An inquiry by the Egyptian Interior Ministry into last month's bombings of hotels in the Sinai concludes that the perpetrators received no external help, contradicting assertions by Israeli officials that the blasts were linked to al-Qaeda. (Reuters)Archived 2004-11-13 at the Wayback Machine(BBC)
William H. Rehnquist, who has been undergoing radiation and chemotherapy treatments for thyroid cancer, announces he will delay his return to the courtroom on the advice of his doctors. (CNN)
Darfur conflict: United Nations officials say Sudanese troops have surrounded two refugee camps in Darfur and are blocking access. The Sudanese military say they were asked to protect refugees and evict imposters. (Reuters)(BBC)
Theo van Gogh is stabbed and shot dead in Amsterdam; the suspected murderer is arrested after a firefight with police. van Gogh had received numerous death threats after his movie Submission elicited criticism among the Dutch Muslim community. (Reuters)[permanent dead link](ABC US)
U.S. presidential election
:
U.S. civil rights organizations report on a number of misleading voter fliers and phone calls aimed at
, are statistically tied in the latest opinion polls.
Puerto Rico General Elections
:
Aníbal Acevedo Vilá leads with 3,880 votes of advantage against Pedro Rosselló with 98.27% of the total votes counted. By law, a recount must be performed when the winning margin is less than 0.5%. The official winner will be certified on December 31 after the recount is finished. (CEE-PUR)
The
Maria de Lourdes Santiago makes history by becoming the first woman to be elected Senator in the party's history. (El Nuevo Dia)
Senator John Kerry concedes to President George W. Bush "The outcome should be decided by voters, not a protracted legal process", Kerry said. "I would not give up if there was a chance we could prevail." (Reuters)(BBC)
U.S. Electoral College meets on December 13. (CNN)
The
Republican Party widens its majority in the Senate and House of Representatives. Democratic Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle concedes defeat to Republican challenger John Thune, thus becoming the first Senate leader in 52 years to lose a re-election bid and leaving the leadership of the Democratic Party in the Senate open. (CNN)
The
presidential election. Incorrectly recorded votes make up roughly 20 percent of the e-voting problems. (EFF)
A roadside bomb kills a U.S. soldier and wounds another in
Army of Ansar al-Sunna release a video on their website confirming the beheading of an Iraqi officer kidnapped in Mosul. In Tikrit, fires continue to burn from major oil wells and a pipeline attacked earlier, halting oil exports. The militant Brigades of Iraq's Honorable People release videos showing beheadings of three Iraqi security guards kidnapped in Baghdad. (Reuters)[permanent dead link](BBC)
Hungary announces the withdrawal of its 300 troops by the end of next March. Poland says it will scale back the 2,500 troops stationed in Iraq early next year. (Reuters)Archived 2005-05-01 at the Wayback Machine(BBC)
Sgt. Charles Robert Jenkins, who crossed over the DMZ to North Korea in 1965, pleads guilty to desertion and aiding the enemy at his court martial in Japan. He is sentenced to 30 days in prison and given a dishonorable discharge. (BBC)
Resident Commissioner after computing 98.3% of the total votes. A full recount will begin on November 9 to announce the official winner. (El Nuevo Día)(CEE-PUR)
The
New Progressive Party for the new term. Future senators from the party have already decided certain positions for once they are in office, and how do they plan to work with a governor of the opposing party. (El Nuevo Día)
The shutdown of the Number 2 Balakovonuclear reactor in the Saratov region of southern Russia due to a turbine malfunction causes widespread local panic. Local pharmacies' supplies of iodine sell out; residents flee, urging each other to drink vodka and avoid public water. Engineers at the plant find no leak of radiation. A number of people are hospitalized for iodine overdose; the government and media are criticized for poor coordination. (Bellona)
Kyoto protocol bringing the number of countries bound by the treaty to 126. (Reuters)
The
army considered the operation extracted itself. (BBC)
Conflict in Iraq
:
The NGO aid agency Médecins Sans Frontières ends work in Iraq due to the "escalating violence" and "the warring parties have repeatedly shown their disrespect for independent humanitarian assistance." (BBC)
Republic of Macedonia under its constitutional name rather than the name "former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia" used by the United Nations, the first major foreign policy move by the re-elected Bush administration. The move outrages Greece, who had the European Union's support in lobbying against recognition since Macedonia's independence in 1991. (Reuters)Archived 2005-03-10 at the Wayback Machine(BBC)
brain-dead while in intensive care at a hospital in Paris, according to medical sources inside the hospital. (Seattle Times)(BBC)
The High Court in the
March 2004 presidential election result that saw Chen Shui-bian re-elected president by a margin of 0.2% over Lien Chan. The KMT plans to appeal to the Supreme Court. (BBC)
Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps arrested and charged with driving under the influence. Maryland State Police say Phelps was stopped around 11:30 Thursday night, near the intersection of Route 13 and Bateman Street in Salisbury, after a trooper spotted an SUV that failed to stop at a stop sign. Beside the charge of driving under the influence, Phelps was also charged with driving while impaired by alcohol, violation of a license restriction, and failure to obey a traffic control device. (WBAL Radio)
Khan Yonis in the Gaza Strip. Hospital officials say it was from a tank shell that hit a house. Israeli spokesmen said there had been no army fire in the area. They believe it was either caused when a Palestinian mortar misfired or by the detonation of a roadside bomb. (Reuters)Archived 2004-11-17 at the Wayback Machine
Conflict in Iraq
:
Sunni Muslim boycott of January elections. British ambassador to Iraq Jones Parry states: "You can't have an area the size of Falluja operating as a base for terrorism." Iraqi Interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi describes Annan's letter as confused and unclear. (Reuters)[permanent dead link
]
Two U.S. soldiers are killed and five wounded when fighting breaks out near a base on the outskirts of
airstrikes, U.S. and Iraqi troops seal off all roads to the city. They drop leaflets and play loudspeaker messages encouraging all civilians to leave, but say they would arrest any men under 45. Near Baghdad, two children are killed when a mortar shell lands near a police station. (Reuters)(BBC)
Palestinian Authority is still in a coma, which might be reversible; an aide rejects reports that Arafat is "brain dead". Palestinians claim they will only trust a successor who is "determined and steadfast on the fundamental Palestinian rights", some say who is less willing to compromise. (Reuters)[permanent dead link
]
Voters in the
devolved assembly for the region. With a turnout of 47.8% 197,310 vote for and 696,519 vote against the plans. It is a serious setback for the British Deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott, who had championed the plans. (BBC)
Episcopal Church: The Annual Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh approves an amendment to its Constitution which allows it to differ with the opinion of the national church on issues which the diocese believes to be "contrary to the historic faith and order" of the church. (Diocese of Pittsburgh)
London Paddington and Plymouth have been derailed. Six people have reportedly been killed, with around 150 more injured. (BBC)
An Indian spokesman says the
Burma. Two Indian soldiers and 13 rebels have been killed so far. (BBC)
Chilean army commander General Juan Emilio Cheyre releases a statement saying abuses under Augusto Pinochet were "punishable and morally unacceptable acts of the past", reversing its previous stance that they were excesses carried out by individual officers. (BBC)
Iraqi National Guardsmen, two Iraqi Rapid Reaction Forces, and 11 civilians, with 48 wounded. In Ramadi, an Iraqi is killed and 20 U.S. Marines are wounded after a shoot-out between the Marines and rebels. A physician at Fallujah General Hospital reports two dead and maintains no foreign fighters have been admitted to his hospital. (Reuters)Archived 2005-03-10 at the Wayback Machine(BBC)
Nine French
French military launches attacks which destroy two warplanes at Yamoussoukro airport. (CNN)(BBC)
At an anti-nuclear waste shipment protest rally near the French town of Avricourt a protester,
Iraq interim government declares a state of emergency ahead of an expected assault on the rebel stronghold of Fallujah
.
Illness of Yasser Arafat: A spokesman for Yasser Arafat claims that all the Palestinian president's vital functions are fine although it remains unclear why Arafat has not regained consciousness and if or when he will. (AP)(The Age)
In Broward County, officials find the software used in Broward can handle only 32,000 votes per precinct. After that, the system starts counting backward. The problem affected running tallies and not the final vote totals. All absentee ballots had been placed in a single precinct to be counted and only the votes for constitutional amendments reached the threshold and encountered the problem. (The Palm Beach Post)
Iyad Allawi publicly authorizes an offensive in Fallujah and Ramadi to "liberate the people" and "clean Falluja of terrorists". U.S. and Iraqi forces advance. A hospital doctor in Falluja reports 15 people killed and 20 wounded. (Reuters)[permanent dead link](BBC)
In Baghdad, three Iraqis are killed when a suicide car bomb explodes near a U.S. convoy. A U.K. soldier is killed by a roadside bomb near Camp Dogwood. A U.S. soldier is killed when gunmen open fire on a military patrol. At least three people are killed and 40 others injured in explosions at two Christian churches. (Reuters)Archived 2005-03-10 at the Wayback Machine(BBC)
A Muslim school in Eindhoven in the Netherlands suffers a bomb attack. It is believed to be a revenge attack in retaliation for the murder of Theo van Gogh, following a weekend in which several mosques were attacked throughout the Netherlands. (BBC)
The current wave of violence in
Côte d'Ivoire causes London markets to fear a lack of cocoa exports, sending cocoa to a five-year high. French forces, including tanks, deploy throughout the country's largest city, Abidjan, to restore order. (BBC)
Iraqi National Guard base near Kirkuk kills three people and wounds two. In Samarra, a senior local government official is assassinated. (Reuters)(BBC)
Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei and Former Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas have visited Arafat at his bedside, and Mr. Abbas has described his condition as "very serious" (BBC)
Irish High Court judge rules that a lesbian couple who married in Canada may proceed with their case seeking to have their marriage recognized in Ireland. (CBC)(RTÉ)
Côte d'Ivoire has left 20 dead and 600 injured and stopped cocoa exports. South African President Thabo Mbeki has flown to the country to help find a settlement. (CNN)
transports itself to the location where the bodies of two victims were found under Louis' indications.
Illness of Yasser Arafat
Muslim cleric
Taissir Dayut Tamimi, a close personal friend of Arafat, flies to Paris to attend to Arafat's spiritual needs. Aides deny reports that Arafat will be taken off life support. (National Post {Canada})(BBC)
A Dutch police squad comes under a grenade attack, injuring three policemen, following an antiterrorist raid on a house in The Hague. The area's airspace is closed as a precaution. Two arrests have been made.(BBC)(Reuters)Archived 2004-12-23 at the Wayback Machine
A Muslim school in Uden was set on fire in another of a series of sectarian attacks on Islamic schools in the Netherlands. (BBC)
Côte d'Ivoire following a similar course of action by France and the United Nations. Other countries such as Spain, Italy, Germany, and the United Kingdom will do so. (Toronto Star)(The Scotsman)
President Bush says, "For the Palestinian people, we hope that the future will bring peace and the fulfillment of their aspirations for an independent, democratic Palestine that is at peace with its neighbors." (Washington Times)
Israeli Justice minister Tommy Lapid says it is "good that the world is rid of him ... The sun is shining in the Middle East". (BBC)
Falluja, Iraq, are trapped. Hundreds of insurgents, 18 U.S. soldiers and five members of the Iraqi security forces have been killed in four days of fighting. (Reuters)Archived 2005-03-10 at the Wayback Machine
Israel has barred the entire population of the Gaza Strip from attending Yassir Arafat's funeral in Ramallah, and has sealed off many West Bank towns. (BBC)
lie in state appear to have been dropped due to the huge crowd. He was buried in soil from Al Quds.(BBC)
Rod Paige announces his intent to resign from his post, making him the third member of President George W. Bush's Cabinet to resign since his re-election. No time-table has been set for his actually leaving the post. White House domestic policy adviser Margaret Spellings has been suggested as his successor. (Washington Post)(Reuters)[permanent dead link
Rod Paige announces his intent to resign from his post, making him the third member of President George W. Bush's Cabinet to resign since his re-election. No time-table has been set for his actually leaving the post. White House domestic policy adviser Margaret Spellings has been suggested as his successor. (Washington Post)(Reuters)[permanent dead link
The BBC based on a water test of one well claims thousands in India still face a risk of poisoning after the Union CarbideBhopal disaster 20 years ago that killed at least 4000 people. (BBC)
Kidnappers release two female relatives of Iraqi interim Prime Minister
Shoichi Nakagawa says he believes that a Chinese submarine, which Tokyo says intruded into Japanese waters last week, is linked to gas exploration by China in a remote island area claimed by both countries. (VOA)
Researchers claim to have found a site that may be a candidate for the lost city of Atlantis on the bottom of the east Mediterranean, 80 kilometers southeast of Cyprus. The Cypriot government disputes the claim, saying more evidence is needed. (CNN)
Falluja have launched new air strikes and artillery attacks against suspected rebel positions. (BBC)
The
Falluja because so many people fled the city before the assault began, but this is disputed by some eyewitnesses. The military is still refusing to allow aid workers in and casualty figures cannot yet be confirmed. (BBC)(Gulf Daily News)(AP)
Margaret Hassan, the Irish-born aid worker kidnapped in Iraq, is believed to have been killed. A tape apparently showing her being shot has surfaced. (BBC)
National Children's Study to follow 100,000 humans from birth to age 21 in what will be the largest-ever comprehensive study of children. (Reuters)[permanent dead link
]
governor's race, pending a state-mandated recount. It is the final undecided race of the 2004 United States election season. (Note: After the recount, Gregoire
is shown to have, in fact, won the highly contested race.)
2004 U.S. presidential election controversy: According to a report called The Effect of Electronic Voting Machines on Change in Support for Bush in the 2004 Florida Elections[4]George W. Bush received between 130,000 and 260,000 faulty votes in Florida. (IDG)(IT Week)(Scoop)(Vunet)
Iman al-Hams. The schoolgirl was shot at least 15 times by the IDF. (BBC)
The
mad cow disease. Officials caution that the test is inconclusive until confirmed at a lab in Ames, Iowa, but if confirmed, it will be the second case in the U.S. The agency says the disease has not entered the food chain. Tech News World, (NY Times)
Three
Israeli Defence Force permitted Palestinian rescue forces to try to rescue them, and later sent its own bulldozers to help. The rescue efforts succeeded and three Palestinian were recovered from the ruins alive. They were treated by IDF medical staff and later taken to investigation. (Washington Times), (Maariv), (Haaretz)
Three Egyptian paramilitary security officers stationed at the
terrorists or militants. The Egyptian government accepts an apology from Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and demands an investigation on the incident. (Haaretz)(Reuters)(BBC)
Attempts by the United States to draft a U.N. treaty banning human cloning have been abandoned. (CNN)
U.S. President
War on Terrorism". The Chinese delegation ask Bush to take "all measures necessary" to halt the slide in value of the U.S. dollar. About 40,000 people protest against the summit, Bush, the war in Iraq, and globalization; they are blocked by Chilean police with tear gas and water cannon. (MSNBC)(CBC)
Sino-Japanese relations: Taiwan PresidentChen Shui-bian says information provided by his government helped Japan locate a Chinese nuclear submarine in Japanese waters a week ago. The PRC expressed "regret" after the incident. (VOA)
Dutch lawmaker Geert Wilders, one of the most controversial Dutch politicians, advocates a five-year halt to non-Western immigration in the wake of the murder of Theo van Gogh stating: "The Netherlands has been too tolerant to intolerant people for too long, we should not import a retarded political Islamic society to our country". (NYT)
Russia announces it will sell off the main production unit of Yukos, the energy company seized last year for supposedly failing to pay taxes. (BBC)
The U.S.
national debt ceiling by USD800 billion to a total of USD 8.18 trillion. This makes the new borrowing cap 30% higher than the debt Bush inherited, and 70% of the size of the U.S. economy. (CNN)(Debt Clock)
In
Pacers–Pistons brawl
Conflict in Iraq
:
U.S. Military officials report that 102 soldiers, 85% of which are serving in Iraq, Kuwait and Afghanistan, have contracted a rather rare blood infection by Acinetobacter baumannii. Military investigators say there is no evidence of biochemical agents in the infection which surfaces occasionally in unsanitary hospitals, but that some soldiers were arriving with infections. (CNN)
World Vision, one of the last aid agencies left in Iraq, announces it will pull its staff out of the country following the murder of its senior manager. (BBC)
In
Sunni mosque to arrest dozens of members reportedly including the imam. (BBC)
The Spongebob Squarepants Movie
debuts in movie theaters across the United States, grossing $32,018,216 during its opening weekend.
Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi premieres on Cartoon Network and scores the highest-ever Kids 2-11 rating and delivery and the second highest Kids 6-11 rating (4.4) and delivery (1,068,000) ever for an original series premiere.
Conflict in Iraq: The nineteen member Paris Club agrees to forgive 80% of nearly $40 billion in Iraqi debt, in three stages: 20% now, 30% in 2005 and 20% in 2008 in tandem with Iraq's implementation of an International Monetary Fund economic programme. $80 billion in debt to Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, among others, will remain. (BBC)
South-West Africa People's Organisation party, is declared the winner of the Namibianpresidential election with 76% of the vote. He succeeds Sam Nujoma, who is retiring after serving as president for 15 years. (BBC)
Israeli-Palestinian conflict
:
U.S. Secretary of StateColin Powell arrives in Israel for talks with leaders of both sides of the conflict with an aim to restarting the stalled peace process. (BBC)
IDF foils an attack on Kissufim road to Gush Katif, killing two militants. (Haaretz)
presidential election today. Voters will decide between Moscow-oriented Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych and western-leaning reformer Viktor Yushchenko. Observers have expressed concern over possible Russian interference, election abuses, and bias in reporting by the state media. With 74% of vote counted, Yanukovych leads Yushchenko 49–48%. Yushchenko has alleged that massive election fraud has taken place. (BBC)(BBC)
The Electoral Commission of the
parliamentary elections for January 30, 2005. Reuters
uranium enrichment programme to comply with a European Union-brokered deadline. Iran will review its decision in three months. The EU seeks to have the suspension made permanent and is willing to provide economic and political incentives. (Reuters)[permanent dead link](BBC)
A mechanical failure has been blamed for an oil spill on the eastern coast of Canada. Experts estimate 170,000 litres of oil have been spilled into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Newfoundland, covering an area 9 km long by 1 km wide. (CBC)
re-elected to a 10th consecutive term, and the fourth for Klein. The PCs drop to from 74 to 60 seats in the 83-seat legislature.(Edmonton Journal)(CBC)
Kiev. Freedom House releases a statement saying that the runoff election was "tainted by massive voter fraud." Russian Foreign Ministry expresses "extreme concern" about the disobedience actions by the Ukrainian opposition. (BBC)(Reuters)Archived 2005-03-10 at the Wayback Machine(FH)
The city governments of
Kiev, calling for Yanukovych to step down. (The Guardian)
2004 U.S. presidential election controversy: The U.S. Government Accountability Office plans to investigate complaints of several systemic problems with this month's elections. (CNN)
Ohio law requires state officials to perform a recount when called for by candidates on the ballot, but a federal judge today declared that the results can be declared final before the recount occurs. (CNN)
Justice Through Music has posted a minimum $200,000 reward for specific evidence of vote fraud in the recent election in light of the many instances of reported voter irregularities. (eMediaWire)
Israeli-Palestinian conflict
:
Palestinian girl in Gaza, saying he would have killed her even if she was three years old.[7]
The Ukrainian Supreme Court bars publication of the presidential election results, delaying inauguration, and decides to examine a complaint alleging fraud on November 28. (Reuters)Archived 2005-03-10 at the Wayback Machine
Russian Federation. Several more regions, including Donetsk
, have ruled to put autonomy on popular referendum.
Supporters of opposition leader
Kiev Friday, in a direct challenge to the Moscow-backed government's control of the country. (Reuters)[permanent dead link
]
Russian President Vladimir Putin said after a summit meeting with the European Union that the results of the Ukrainian presidential elections are absolutely clear. (AFP)
Ukrainian President
Aleksander Kwasniewski, Lithuanian president Valdas Adamkus and Russian parliament speaker Boris Gryzlov. Opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko has requested a new vote to be held on December 12 (BBC)
School of Government, theorizes that the level of political freedom, not poverty, explains terrorism. Areas with intermediate levels of political freedom experience the most terrorism, while societies with high levels of political freedom or authoritarian regimes have low levels of terrorism. (PDF)(Harvard Gazette)
Virginia Tech begins its reign of dominance over UVA, the Hokies clinch the Commonwealth Cup in a 24-10 win at Lane Stadium. The Hokies continue to hold the Commenwealth Cup for over 4000 days following this victory.
Ukraine's parliament votes for the annulment of the election results and asks PresidentLeonid Kuchma to dissolve the country's Central Election Committee. This is a non-binding request as the parliament cannot annul the results itself. (CNN)
Bernard Bot says that the EU believes fresh elections are the best option for Ukraine. (Reuters)
An explosion in a coal mine in the Chinese central province of Shaanxi leaves 187 men trapped underground. Official figures show 4,153 mining accident deaths in the last nine months, while 119 miners are still missing from a November 20 iron mine fire in Hebei. (BBC)(Xinhua)(Xinhua)
The People's Republic of China and Association of South East Asian Nations sign a trade pact that could eventually unite a quarter of the world's population in a free trade zone. (BBC)
Two U.S. soldiers are killed and three wounded when a roadside bomb in
International Red Cross says the city remains under siege and workers are unable to freely administer aid. (Reuters)[permanent dead link](BBC)
Deputy leader of
al Qaida Ayman al-Zawahiri releases a videotape vowing to continue fighting "until the last hour" and urging the U.S. to cooperate with Muslims and stop dealing "with them as free loot, robbed land and violated sanctity." (Reuters)Archived 2004-12-10 at the Wayback Machine
medical marijuana use. This case has important consequences for redefining the separation and limitation of powers between states and the federal government. (CSM)
At the conclusion of
socialist politician Tommy Douglas was announced as being voted as The Greatest Canadian of all. Toronto Star
Green Party presidential candidate David Cobb asked a federal court to take jurisdiction of, and ultimately dissolve, a temporary restraining order issued by a Delaware County, Ohio, judge attempting to prevent Cobb from seeking a recount of the presidential ballots cast in that county.[9]
Attorneys representing John Kerry filed papers to join the Cobb/Badnarik Ohio recount case.[10]
If the Ohio recount does not begin before the votes are certified, then electors will be chosen before the recount begins.[11]
Portuguese President Jorge Sampaio dissolves the parliament after Prime minister Pedro Santana Lopes fails to present a plan to solve cabinet instability. The elections are expected to be scheduled to February 2005. (CNN)(BBC)
U.K.
visa application for his former lover's nanny, ordering an independent enquiry into his own actions and denying any impropriety, whilst apologising for inadvertently misusing government funds to obtain her a first class train ticket. (BBC)
A South African court rules that the common law concept of marriage must be extended to include same-sex couples. Although the ruling does not immediately permit same-sex marriage in South Africa, it is considered a major step in that direction. (365gay.com)
