Apurímac Region, demanding the resignation of PresidentAlejandro Toledo. Four police officers die in a shootout, another dozen police are taken as hostages, and a state of emergency is declared in the region. (BBC)
Washington Post and Reuters report that the US government is preparing to keep suspected terrorists in detention without charge for life. (Reuters)[permanent dead link
Movimiento Etnocacerista who took over the town of Andahuaylas and its police station first say they intend to give up their weapons, then retract, saying the government had reneged on a surrender deal. (BBC)(Bloomberg)(New York Times)
In Uganda, a seven-week ceasefire between the government and the Lord's Resistance Army ends with the rebel ambush of government troops near the town of Gulu. PresidentYoweri Museveni promises to increase military action against the rebels. (BBC)
Ethiopian opposition groups demonstrate against the government's plan to reopen border talks with Eritrea. (IOL)(BBC)
The United Nations accepts Singapore's offer to set up a UN Regional Coordination Centre to coordinate relief efforts to stricken areas. This centre will see an influx of UN staff and it is likely to be a long-term infrastructure to help reconstruction efforts. John Budd, UNICEF head of communications in Indonesia, said, "The Singapore government's military (SAF) response to the emergency in Aceh has been nothing less than outstanding. It has done a phenomenal job; all the aid agencies and the UN are very grateful for the enormous and fast response the military in Singapore brought to bear on this disaster." (CNA)
Three U.S. Presidents – George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George H. W. Bush – make a joint appeal urging Americans to aid the tsunamis' victims. (BBC) Bush makes a presidential proclamation to fly the U.S. flag at half staff from 3-7 Jan in honor of the tsunami victims. (whitehouse.gov)
The United Kingdom's Metropolitan Police announces that they have arrested a suspect in a hoax case where Britons missing relatives or friends in the earthquake received e-mail messages informing them that the person had died. The messages came from the improbably fake address [email protected]. (Telegraph)Archived 2005-12-08 at the Wayback Machine(BBC)(London Free Press)
Ali al-Haidri is assassinated in a roadside ambush in the Iraqi capital. (BBC)
Israeli–Palestinian conflict: Seven Palestinians are killed when an Israeli tank opens fire on farmland in the northern Gaza Strip. Palestinian presidential candidate and Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas responds to the deaths with a strong verbal attack on the "Zionist enemy" Israel. Six of the dead were from the same family, including an 11-year-old boy. All the dead were civilians younger than 18. (The Guardian)(BBC)(BBC)
In
Movimiento Etnocacerista, turns himself in, thereby ending the hostage crisis. (Reuters)(BBC)
AIDS, which kills about 600 people daily in South Africa. His action is viewed as being critical of his successor, Thabo Mbeki, who has denied a link between HIV and AIDS. (ABC), (BBC)
Congress was interrupted by a formal challenge to an entire state's Electoral votes. The challenge of Ohio's Electoral votes, brought by U.S. Representative Stephanie Tubbs Jones and U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer, lead to a 2-hour debate. The challenge was rejected by a vote of 1-74 (Yea-Nay) by the Senate and by a vote of 31-267 in the House; the electoral vote for the presidency is officially certified as 286 for RepublicanGeorge W. Bush, 251 for DemocratJohn Kerry, and 1 for Democrat John Edwards, leading to Bush's reelection. (CNN)
Tracy Perkins, forced him and his cousin to jump into the Tigris and laughed as his relative was swept to his death. (BBC)
USD 4 billion (€ 3 billion). Nearly 150,000 people have been confirmed dead in the four hardest hit nations - Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka and Thailand. (CNA)
Japan sends its largest military deployment since World War II to tsunami-hit countries, with around 1,000 troops on standby. (CNA)
The
Group of Seven Industrialised Nations (G7) agrees to a moratorium on the debt repayments of countries worst affected by the tsunamis in Asia, sources at the HM Treasury said. (CNA)
One Israeli is killed and four are wounded in a Palestinian shooting attack in the north West Bank. The al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades claim responsibility. (Haaretz)
The People's Republic of China jails five people for eight years for selling fake infant formula, which has caused the deaths of at least 13 infants and illness in 189. (Reuters Alertnet)
The Ukrainian Supreme Court rejects Viktor Yanukovych's appeal against the electoral commission's decision that he lost the presidential election. (BBC)(Reuters)
al Qaeda links has set up a relief camp on Indonesia's Sumatra island, raising concerns in the U.S. and Australia that it could stir up sentiment against their troops who are also assisting the aid effort. The Laskar Mujahidin group has posted a sign at its camp that reads (in English) "Islamic Law Enforcement". (CNN)
Conflict in Iraq
:
aggravated assault for forcing two Iraqi civilians to leap from a bridge into the River Tigris on 3 January 2004. (BBC)
The
F-16 jet dropped a 500-pound "precision-guided" bomb on the wrong target. The army claims five civilians were killed; 14 died, say locals. (BBC)
assembly election, saying that it cannot happen if Sunnis cannot fairly participate. President of Iran Mohammad Khatami says his country opposes a postponement because the elections will facilitate "the exit of occupation forces". (Boston Globe)(BBC)
The Iraqi interior ministry reports that U.S. soldiers mistakenly shot and killed two Iraqi policemen and two civilians after an attack on their convoy.
Gunmen kill the deputy police chief of the city of Samarra, Major Muhammad Muzaffar. (BBC)
The
U.S. military frees about 230 prisoners it was holding at Abu Ghraib. Around 7,400 remain in custody. (BBC)
Arab–Israeli conflict: A French officer, working for the United Nations, is killed by shelling in the disputed Shebaa Farms area of Southern Lebanon. Israeli planes and artillery had been firing on suspected Hezbollah positions in the area in retaliation for Hezbollah's attack which killed an Israeli officer. (BBC)
After a 66% turnout and extended hours, an exit poll shows
Palestinian presidential election with two-thirds of the vote and challenger Mustafa Barghouti getting 19.7%. (AP)(BBC)
Storm winds sweep across northern Europe, leaving at least 13 people dead and millions without electricity. (CNN)(BBC)
In Nairobi, Kenya, a peace treaty is signed between warring factions in the Sudanese civil war, which has claimed over 1.5 million lives in more than 20 years. (BBC)
A smoking ban comes into effect in Italy, prohibiting smoking in public places. It has been reported that some businesses and smokers intend to defy the ban. (Boston Globe)(BBC)
truce between the army and Islamist rebels collapses. Government forces exchange fire with the MILF rebels in Mindanao. The peace talks are still ongoing. (Reuters Alertnet)
Tides of over 2 meters inundate
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake has changed tidal patterns. BBC
Chinese Communist leader Zhao Ziyang is hospitalized, but in stable condition, according to the People's Republic of China government. The announcement came after rumors spread that he had died. (BBC)
United States intelligence officials confirm that its search for
weapons of mass destruction in Iraq ended last month. The claim that Iraq had an active WMD program was the White House's key justification for the 2003 invasion of Iraq. (CNN)(BBC)(Reuters)
Guantanamo Bay and terror suspects detained without trial in the UK referring to the detentions without trial as "unacceptable" and "distressing". (BBC)
Gaza strip, one of whom was driving a pregnant neighbour to hospital. (BBC)
Record temperatures across Europe make many animals awake early from hibernation. Avalanche alerts are raised to the highest level in Romania and Austria. (CBC)
Conflict in Iraq: U.S.-led forces in Iraq have destroyed and contaminated precious ancient Babylonian archaeological evidence and sites according to a report by the British Museum. (AFP)(AP)
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon instructs the army to take action against terrorism and Palestinian rocket attacks stating it was to be "without restrictions, I emphasize, without restrictions" following an attack by militants at a Gaza crossing that killed 6 Israelis, which followed several Israeli raids into the West Bank and Gaza which killed dozens of Palestinians. (AP)(The Guardian)
The PLO has called for an end to attacks by Palestinian militant groups against Israelis. (BBC)
sina.com message boards are promptly deleted. (BBC)(BBC)
An
Muslims as had been reported, an Indian Railways inquiry headed by a retired Judge Bannerjee has said. Justice Banerjee said that according to eyewitness accounts people had been cooking in the carriage at the time it caught fire. (BBC)
Investigative reporter Seymour Hersh writes in The New Yorker[2] that sources inside the military and the intelligence communities say the United States administration has indicated its resolve to attack Iran and to conduct broad covert action in many countries. The Pentagon released an official statement saying "Mr. Hersh's article is so riddled with errors of fundamental fact that the credibility of his entire piece is destroyed." (BBC)(DOD)
Stipe Mesic is elected for a second term. (Reuters)
The Airbus A380 is officially launched at a ceremony in the main FrenchAirbus factory in Toulouse. Carrying between 550 and 840 passengers (depending on configuration), the double decker A380 is now the largest passenger airliner in the world. (Reuters)(BBC)
Kobe, Japan begins. About 3,000 government officials, non-governmental experts and other specialists from around the world will discuss the growing trend of people affected by natural disasters. (BBC)(WCDR Official Site)
Law and crime
Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 is blocked from paying his respects at a mourning hall set up in Zhao's Beijing home. Bao's wife, Jiang Zongcao, was injured in the scuffle with plain-clothes police and had to be hospitalized.(Reuters)
Two former
Vidoje Blagojevic and Dragan Jokic, have been convicted and imprisoned for their complicity in the Srebrenica massacre in 1995. (BBC)
Asian tsunami has reached 226,000, following an announcement by Indonesian officials that more than 166,000 had been confirmed dead in their country alone. (BBC)
Muslims from around the world are converging on Mount Arafat for the most important day of the annual Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca. (BBC)
terrorist attacks against Israel and has deployed Security forces along the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel "to prevent violations". (Pravda)(BBC)
IDF forces killed two Palestinian terrorists who threw
People's Republic of China following a million dollar aid deal from the PRC. This brings the number of countries that officially recognize the ROC to 25. (BBC)
In
unrest over the government's new taxes boils over as people burn the government offices and union workers strike, closing ports and shutting down water services. There are reports that the United Kingdom says it will send in 1500 soldiers to maintain peace. BelizetimesBelize channel 5Belize channel 7(Amandala)(Belizean)
Palestinian boy, after he points a toyrifle at them, and kill another 13-year-old boy walking with his parents near Rafah. (BBC)
Iraqi reconstruction: "I think the hundreds of thousands of people who were slaughtered at the time, including anybody who had the gumption to stand up and challenge him, made the situation tougher than I would have thought." (AP)
pillars that represent satan, and eat meat of a newly killed animal, while giving meat to those less fortunate as qurbani. Hajj Celebrations will also be held around the world, but some will wait until Friday. (BBC)
The most senior
Muslims or non-Muslims who live among us, it does not mean shedding blood, terrorising or sending body parts flying." (Chicago Sun-Times)(The Guardian)
The
road signage and regulations to use kilometres per hour (km/h). Speed limits in Northern Ireland remain in miles per hour (mph). (RTÉ)(BBC)
Hamas publishes a document in which it recognizes the 1967 borders. (Haaretz)
B15A, the world's largest iceberg with 160 km length, seems to have run aground in Antarctica, threatening to cut off supply ships for a number of scientific research stations and to starve tens of thousands of penguins. (CBC)
Conflict in Iraq
:
5 Danish troops, including an army intelligence officer, have been charged with mistreating Iraqi prisoners in southern Iraq last year. (BBC)
At least 14 people die in a car bombing at a
Shi'a mosque in Iraq's capital, amid threats of a long war from a key militant. (BBC)
. The Pentagon stated "There is no unit that is directly reportable to the secretary of defense for clandestine operations" and the department "is not attempting to 'bend' statutes to fit desired activities".
The
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, raising over £1.25 million (€1.8 million or $2.4 million), making it the biggest charity concert in the United Kingdom since Live Aid in 1985. (BBC)
The Philadelphia Eagles win the 2004 NFC Championship game
The police chief in the capital of Somalia, Mogadishu, is shot dead. The new Somali government is slated to begin relocating from Kenya on February 1. (BBC)
holocaust memorial is unveiled in Paris. The site will be officially opened on Thursday. (Reuters)(Haaretz)(BBC)
In
Sudan People's Liberation Army John Garang says that the northern government would have to say why the country should stay united. SPLM leadership is to ratify the peace deal with the Khartoum government later. (BBC)
Vijayendra Saraswathi and various other people have been charged for murder. Saraswathi has been released on bail after two months in prison and denies involvement. (NDTV)(BBC)
United Nations World Food Program recommends. U.N. officials say the cut appears temporary and is not unprecedented in a country where fluctuations in public food distribution are regular. (Reuters Alertnet)
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake: Indonesia has again raised its estimate of the number of people killed by December's earthquake and tsunami to 220,000; the total known to have been killed in the region is now 280,000. (BBC)
Guantanamo Bay military base attempted a mass suicide two years ago. (BBC)(BBC video)(CNN)
Conflict in Iraq: The U.S. army expects to keep 120,000 soldiers for at least two more years in Iraq, according to the Army's top operations officer, Lt. Gen. James J. Lovelace. (MSNBC)
After being incarcerated without trial for almost three years, the four remaining British detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Moazzam Begg, Feroz Abbasi, Martin Mubanga and Richard Belmar, are released and flown back to the United Kingdom, where they are immediately arrested by British police. (BBC)(Guardian)
million through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation, to provide vaccines to children in poor countries. This is one of the largest philanthropic donations ever made by a living donor. (Guardian)
Legion of Christ resigns due to his age. The stepping down coincides with the Vatican investigation about claims that he had sexually abused former members. (Reuters)(Newsday)
After being incarcerated without trial for almost three years, the four British detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Moazzam Begg, Feroz Abbasi, Martin Mubanga and Richard Belmar, are free to go home, having been released without charge by the UK government. (BBC)
sport utility vehicle left on the tracks, derailing the train and sending it into another commuter train, killing 11 and injuring at least 100. Juan Manuel Álvarez, who allegedly drove the car to the railway in an attempt to commit suicide, is accused of eleven murders. (CNN)(CNN)
Terri Schiavo alive against the wishes of her husband. Her parents try to remove her husband from the post of her guardian (Washington Times)
In Moscow, students from Guinea-Bissau seize the country's embassy and take the ambassador as a hostage. They protest because they have not received their student's grants for more than a year (BBC)
Conflict in Darfur: Around 100 people have been killed following an Air Raid into the Darfur region of Sudan according to the African Union. Jean Baptiste Natama, the A.U's spokesperson has described it as a "major ceasefire violation". (BBC)
Conflict in Iraq: At least 11 people are known to have died in Iraq today, including at least one United States Marine. (Bloomberg)
French national railways SNCF are severely disrupted by a 24-hour walkout by staff to protest the rape of a ticket inspector on a Toulouse - Cahors train on Tuesday. The inspector had been attempting to charge a man for not having a ticket. A 24-year-old man was later arrested. The strike is due to end at 1500 UTC. (BBC)
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's efforts to restore calm. Sharon pledged to further peace process efforts with Abbas, with a meeting possible within two weeks. (Swiss Info)(Kerala Next)
Michael McManus, author of the U.S.-wide syndicated newspaper column "Ethics & Religion", was paid $10,000 by the DHHS for writing articles promoting a marriage initiative. (Salon)
An Australian recently freed from
Guantanamo Bay claims U.S. agents told him they killed his whole family and strung the interrogation room with faked photos of his wife and children with animals' heads. He also says he was sexually assaulted and menstrual blood had been put all over him before being left alone in a cell with no water. (news.com.au)(yahoo/AP)
National Assembly will create a new constitution, choose a new president and two new vice presidents. Most candidate names on the various party lists remained anonymous. (BBC)Reuters[permanent dead link]News24
Between nine and fifteen
C-130 Hercules transport plane crashes about 40km north west of Baghdad. The cause of the crash is under investigation. (BBC), (CNN)
A firefight leaves 3 suspected
militants and one Kuwaiti police officer dead after security forces raid an alleged hideout in Kuwait City. (BBC)
In eastern Sudan, demonstrators on their way to a meeting with tribal leaders clash with police leaving up to 17 protestors dead. A Sudanese general states that the protestors were looting and inciting violence against his men. Members of eastern tribes, mainly Beja, presented a list of demands which included better representation to the provincial governor three days ago. (BBC)
The deadline passes for the finalization of constituencies for Afghanistan's May 21 parliamentary elections, UN officials say. Though the constituencies were supposed to be set up 120 days before the election, officials have not yet announced an election delay. Violence continues, particularly in the south of the country where the Taliban still remains active. (Pakistan Daily Times)(Reuters)
