Voters on the Greek side of the Mediterranean nation of Cyprus voted against unification of the island with the Turkish side. Cyprus, which has been divided for 30 years, held two votes about unification, one for the Turks and the other for the Greeks. The results of the Turkish vote favored unification with 60 percent of the vote, but among Greeks, nearly 75 percent of the voters have opposed the plan. The vote came ahead of Cyprus' entry in to the European Union, and the results mean that the Greek portion of the island will be admitted into the EU while the Turkish part will not.

A collision involving two trains carrying combustible materials resulted in a massive explosion that killed 154 people and injured hundreds of others, according to North Korean sources. Nearly half of those killed are believed to have been students at a school near the site of the explosion. The cause of the collision is thought to be a problem with the railway's overhead wires, and North Korean officials blame 'human error' during the loading process that caused the materials to explode. In the immediate aftermath of the explosion, North Korea cut off access to all external media, and only admitted to the explosion after Chinese news sources broke the story.

A series of suicide attacks on Thai security outposts have left 107 people, primarily the attackers, dead. The attacks, the work of Islamic militants in the embattled southern region, are believed to be retribution for the recent arrest of several people for setting fire to several schools. Security forces are bracing for a second wave of attacks and are keeping troops on alert.

After the death of Macedonian President Boris Trajkovski, who died in a plane crash in February, voters elected Prime Minister Branki Crvenkovski the country's new president. Sasko Kedev, the other candidate in the race, called the election "the worst election fraud in the history of Macedonia." Charging that Crvenkovski is not the legitimate president of Macedonia, Kedev has appealed the election results to the European Parliament and the United States Congress.

As gunfire and explosions erupted in the Syrian capital of Damascus, the United States and the United Kingdom temporarily closed their embassies in the city. The turbulence took place in the city's diplomatic quarter, and left two suspected terrorists, a police officer and one passerby dead. Investigations into the violence led security officers to a hidden cache of weapons, including a rocket-propelled grenade launcher.