service in New Zealand
Virgin Blue has announced that it is to start offering domestic flights within New Zealand starting November. The third commercial flight company in New Zealand will start by focusing on New Zealand's three major cities, Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.

Budget airline, Pacific Blue Airlines, which is run by Virgin Blue, already runs flights in New Zealand to international destinations. And, despite only major cities currently being serviced, smaller cities and towns will be considered on November 15.

The service is set to start on November 15, with a special deal currently available of NZ$39 for all services per ticket for one way. This deal will be available until the latest of September 16. The normal online air fares range from $69 for Auckland to Wellington and Christchurch to Wellington. These fares are 22% cheaper than those offered by Air New Zealand. An air fare for Auckland to Christchurch is $10 more expensive at $79.

Virgin Blue Chief Executive Officer, Brett Godfrey, said they expect to face a few hard years while the new services are starting. "We expect actually to lose a little bit as we find our feet but our loss will be the travelling public's gain."

Sir Richard Branson, Chairman of the Virgin Group, said that he was "absolutely delighted" that Pacific Blue is set to enter the New Zealand domestic market, "bringing its unmistakable fun, flair and affordability to travel within New Zealand." It was first rumoured that when Sir Branson was in New Zealand earlier this year that a domestic service was to begin, "[Sir Richard Branson] promised that domestic services were something of interest to us under the right circumstances and at the right time."

Godfrey describes the new services as a major investment and a long term commitment. "The time is right to bring some much needed competition to the existing duopolistic market."

Due to Pacific Blue starting a domestic service, New Zealand's flag carrier, Air New Zealand, has lost 8.6% on the share market in total this week. The day before Pacific Blue's announcement, Air New Zealand lost $179 million to due to share value drop. Head of research at Forsyth Barr, Rob Mercer, said, "Air New Zealand has fallen $1 billion in value in the last couple of months, yet their earnings have got stronger."

Mercer says, "Call me an optimist but competition can sometimes be a good thing. And if someone really puts in a product that stimulates the market and grows it, it can actually be a good thing, and Air New Zealand being the incumbent can actually be quite a beneficiary out of that environment."

The Chief Executive of the Travel Agents Association, Paul Yeo, describes New Zealand's current airfares as too high, due to lack of competition. Yeo now expects this to change with Air New Zealand and Qantas matching Pacific Blues prices.

Air New Zealand did in fact drop its cheapest airfares to match those offered by Pacific Blue, effective September 1.

For the new flights, Pacific Blue is set to add two new Boeing 737-800 to their existing fleet of 53 Boeing 737s.

Australian aviation analyst Peter Harbison said Air New Zealand could come under further pressure on domestic routes with Singapore-based budget airline Tiger Airways expected to cross the Tasman by the middle of next year. Australian aviation analyst, Peter Harbison, expects Singaporean airline, Tiger Airways, to be operating in New Zealand by mid-2008.

Hurricane Dean makes second landfall; weakens to category 1 storm
Hurricane Dean hit the coast of Mexico's mainland today as a category 2 hurricane, with winds sustained at 100 mph.

Dean moved across the Bay of Campeche, eyeing over 100 oil platforms and several oil ports in the center of the country's oil industry. Over 14,000 workers in the area had to be evacuated.

The eye of the storm hit Tecolutla, a major tourist town. Over 10,000 people were evacuated.

Currently, there are no reports of deaths or serious injuries following the landfall in Mexico. However, the storm caused major damage to some areas with very heavy rains shutting down many roadways and flooding many homes.

Overall Dean is being blamed for at least 20 deaths in the Carribean.

The storm has since been downgraded to category 1 status.

Off Festival 2007 takes place in Poland
Between August 17 and August 19, 2007 in Słupna Park in Mysłowice, Poland, the second edition of Off Festival had place. Art director of the edition was Artur Rojek, the leader of Myslovitz band.

Beside concerts, the main attraction of the festival, Indie Label plants, hosted by Philippe Petit and Markus Detmer, took place along with Children's Happiness Feast (Święto Radości Dzieci) with 400 children playing and the Second International Volunteer Work Expo (II Międzynarodowe Targi Wolontariatu). At the event came around 8 thousand people. Along the VIPs there was former Prime Minister of Poland, Jerzy Buzek reading the storybooks for children. On the volunteer work expo came around 200 people from various organizations.

Around 40 bands have performed on three stages. The largest scene was placed by the swimming pool. Following bands have performed their music on that stage:

On Friday - Blue Raincoat, Lao Che, Dezerter, Ścianka, Low Freqency in Stereo and Architecture in Helsinki

On Saturday - 19 Wiosen, O.S.T.R, Tymon & Transistors, Bassisters Orchestra, Pogodno, Nosowska i Electrelane. Kasia Nosowska had singing the tracks from her new album UniSexBlues.

On the forest scene, near the park entrance, following band have been performing:

On Friday - Old Time Radio, Pink Freud, Generał Stillwell, Starzy Singers, Dick4Dick i Piano Magic

On Saturday - Komety, The Complainer, Kobiety, Cool Kids Of Death, Kapela ze Wsi Warszawa, Radian and iLiKETRAiNS.

On the smaller "Machina scene" following music groups have been performing:

On Friday - Punk.Discorporation, Muariolanza, Phillipe Petit Dj set, Strings of Consciousness, PumaJaw and Port Royal

On Saturday - Dj Hrd & Dj Chine vs. Jd Video, 100nka, The Syntetic, Mietall Waluś Magazine and Markus Detmer dj Set.

MLB: Rangers score 30 runs against Orioles in first game of doubleheader
The Texas Rangers rounded the bases at a dizzying pace and became the first team in 110 years to score 30 runs in a game, setting an American League record Wednesday in a 30-3 rout of the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards. It was the ninth time a major league team scored 30 runs, the first since the Chicago Colts set the major league mark in a 36-7 rout of Louisville in a National League game on June 28, 1897, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Hours after announcing manager Dave Trembley would return for the 2008 season, the Orioles absorbed the most lopsided loss in franchise history and set a team record for hits allowed in a game (29). The Rangers set a team record for runs scored in a doubleheader -- before the second game even started. Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Ramon Vasquez, the bottom two batters in Texas' lineup, each homered twice and finished with seven RBIs.

Texas had 57 at-bats, tying the AL record for a nine-inning game set by Milwaukee in its 1992 rout of Toronto. The Rangers added five points to their team batting average, raising it to .258. They finished with more runs than outs made (27). Baltimore went from seventh in the AL with a 4.39 ERA to 11th at 4.60.

Wes Littleton entered the game in relief for Texas in the last of the seventh, with his team already ahead 14-3. He earned a save by "pitching effectively for at least three innings", shutting out the Orioles in the final three innings while his teammates scored another 16 insurance runs.

In game two of the doubleheader series, the Rangers again defeated the Orioles, but by a score of 9-7.

2007 European football friendly match: England vs. Germany
Germany came from behind to defeat England at new Wembley Stadium in a friendly match.

Frank Lampard opened the scoring in the 9th minute to give himself his first international goal in 12 months.

Schalke's Kevin Kuranyi scored Germany's equaliser with what the media is labeling as a "miserable mistake" by Tottenham Hotspurs' Goalkeeper Paul Robinson in the 26th minute. Christian Pander, in his first appearance for Germany, scored the winner in the 40th minute with a 25 yard shot.

The German fans shouted in English There's only one team at Wembley! to taunt the home fans.

England	1	Germany	2

11-year-old boy dies after being shot in Liverpool
An 11-year-old boy has died after being shot in the car park of the Fir Tree pub in the Croxteth area of Liverpool, shortly after 1930 BST. An eyewitness, who had been drinking outside the pub at the time, said the boy was one of three playing football in the car park when a teenager, believed to be male, on a BMX bicycle fired three shots at the group from approximately 30 metres away, one hitting the victim in the neck. The other shots missed the boys, one hitting a car. The boy's mother was called to the scene as people came out of the pub to help him. Other witnesses have suggested the incident may be gang-related.

A spokesman for North West Ambulance Service said: "We treated an 11-year-old with serious gunshot wounds." He added the boy was taken to Alder Hey Children's Hospital, but police later confirmed he had died. Officers have sealed off the scene, including a neighbouring street of shops. There have currently been no arrests in connection with the shooting.

In an appeal to the local community to help catch the killer, Merseyside Police Assistant Chief Constable Simon Byrne said: "Someone out there knows who put the gun in his hand and I want your help to get the community to turn that gunman in tonight. This is quite an awful crime, quite senseless, and the community holds the clue to solving this crime quickly. You can only imagine the heartache of the family that's been ripped apart."

Local councillor Rose Bailey, who lives nearby, also appealed for people with information to come forward, saying: "It sends shockwaves through the community of Croxteth and really it must be devastating. To think your young son is out playing football and then to get a call to say he's been shot, I really don't know as a parent how you would handle that."

The area around the pub was made a "designated area" by police last year, meaning officers could disperse groups and move people away from the area.

The incident is another in a growing list of shootings of minors, many gang-related, in the UK's major cities in 2007.

Today in History
79 – The volcano Mount Vesuvius east of Naples, Italy erupted, burying the cities of Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Stabiae; and at least 1,500 people with volcanic ash.

1572 – The St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre, a wave of Catholic mob violence against the Huguenots, began, lasting for several month and resulting in an estimated tens of thousands deaths across France.

1942 – World War II: The United States aircraft carrier Saratoga sunk the Japanese aircraft carrier Ryūjō at the Battle of the Eastern Solomons near Santa Isabel, Solomon Islands, helping to lead to an Allied powers victory.

2006 – The International Astronomical Union redefined the term "planet", reclassifying Pluto as a dwarf planet.

August 24 is Independence Day in Ukraine (1991).

Quote of the Day

It is clear that there is no classification of the Universe that is not arbitrary and full of conjectures. The reason for this is very simple: we do not know what kind of thing the universe is.
~ Jorge Luis Borges

Word of the Day

cheval de frise; n

(military) An obstacle made of wood with spikes, for use against attacking cavalry.

Protective row of spikes or broken glass set into the top of a wall and used to prevent intrusion.

(fashion) The jagged edge of 18th century women's clothing.

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