May 24, 2006 (Wednesday)
- The United Kingdom government announces plans to overhaul the pension system. (BBC)
- The 5th Season of the talent search American Idol comes to a close with a two hour finale, and Taylor Hicks being crowned the winner.
- The Kuomintang announces that it plans to cease publishing the Central Daily News, the oldest Chinese language newspaper in existence, by the end of this month. (ChinaPost)
- The World Health Organization is investigating several bird flu deaths for a possible person-to-person transmission chain. (Reuters)
- The ABC News claims that Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Dennis Hastert is under investigation for corruption, but the Justice Department issues a denial. (ABC) (UPI) Hastert denies knowledge of any FBI investigation, and jointly issues a statement with Democratic House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi demanding that the FBI return documents found in a court ordered search of Democratic Representative Bill Jefferson, based on the constitutional principle of separation of powers. (ABC News)
- Over 100 people are feared dead following heavy rains and flooding in northern Thailand. (BBC) (Irrawaddy News)
- Four Russian soldiers die during fighting in Chechnya. (BBC) (MosNews)
- Disgruntled former soldiers and government troops clash in East Timor, leading to at least two deaths in Dili. Australians evacuate as violence escalates. (CNN), (Daily Telegraph) As requested by the East Timor government, at least four countries, Australia, New Zealand, Portugal and Malaysia, are sending in troops in an effort to maintain order. (CNN)
- Namah Services, the free web portal was found by Pradeep Chowdhary.
- A large fire breaks out at the cargo terminal of Atatürk International Airport in Istanbul, Turkey, forcing the suspension of air traffic. (BBC)
- President of Mexico Vicente Fox begins a tour of the United States in Salt Lake City by criticizing a proposed border wall. This comes amid the U.S. Senate passing a sweeping immigration bill. (AP via Yahoo!) (AP) (LA Times).