July 1, 2009
(Wednesday)
- TerreStar-1, the largest commercial telecommunication satellite ever built, is successfully launched. (spaceflightnow.com )
- The European Union declares Ireland free of brucellosis, a disease which cost the country millions of euro to eradicate. (RTÉ) (The Irish Times)
- The Organization of American States gives Honduras three days to restore its deposed president, Manuel Zelaya. (The New York Times)
- Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt assumes the rotating presidency over the European Union. (Reuters)
- Officials in Comoros confirm that one passenger from Yemenia Flight 626, a 14-year-old girl, has been found alive. (BBC)
- Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader resigns amidst European Union negotiations standstill and economic crisis. (BBC)
- The Met Office issues a level-3 heat wave alert across London and the South East of England for the first time since June 2006. (BBC)
- Taoiseach Brian Cowen informs Dáil Éireann that Ireland has 11.9% unemployment, with June's growth the slowest rate of increase since January. (RTÉ)
- Three staff from the British Embassy in Tehran, Iran, are released after being detained for allegedly having a role in the post-election protests. (BBC)
- The remains of Jane Deasy are positively identified in the bodies recovered from Air France Flight 447. (RTÉ)
- Up to 30 people are feared dead after the MV Demas Victory capsizes and sinks in choppy Persian Gulf waters off the Qatari capital Doha. (Sky News)