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Results of 2005 German federal election Early exit polls suggest that the alliance consisting of chancellor Gerhard Schröder's Socialdemocrats and the Greens has lost its majority but the future government is still uncertain. Iran determined to continue with nuclear program The President of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, announced Saturday the resolve of his country to proceed with the development of nuclear energy. He stated that Iran would not pursue nuclear weapons.

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Australian man allegedly ignites carpet, plastic with static electricity An Australian man reportedly built up over 30,000 Volts of static electricity and ignited carpets, causing three buildings to be evacuated in Warrnambool, Victoria.

Wikipedia Current Events
Federal elections are held in Germany. Provisional results give the CDU/CSU 35.2% of the vote and 219 seats, the SPD 34.3% and 213 seats, FDP 9.8% and 61 seats, Green party 8.1% and 51 seats, and the Left Party 8.7% and 54 seats. There is likely to be several weeks of horse trading to form a workable coalition.

Wikipedia Current Events
Vice Admiral Thad Allen warns that New Orleans drinking water is still unfit to drink. He cautions that mayor Ray Nagin's encouragment of residents outside the French Quarter to return is "extremely problematic" at this time. Insurgents in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad kill three, including the Kurdish Member of Parliament, Faris Hussein. President of Pakistan, Pervez Musharraf, addresses the American Jewish Congress. He broke bread and led salat from the Quran, the first leader of a nation not recognizing Israel to do so. Taliban fighters launch a series of attacks as Afghans vote in the Afghan parliamentary election, 2005, the first legislative elections in Afghanistan in decades.

Science of champagne bubbles explained

Scientists have now explained why carbon dioxide forms particular patterns in the strings of bubbles that rise in champagne glasses.

A team of scientists from universities in France and Brazil have developed a theory that explains the patterns of fine bubbles that arise in a freshly poured glass of champagne.

The bubble patterns evolve as the amount of dissolved carbon dioxide changes in the glass. They start out as strings of bubbles that rise in pairs, then gradually transistion to bubbles in groups of threes, and finally settle down in a clockwork pattern of regularly spaced individual bubbles.

The researchers observed the carbon dioxide bubbles in a champagne glass as they rise from nucleation points on the glass wall. The nucleation points are small defects in the glass that trap tiny vibrating pockets of carbon dioxide. Dissolved gas in the champagne gradually collects in a vibrating bubble inside the defect, causing it to grow and soon expel gas from the defect, forming another bubble that sticks to the outside of the defect. That bubble, in turn, grows as more dissolved carbon dioxide collects inside it and it eventually breaks free of the defect to rise through the champagne. Then the process begins again with a new bubble expelled from the defect, forming rising strings of tiny bubbles.

The patterns are determined by the vibration rate of the gas trapped in the defect and the growth rate of the bubbles outside the defect, which are in turn determined by such things as the pressure of the atmosphere on the surface of the champagne, the champagne temperature, and the size of the nucleation defect in the glass, among other factors.

The work could be important in understanding bubbles formed of dissolved gasses in other situations, such as nitrogen bubbles that grow in the blood vessels of surfacing divers and can cause the bends, and the explosive release of carbon dioxide gas from Cameroon's Lake Nyos that killed over 1800 people in 1986.

Microsoft, Time Warner talk on partnership

World press claim that Microsoft, the world largest software producer, and Time Warner, owner of AOL, are discussing potential partnership in the internet business. Both companies refused to comment. However, AP sources said that discussions were not advanced.

The co-operation would cover switching AOL's search engine from Google to MSN Search. Microsoft could also acquire a part of AOL, to benefit from their instant messenger - AIM, which has about 53 million unique users, comparing to about 29 million for Microsoft's MSN Messenger.

But earlier the companies were not likely to collaborate. In 2003, Microsoft was fined $750 million to Time Warner for using anti-competition solutions to promote its Internet Explorer web browser.

Rupert Murdoch: Blair says BBC "hates America"

Media magnate, Rupert Murdoch, managing director and majority shareholder of News Corporation, claimed that the UK Prime Minister Tony Blair offered his opinions about the BBC in a private conversation with him. According to Murdoch, Blair views BBC World Service broadcasts as portraying America in a negative light.

Murdoch, a long-time critic of the BBC, apparently revealed details of his conversation with the Prime Minister during a session of the Clinton Global Initiative in New York. Murdoch's News Corp. owns Fox News and Sky News, both BBC competitors.

Iran determined to continue with nuclear program

The President of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, announced Saturday the resolve of his country to proceed with the development of nuclear energy. He stated that Iran would not pursue nuclear weapons.

Mr. Ahmadinejad also noted that he was willing to allow international inspection of his program, and reaffirmed his claim of its peaceful nature.

At the UN conference, Mr. Ahmadinejad made clear that he felt that Iran had a right to nuclear energy, and that the nations of world practiced "nuclear apartheid" by refusing to let Iran pursue this course. "We're not going to cave in to the excessive demands of certain powers," he said, refusing to yield to international pressure to halt his country's nuclear course.

He said that talks should be restarted, this time including other nations such as South Africa.

The speech was not in line with what the US and others want for Iran; Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice warned the UN that Iran's nuclear ambitions were dangerous. One British official was quoted as saying "This was an unhelpful speech on which we will now want to consult our partners on the International Atomic Energy Agency board of governors."

The IAEA is slated to begin a discussion on Iran's nuclear program in Vienna on Monday.

Thai media mogul drops newspaper takeover attempt

The head of GMM Grammy in Thailand has backed off from his attempts to take over the leading Thai newspaper, Matichon. In a statement on Friday, Mr Paiboon Damrongchaitham announced he would reduce his stake in the paper from 32% to 12%.

The attempted takeover has drawn widespread criticism from journalists, academics, and democracy activists. Mr Paiboon is known to be close to the Thai Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, and many argued his control of the well-respected paper would have a chilling effect on free speech in the country.

Despite announcing the planned sale of more than a third of his holding in the paper, Mr Paiboon will still have a sufficiently large share to command a place on the board. Academic, Anusorn Srikaew, the dean of Rangsit University’s Faculty of Communication Arts, suggested that GMM Grammy's ambitions had just been shelved and that they would again increase their stake in the paper at some point in the future.

Stolen laptop with personal data of more than 98,000 students recovered

San Francisco police have recovered a laptop stolen on March 11 from the University of California, Berkeley. The laptop was left unattended in the Graduate Division. The laptop contained personal information on 98,369 graduate students and applicants going far back as 1976. This information included names, birth dates, addresses, and Social Security numbers.

The Silicon Valley forensic lab who analyzed the laptop said it had been reformatted making it very difficult to determine if the data had been accessed. "There's nothing in the Police Department investigation that points to any type of identity theft or credit card theft" said university spokeswoman Janet Gilmore.

The laptop was stolen by an unknown woman, who sold the laptop to Shuki Alburati, who sold it to a unsuspecting South Carolina man. Shuki Alburati was arrested on June 8 for receiving stolen property, he has been charged with one misdemeanor count.

He claims he didn't know the laptop, a new IBM X40 worth $2,429, was stolen. He purchased the laptop from the woman who said it wasn't stolen for $300 or $340. A few days later on April 19, he placed the laptop on eBay. The winning bidder was a man in South Carolina who bought the laptop for $1,195.50. Police have said this man is not a suspect. Police were alerted by IBM after the man called IBM for tech support.

Shuki Alburati has pleaded not guilty. He claimed "It's unfair, I didn't know it was stolen." His trial is scheduled for Sept. 30 before Superior Court Judge Michael Gaffey in Oakland. The woman who stole the laptop has not yet been found.

Results of 2005 German federal election

The alliance consisting of chancellor Gerhard Schröder's Social Democrats (SPD) and the Greens has lost its majority. And while Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) got the most votes it performed much worse than projected and the SPD might actually get almost as many seats as them in the Bundestag due to several overhang seats. So who will govern the country for the next four years is completely uncertain. Both Schröder and Merkel reaffirmed their ambitions for the office of chancellor. But neither the CDU and the Free Democrats (FDP) nor SPD and the Greens have a majority of seats in the Bundestag. Officals for the CDU now suggest that a grand coalition with the SPD is the likely option for a future government. But also a SPD-Greens-FDP or a CDU-Greens-FDP coalition seems possible. Winners of this election are the Free Democrats, which gained 3% and The Left, up 4%.

Angela Merkel

CDU/CSU

Angela Merkel, CDU chair: "The campaign is over. We have the mandate to form the government. [...] We will talk with all parties except The Left."

The governor of North Rhine-Westphalia, Jürgen Rüttgers (CDU): "Frankly, I'm disappointed by the result. [...] But whats important is that the red-green alliance has lost its majority."

Markus Söder Markus Söder, CSU: "It's certain. Red-Green is history. Gerhard Schröder is history. [...] The Germans want a political change."

Gerhard Schröder

SPD

Chancellor Gerhard Schröder: "We have achieved something that many journalists have thought to be impossible. I'm proud of the people in our country. [...] Those who wanted a change in the office of chancellor have failed miserably. I feel responsible to ensure that this country will have a stable government under my leadership."

Franz Müntefering, SPD chair: "The result of the CDU is a personal defeat for Mrs. Merkel. [...] The people have confidence in Gerhard Schröder, not Merkel. [...] This result is a huge success for the German Social Democrats."

Berlin mayor Klaus Wowereit, SPD: "The people have said: 'Angela Merkel does not have our trust'. The voters actually wanted Gerhard Schröder as chancellor."

Guido Westerwelle

FDP

Guido Westerwelle, FDP chair: "We are the winners of this day. [...] Now its about a good policy for our country.

Jörg van Essen, FDP: "Our program was crystal clear. That's why the people voted for us."

Joschka Fischer

Greens

Joschka Fischer, Greens: "We have to admit that red-green does not have a majority. But we can also see that Merkel's policy of social coldness also does not have a majority."

Katrin Göring-Eckardt, Greens: "The result confirmed our campaign for a safe environment. [...] We are ready for opposition."

Gregor Gysi

The Left

Lothar Bisky, The Left chair: "We will establish a strong opposition against a policy that discriminates the underprivileged."

Gregor Gysi, The Left: "There is a majority left of the CDU. [...]The people want more social justice, higher wages."

About 61,9 million citizens were eligible to participate in this early election to the 16th German Bundestag. It became necessary because chancellor Schröder deliberatly lost a motion of confidence on July 1st. 3648 candidates are competing for the 598 seats (more in case of overhang seats) in the Bundestag. The voters in the constiuency of Dresden I are not participating in today's election, the death of a candidate there forced a delayed by-election for the 2nd of October.

The all dominating topics of the election campaign were unemployment and the state of the German economy. Other hot issues include a taxation reform and changes to the health insurance system. The race was wide open till the end. Contrary to tradition, all parties concluded their campaigns on Saturday rather than Friday.

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Today in History
1692: Giles Corey, who had refused to enter a plea, was pressed to his death during the Salem witch trials.

1893: New Zealand became the first country to introduce universal suffrage, following the women's suffrage movement led by Kate Sheppard.

1982: ":-)" and ":-(" were first proposed by Scott Fahlman for use as emoticons .

1985: A magnitude-8.1 earthquake devastated Mexico City, killing at least five thousand people and leaving up to 90,000 homeless.

1995: The Unabomber Manifesto was published in The Washington Post and The New York Times, almost three months after it was submitted.

September 19 is Independence Day in Saint Kitts and Nevis (1983), Respect for the Aged Day in Japan (2005), Armed Forces Day in Chile.

Quote of the Day

"There comes a point when a dream becomes reality and reality becomes a dream." ~ Frances Farmer

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