August 31, 2006 (Thursday)
- The US contractor Lockheed Martin is chosen over an alliance of Northrop Grumman and Boeing to build the new spacecraft Orion. Orion was previously known as the Crew Exploration Vehicle. Orion will go eventually to the moon by 2014. MSNBC
- The United Nations Security Council approves resolution 1706, which is meant to resolve the Darfur conflict.(Business Day) Sudan has rejected the resolution. (Globe and Mail)
- The annual development report released by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development criticizes Japan and Germany for not doing enough to stabilize international trade by buying imports. (BBC News)
- Bristol-Myers Squibb and Sanofi-Aventis win a court ruling in the US banning Apotex from selling a generic version of Plavix, the world's second best-selling medicine. Apotex had won over 50 per cent of all US prescriptions since the sale of the drug began on August 8. (Bloomberg)
- Iraqi insurgency
- Warren Jeffs waives his extradition hearing, and will be extradited to Washington County, Utah, where he will first face charges as an accomplice to bigamy and rape in arranging polygamous marriages between older men and underage girls. He also faces similar charges in Arizona, and federal charges in connection with his flight from justice. (CNN)
- Israeli police, at the request of the British Embassy in Tel Aviv, captured a man who broke in to the Embassy and demanded asylum, threatening to kill himself if his demands were not met. (BBC) (BBC)
- The future of UK model manufacturer Airfix, founded in 1939, is in doubt after the financial collapse of parent company Humbrol. Company administrators declare they wish to sell the Airfix brand. (BBC)
- Syria welcomes Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, who said yesterday that the two countries will "build a new world" free of U.S. domination and vowed to one day "dig the grave of U.S. imperialism." State Department spokesman Tom Casey retorts that Chávez should remind Damascus about its international obligations to prevent Hezbollah from receiving weapons. (AP)
- Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the President of Iran, stated that Iran had the right to use nuclear technology on the day that a United Nations Security Council deadline expires. President Ahmadinejad said: "They should know that the Iranian nation will not yield to pressure and will not let its rights be trampled on." (CNN)
- Norwegian police announce they have recovered the Edvard Munch paintings The Scream and Madonna, stolen in 2004. (BBC)
- A magnitude 4.8 earthquake affected Japan just south of Tokyo. Shinkansen service was suspended for 15 minutes but no damage was reported. (Bloomberg)(Mainichi)[permanent dead link]