November 7 2006 in the news.....
The world's driest inhabited continent was in the grip of the worst drought in 1,000 years, a river management expert told Australia's political leaders. Prime Minster John Howard said "You say worst drought in a thousand years, I don't think anybody really knows that," adding that he was not a scientist. "It's a very bad drought." The river management expert did try to consult historians in the Aboriginal community to verify the claim, but a tribal elder held up a boomerang and said "this is all we were able to do in the last thousand years white man."
Nicaragua's former Marxist guerrilla-president Daniel Ortega is almost certain to complete a long climb back to power on Tuesday with an election win that could upset his old Cold War enemy, the United States. Ortega is not bitter about what happened throughout the 1980's though, he has backed a trade deal with the United States, and would also like to see a return of the Lakers-Celtics rivalry, Michael Jackson back at the top of the music charts, and some of that 'Miami Vice style' on the streets of Nicaragua.
As the hours count down to the election results in the US, Democrats put leaders like former President Bill Clinton, former Vice President Al Gore and Illinois Sen. Barack Obama on the campaign trail to drum up votes in the final hours. At a rally in the northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, Clinton accused Republican leaders of putting tax cuts ahead of spending on security and social programs. Democratic Senator John Kerry chimed in too by adding "And they put a bunch of American idiots with guns into Iraq."
Two days after he was sentenced to death for crimes against humanity in the town of Dujail in 1982, former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein was back in court for his second trial Tuesday. Outside court a spokesman for Saddam said "He is hoping to grab a lesser sentence out of this one. We're looking for a lethal injection this time."
Spain's state prosecutor is calling for a record 270,000 years in jail for 29 people due to stand trial in February for the Madrid train bombings which killed 191 people, a judicial source said. Some of the seven main suspects could face prison terms of up to 40,000 years if these sentences are handed down - and with good behaviour the suspects could be out of jail by the next ice age.
Actor Eric Bana made a promise to Steve Irwin that he would play his role in a movie about the famed Crocodile Hunter. Other roles remain undecided as of now but it is reported that feminist Germaine Greer has put her hand up to play the stingray.
Nicaragua's former Marxist guerrilla-president Daniel Ortega is almost certain to complete a long climb back to power on Tuesday with an election win that could upset his old Cold War enemy, the United States. Ortega is not bitter about what happened throughout the 1980's though, he has backed a trade deal with the United States, and would also like to see a return of the Lakers-Celtics rivalry, Michael Jackson back at the top of the music charts, and some of that 'Miami Vice style' on the streets of Nicaragua.
As the hours count down to the election results in the US, Democrats put leaders like former President Bill Clinton, former Vice President Al Gore and Illinois Sen. Barack Obama on the campaign trail to drum up votes in the final hours. At a rally in the northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, Clinton accused Republican leaders of putting tax cuts ahead of spending on security and social programs. Democratic Senator John Kerry chimed in too by adding "And they put a bunch of American idiots with guns into Iraq."
Two days after he was sentenced to death for crimes against humanity in the town of Dujail in 1982, former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein was back in court for his second trial Tuesday. Outside court a spokesman for Saddam said "He is hoping to grab a lesser sentence out of this one. We're looking for a lethal injection this time."
Spain's state prosecutor is calling for a record 270,000 years in jail for 29 people due to stand trial in February for the Madrid train bombings which killed 191 people, a judicial source said. Some of the seven main suspects could face prison terms of up to 40,000 years if these sentences are handed down - and with good behaviour the suspects could be out of jail by the next ice age.
Actor Eric Bana made a promise to Steve Irwin that he would play his role in a movie about the famed Crocodile Hunter. Other roles remain undecided as of now but it is reported that feminist Germaine Greer has put her hand up to play the stingray.
