In Lebanon, opposition leaders call for the protest to continue even when the government has resigned. New protests demand that all Syrian troops leave the country (Reuters)[permanent dead link](BBC)
President Saparmurat Niyazov of Turkmenistan orders the closure of all the hospitals in the country except those in the capital, Ashgabat. He also orders the closure of all rural libraries, as he believes that village Turkmen do not read. (BBC)
Israeli Defence Forces discover a Hamas bomb-lab near Jenin in a metal workshop. The lab contains what appeared to be a Qassam rocket in an initial state of production, and large quantities of other materials used for manufacturing bombs. (Haaretz)[permanent dead link
Elizabeth II (which will entitle him to suffix the letters "KBE" to his name but not use the title of "Sir") for his contribution to enterprise in the United Kingdom and his efforts in poverty reduction around the world. (BBC)
Five men who had been sentenced to death for the rape of Mukhtar Mai, who was raped as punishment for another rape falsely attributed to her brother, are acquitted on appeal. A Pakistani tribal council allegedly ordered the rape of Mukhtar Mai in February 2002. (BBC)
The
People's Republic of China issues a report condemning the human rights record of the United States, three days after the United States issued a report condemning China's human rights record. (BBC)(People's Daily)
GlobalFlyer touches down at Salina, Kansas, completing his nonstop around-the-world flight. Fossett had overcome earlier fuel problems to become the first person to achieve the flight solo. (CNN)
M/V Karen Danielsen, crashes into the Western bridge of the Great Belt Bridge of Denmark, 800 m from Funen. All traffic across the bridge stopped, effectively separating Denmark in two. (News24)
Syed Sibte Razi, governor of the northern state Jharkhand after opposition protests. Despite the hung elections in the assembly, the governor has appointed Jharkhand Mukti Morcha party member Shibu Soren as a chief minister. JMM is part of a political alliance backed by the Congress Party(NDTV)(BBC)
Prisoner abuse in Iraq: American troops in Iraq filmed themselves kicking a gravely wounded prisoner in the face and making the arm of a corpse appear to wave, then titled the effort "Ramadi Madness" after the city where it was made. (Reuters via Yahoo)
Former US President George H. W. Bush has praised his successor Bill Clinton after Clinton allowed Bush to sleep on the only Bed in the airplane the pair were using on their tour of tsunami-hit areas. (BBC)
stellar fusion, key participant in development of atomic and hydrogen bombs, outspoken critic of arms race and nuclear testing, died at age 98. wikinewsCornell University News Service
Sony Corporation announces that its current US operations chief, British-born Howard Stringer, is to become its first-ever non-Japanese Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. (Channelnewsasia)
The People's Republic of China warns that it will not tolerate the United States and Japan including Taiwan in any security alliance. (AFP)
3-19 shooting incident: Police in Taiwan says that they have identified the man who shot at president Chen Shui-bian last year. Wife of unemployed man Chen Yi-hsiung says he confessed and committed suicide a few days later (CNA, Taiwan)(Reuters Alertnet)(Bloomberg)(BBC)
International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and resigns. He will travel to The Hague of his own volition, although he maintains his innocence. (Reuters)
foreign minister of Italy has demanded that the U.S. "identify and punish" those responsible for the death of Nicola Calipari, the Italian intelligence agent killed by US soldiers in Iraq. (BBC)
Akhmed Zakayev, envoy of the killed Chechen separatist leader Aslan Maskhadov, states that Maskhadov's death does not end resistance to Russian rule and that his successor would be chosen in a couple of days (Bloomberg)(BBC)
Iraqi police discover the bullet-riddled and/or headless bodies of 41 people at two sites, one near the Syrian border, the other just south of Baghdad. (AP)
Israeli Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz and Palestinian head of the PNA Mahmoud Abbas have not agreed upon giving Jericho and Tulkarm to Palestinian security control, as early reports suggested, but talks continue. (Haaretz)(BBC)
In Israel, an official report has revealed that Israeli state bodies have been diverting funds from state projects to fund the establishment of illegal
Talia Sasson has recommended that criminal investigations be launched. (BBC)
Hartebeestfontein gold mine south of Johannesburg and traps 40 miners undersground. One miner is killed and 23 injured. Medics and volunteer miners rescue them in a 12-hour rescue operation (IOL)(Reuters)(BBC)
Party of Unity and Progress. Journalists and students welcome sacking of Sampil because of his handling of an alleged assassination attempt against the president in January. (Reuters)(BBC)
Prime Minister of Lebanon and asks him to form a new government, less than two weeks after Karami resigned in the face of anti-Syrian protests. (BBC)
K9 dog, the troops bulldozed his house, crushing him to death. (BBC)
The
Tung Chee Hwa, announces he is to resign. He blames his poor health for the decision, while some believe that he may have been dismissed by the Chinese government. (Yahoo! Hong Kong)(BBC)
16 people die following an explosion in a mine in the Shanxi province of China. (IOL)
A senior United Nations envoy has said far more people have died in Darfur during the two-year conflict than previously admitted.(BBC)
Flags across the nation fly at
Mayerthorpe Incident. Attending were about 10,000 officers from North America, Canadian dignitaries and entertainers with songs of reflection and sorrow. (CBC)(Toronto Star)
The
Qur'an justifies his terrorist actions constitutes istihlal, the sin of making up one's own law. It is claimed to be the first fatwa to be pronounced against Bin Ladin, and to have the tacit support of Muslim leaders in several Islamic countries. (CBC)
The Mozilla Foundation announces that the development of the Mozilla Internet Suite will no longer be ongoing. SeaMonkey will be the replacement.
Bosphorus shipping channel after a cargo ship that carried liquiefied petroleum gas sinks due to bad weather. It takes hours for the shipping authorities to collect gas tanks. (Planet Ark)(BBC)
In Italy, explosion in the Motta di Livenza injures three people. Officials suspect serial bomber (CNN)(BBC)
In the Philippines, inmates of a Camp Bagong Diwa maximum security prison in Manila took hostages during an attempted jailbreak and demand to talk with authorities. At least four guards and one prisoner have been killed. Prisoners claim to hold 100 hostages; police dispute this number. According to the police, the attempt was led by imprisoned members of Abu Sayyaf. (Sun Star, Manila)(Reuters)[permanent dead link]
Ljube Boskowski, former interior minister, is indicted for war crimes for an alleged role in clashes between ethnic Albanians and security forces in 2001(Reuters)[permanent dead link](RFE)(BBC)
In Zambia, former president Frederick Chiluba protests when government anti-corruption investigators seize hundred of pieces of clothing from the warehouse he used to store them. Police suspect that the clothes were bought using government funds (AllAfrica)(BBC)
U.S. Representative Henry Waxman sends a scathing letter to President George W. Bush, accusing the administration of having withheld until after the election a damaging audit regarding overcharges by Halliburton for services in Iraq (such as charging $27,000,000 for transporting $82,000 worth of fuel from Kuwait to Iraq). (Guardian)(Philadelphia Daily News)[permanent dead link]
OPEC announces that it's unable to control oil prices. (MSNBC)
The dedication of the new
Moshe Katzav said that the new museum serves as "an important signpost to all of humankind, a signpost that warns how short the distance is between hatred and murder, between racism and genocide." (Haaretz)
The government of Italy announces that it will begin to withdraw its troops from Iraq in several months. (BBC)
Thousands of protesters demonstrate violently outside parliament in Niger against rising prices and high tax increases. Some of them call for resignation of the president Mamadou Tandja(AllAfrica)(Reuters SA)(BBC)
In Paris, France, French-Algerian Djamel Beghal is sentenced to 10 years in jail for plotting to bomb the US embassy in 2001. Five others received shorter sentences. (Reuters)(IHT)(BBC)
Palestinian Authority control, which is likely to strengthen Mahmoud Abbas. The PA will resume security control over the city and will have to make sure that wanted militants will remain in check. (Yahoo!)(BBC)
Anti-fascist protesters in the center of Riga, Latvia, end up in custody after trying to stop the annual march of Waffen-SS veterans and young radical nationalists. (BBC)
President of BoliviaCarlos Mesa has asked the country's congress to approve early elections in August to replace him to "prevent bloodbath". There are still widespread opposition protests against his economic policies. (Reuters)[permanent dead link](Bloomberg)(BBC)
Transparency International (TI), a nonprofit which works against corruption, warns about US companies overcharging for the rebuilding of Iraq. A TI study showed that a multi-million-dollar deal was awarded to a US company only for it to sub-contract the work to an Iraqi firm for a fraction of the cost. (Zaman)(Aljazeera)
African American Muslim, and a professor of Islamic studies at Virginia Commonwealth University, led a congregation of about 60 women and 40 men in the weekly Muslim Friday, or Jumu'uah, prayer, despite the disapproval of mainstream Muslim scholars. (CNN)(BBC)
Member of KnessetEffi Eitam, announced he will move to settle in Gush Katif. This is despite a restriction order on relocating in the Gaza Strip issued by the Chief of the Southern Command. The Knesset chairman Reuven Rivlin said MK immunity covers Eitam's act. (Haaretz)
South Koreans stand outside the Japanese embassy in Seoul, protesting over the disputed islands, the Liancourt Rocks(CNN)
The government of
Kh-55 Granat nuclear-capable cruise missiles (without warheads) were smuggled to Iran and China by arms dealers. (BBC)
Manny Pacquiao and Erik Morales met for their first of three epic boxing matches. Morales won the 12-round bout by unanimous decision. Pacquiao would later revenge the bout, fighting Morales two more times, winning both by knockoutt.
2005 parliamentary elections take over the northern city of Osh and seize government buildings. Prime minister states the government does not intend to use force. (Reuters Alertnet)(BBC)(BBC)
Indian politician
Indian-Americans via satellite. He claims there is a "disinformation campaign" against India. (Sify)(Outlook India)
Two people die following a bomb in a shopping centre in a Christian area of North Beirut, Lebanon. The two are believed to have been foreign workers. (BBC)
In
Rafik Hariri, asks to step down from the case prior to public announcement of the results of the United Nations investigation. (Reuters Alertnet)(BBC)
The College of Bishops of the Scottish Episcopal Church reiterates that it has no policy that treats being in a same-sex partnership as "a bar to the exercise of an ordained ministry". (BBC)
In the Central African Republic, the spokesman of André Kolingba, former military ruler, says that yesterday's shootout outside his house was an assassination attempt. Kolingba has called for an annulment of the results of the presidential elections. (BBC)
CIA to hold unregistered inmates, is "systematic and known to three senior intelligence officials", contradicting earlier claims by the Army that such incidences were rare and ad hoc. (Washington Post)
In
White House, is overrun and the opposition is planning for a new government. (BBC) Akayev flees Bishkek by helicopter. His immediate whereabouts are unclear. Some report him going to Russia, others to Kazakhstan. (Fox News) Akayev is reported to have resigned, but this is not confirmed. (ABC)(Xinhua)
In comments posted in a German newspaper Easter Sunday, Chancellor Gerhard Schröder expressed the hope that German-based companies will stop outsourcing, that they'll invest in employment opportunities within Germany. German companies have long complained of the stifling labor/regulatory/tax climate at home. (New York Times)
IDF have released a list of the 8 Palestinian arrested, stating their name and their alleged activities. According to that list, one of those arrested, Hasin Mahmed Mashkah, was released in February as a part of the Prisoner-release program involving 500 men. Residents dispute the Israeli claims and state that 3 of the men were members of the security services, and that the other 5 were not known militants. (Haaretz)[permanent dead link], (BBC)(IDF), (Haaretz)[permanent dead link
At the New York-Presbyterian-Weill Cornell Medical Center, Neil Young has successful surgery for a brain aneurysm using a minimally invasive neuroradiological procedure. Neil (CNN)
United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan of involvement in the awarding of a contract in the Oil-for-Food Programme to a company that employed his son, but found fault with Annan for his failure to oversee the program vigorously. (Reuters)Archived 2005-04-05 at the Wayback Machine(BBC)
activist held in custody in an Israeliprison, claims that he received militant training in Syria, Syria and Hamas claim no such training takes place. (AP\Yahoo)
In India, shops and businesses close down in protest of a new tax law. (BBC)
AIDS patients protest government ruling that gives pharmaceutical companies 5-10 years to keep their drug trial data secret, limiting access to cheap generic AIDS drugs (Reuters AlertNet)(Washington Post)
The last day to apply for the Sales Tax Amnesty Program from the California State Board of Equalization was March 31, 2005.
The rebel
Rwandan Genocide, announces that it is giving up its armed struggle. The FDLR has been a key source of instability in the aftermath of the Second Congo War. (BBC)
Terri Schiavo dies 13 days after her feeding tube was removed by court order in Florida, US. (Reuters)(BBC)
Two days after surgery to repair a brain aneurysm, Neil Young collapses on a New York street, bleeding from a rupture in a femoral artery. He cancels a scheduled appearance at the Juno Awards and reveals his surgery to the press for the first time.[1]
TV on and off, change channels and alter the volume thanks to the technology and software linked to devices in his home.(BBC)
MDC, disputes this, but still believes his party will win. The election has already been branded unfair by both the U.S. and the EU and their observers have been barred from monitoring the poll. Results are expected in two days.(Bloomberg)(CNN)(News24)(Reuters)[permanent dead link](BBC)
Israel has allowed people who received non-Orthodox training in Israel but were converted overseas to become Jews. These people will now be eligible for Israeli citizenship. (BBC)
Malta commemorates the 26th anniversary of the departure of the last British forces from the island (di-ve)
