territory, extends. Canada and Russia are already undertaking similar investigations regarding their own claims. (Toronto Star)
U.S. presidential debates: "Instant-response" polls of viewers of last night's U.S. presidential debate show that a majority of viewers thought the challenger, John Kerry, won the contest. (The Guardian)(BBC)(Indianapolis Star)(CBS)
At least 19 people are killed in an explosion—suspected to be a
Beit Lahiya. At least five Palestinians are killed by Israeli rocket strikes on Jabaliya. (BBC)(The Guardian)
The Israeli
UN". The UN dismisses the claim, saying that the footage actually shows a stretcher being loaded into a van. (Islam Online) (Haaretz: 1, 2
)
Conflict in Iraq
:
U.S. and Iraqi government forces attack the insurgent-held city of Samarra in northern Iraq. U.S. officials say over 100 militants were killed and 37 were captured, while local doctors say at least 80 people died, and 100 were wounded, including civilians. (BBC)(Canada.com News)(The Independent)
U.S. presidential election, 2004: Fox News apologizes for an incident on Friday, October 1, in which it posted a story containing false quotes attributed to presidential candidate SenatorJohn Kerry. Fox says the reporter who wrote the story, Carl Cameron, had written the article "in jest" and had not intended for it to be posted. (Houston Chronicle)(The Guardian)
The U.S. government issues a statement urging Israel not to use excessive force during its current offensive into the Gaza Strip. (BBC)
The
Palestinian militant group Hamas says that it will continue using rockets to attack Israeli communities that border on the Gaza Strip, or Israeli settlements within it, regardless of Israeli military operations. (BBC)
The Israeli military begins an operation to create a 9 km (5.5 mile) "buffer zone" within the northern Gaza Strip. Israel says that the purpose of the zone is protect Israel from attacks using Qassam rockets (which have a 9 km (5.5 mile) range). (The Telegraph)Archived 2007-12-24 at the Wayback Machine
Conflict in Iraq: On the third day of the assault on Samarra, which has left 125 insurgents and 70 civilians dead, U.S. and Iraqi government officials say they have secured 70 percent of the city. (AP)(BBC)
The
parliamentary elections. Early results suggest the opposition will make large gains at the expense of the current government. (BBC)
Israeli-Palestinian conflict
In interview with the CBC,
terrorist organization said it "will immediately seek clarification from Mr. Hansen directly and from UN authorities". (CBC) He later said it would "have been outright dishonest to say that among a population with about 30% support for Hamas that none of them worked for us" (The Guardian)
The
United Nations Relief and Welfare Agency (UNRWA) demands an apology from Israel over claims that Gaza militants used a UN vehicle to transport a homemade Qassam rocket. The UN body showed what it said was the ambulance seen in footage released by the Israel Defense Forces and presented its driver and rescue workers to reporters. (Haaretz)(Jerusalem Post)[permanent dead link
At least four civilians—a deaf man and three children—were killed today during Israeli raids in the
Jabaliya. More than 60 Palestinians, including civilians, have been killed during Israel's current offensive into Gaza. Israeli Prime MinisterAriel Sharon says the Gaza operation will continue until Qassam rocket attacks end. (BBC)(Toronto Star)
Austro-Hungarian Empire, in a ceremony in Rome. John Paul II has made a total of 1,340 beatifications (including today's), more than all previous popes combined. (Reuters)Archived 2005-01-06 at the Wayback Machine
The U.S. military continues its aerial bombardment of the rebel-held city of Fallujah. Local hospital officials say that nine people were killed. Elsewhere, two U.S. soldiers are shot dead at a checkpoint in Baghdad. (AP)(BBC)
A major British influenza vaccine company, Chiron, has its manufacturing license revoked due to an outbreak of bacteria. Chiron had been expected to supply half of this season's flu vaccines in the United States. (BBC)
Iran announces that its Shahab-3 missile has been modified to increase its range (originally 810 miles (1,300 km)) to 1,250 miles (2,000 km). This puts parts of Europe—and all of the Middle East—within range of Iran's missiles for the first time. (Reuters)Archived 2005-04-08 at the Wayback Machine(The Scotsman)
Mazari Sharif, whilst another, Yunus Qanuni, addresses crowds in the capital. (BBC)
Israel backs down from its claim that a rocket was loaded into a UN ambulance. The Israeli military said that it is "re-evaluating" its claim. (The Guardian)(AP)
Kurdish tribal leader and his companion are shot dead in Mosul. (Reuters)
Same-sex marriage in Canada: The Supreme Court of Canada begins three days of hearings into the federal government's reference of a draft bill to legalize same-sex marriage. The court will review the bill's constitutionality, hearing arguments from groups on either side of the debate. A ruling is not expected for months. (CBC)
A British
Halifax yesterday. Heavy seas have impeded rescue efforts, and one crewman has died being airlifted to hospital. (BBC)
Three Hamas militants are killed after infiltrating the Israeli settlement of Kfar Darom. One of the militants blew up when hit by Israeli gunfire, killing a Thai worker in addition to himself. The other two militants were killed by IDF forces. Gaza Strip. (Haaretz)(INN [Israel])
The UNRWA denies Israel's claim that it has detained 13 of its staff in Gaza. A spokesman said a member of the Gaza staff had been in detention for two years, but knew of no one else in Israeli custody. Israel qualified its earlier statement, admitting that the number 13 referred to people detained in the past four years, some of whom are no longer in custody. (BBC)
Victoria-class submarines, is taken under tow, after being adrift for two days following an onboard fire that crippled the boat. One member of the crew has died. (BBC: 1, 2) (Pravda)
The United Nations issues a special report warning of an imminent humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip. The report says that 72.5 percent of Palestinians will be living in poverty by the end of 2006, that Israeli restrictions are hampering emergency aid deliveries, and that, since September 28, 82 Palestinians and 5 Israelis, including 26 children, have been killed. (BBC)(UN)
Witnesses say that two Palestinian children were killed when the Israeli military shelled a crowd near the
Jabaliya refugee camp. Israel says that an Israeli helicopter gunship fired at two people attempting to launch a Qassam rocket. (BBC)
Rescue teams retrieve at least 30 bodies from the ruins of the
Taba, Egypt. Officials say up to 20 more bodies could be recovered. (Haaretz)
An earthquake of magnitude 6.5 occurs near Manila, the capital city of the Philippines. Its effects are felt as far as 90 miles (145 km) north of the city. The quake causes buildings to sway and knocks out power in some areas, but no serious damage or injuries are reported. (CNN)(USGS)
Iraqi government and local militants loyal to Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. The militants will turn in medium and heavy weapons during a five-day grace period, and Iraqi and US forces will then take control of the area. (CNN)
interim president. He will be Somalia's first head of state since 1991, when tribal warlords overthrew the ruling military dictatorship. The election was held in Nairobi, Kenya, since the situation in Somalia remains dangerous. (BBC)(ABC)
Conflict in Iraq: Two car bombs explode in Baghdad, killing at least 10 people and wounding 17, including a US soldier. (AP)
Tropical Storm Matthew floods southeastern Louisiana, dropping as much as 7 inches (180 mm) of rain. (CNN)
The Saudi Arabian Interior Ministry requests that all non-Muslims currently in Saudi Arabia refrain from eating, drinking or smoking in public. "Authorities will take deterrent measures such as terminating work contracts of, and deporting, violators"[1]
War on Terrorism: Human Rights Watch issues a report charging that the US government's treatment of certain suspected terrorists being held outside the U.S. is in violation of U.S. treaties, international human rights law, and the Geneva Conventions. (BBC)
Conflict in Iraq: A rocket attack in southern Baghdad kills two US soldiers and injures five others, while in the northern city of Mosul a suicide car bomb detonated near a U.S. military convoy kills a U.S. soldier and two Iraqis and injures 27 others. (ABC/AP)(News.com.au)
Israeli-Palestinian conflict
:
Israeli military police are investigating charges that an Israeli army company commander repeatedly shot a 13-year-old Palestinian girl while the girl lay wounded or dead. (Haaretz)(BBC)(Maarviv)(The Guardian)
Prime Minister
Operation Days of Penitence, the Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip, despite a recommendation by the Israel Defense Forces to withdraw. Since the offensive began, 114 Palestinians—39 civilians and 75 combatants—have been killed. (Haaretz)
forensic experts announce that they have identified 12 Israelis, 6 Egyptians, 2 Italians, 1 Russian, and 13 Eastern Europeans among those killed. (Haaretz)(Israeli MFA)
Workers in Nigeria begin a four-day general strike in protest of fuel price increases caused by the last year's repeal of government subsidies. (BBC)
Early results in the first round of
Lithuania's general election show the opposition Labour Party winning the largest proportion of the vote. (BBC)
Palestinian schoolgirl, is struck in the chest and critically wounded by gunfire when Israeli troops open fire near her school. She dies one day later. The Israeli army says soldiers returned fire after coming under mortar attack. (BBC: 1, 2) (CNN)
The Nigerian government announces that last month, Nigerian Sharia courts sentenced two women, one of whom is pregnant, to death by stoning on charges of committing adultery, while acquitting the two men involved. The sentence may still be appealed. (Reuters)[permanent dead link]
The government of
municipal elections. The elections, the first in Saudi Arabia since the 1960s, will be held from February 10 to April 21, 2005. (CNN)
war crimes has resumed after a month's delay. (BBC)
Pakistan test fires a nuclear-capable missile with a range of 1,500 km (930 miles), sufficient to reach most cities in neighboring India. Pakistan and India routinely test their missiles. (BBC)(The Hindu [India])
Foreign Minister Jack Straw comments on Israeli actions in the Gaza Strip, saying that the United Kingdom "unreservedly condemns all acts of terrorism including the firing of Qassam rockets", but that "Israel has an obligation under international law to ensure that its response to terrorism is proportionate to the threat it faces, as well as a duty to avoid innocent civilian casualties", and that "[Israel] is not meeting those obligations". (BBC)(E-Politix)
suicide bombing on August 31 in the Israeli city of Beersheba that killed 16 people. (BBC)(Haaretz)
Interim Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi issues an ultimatum to the city of Fallujah, warning that a major new military operation will be launched if all foreign militants are not expelled from the city. (Reuters)Archived 2004-12-26 at the Wayback Machine
Relations between local insurgents and foreign
Arab militants in the Iraqi city of Fallujah deteriorate, with locals threatening to expel the foreigners by force. Locals have killed at least five foreign fighters in recent weeks, and foreign fighters have taken refuge in the city's commercial district after being denied shelter in residential neighborhoods. (MSNBC)
Iraqi insurgents carry out two bomb attacks within Baghdad's heavily fortified "Green Zone", which houses Iraqi government offices and U.S. military facilities. U.S. officials say that six Iraqis and four Americans were killed in the attacks. Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's Tawhid and Jihad militant group later claims responsibility for the bombings. (BBC)
The Iraqi
government warns of a possible increase in terrorist activity during the Muslim month of Ramadan (which starts tonight), and says the government is taking extra precautions. (Reuters)[permanent dead link
]
The Israeli government announces that it will not restrict the number of worshippers allowed to enter
Al-Aqsa mosque compound (located in the area known as the Temple Mount in Judaism) during the Muslim month of Ramadan, despite concerns voiced by security officials that the site is dangerously structurally unstable and could collapse if too many people visit. The Israeli government had earlier suggested it would limit the number of visitors, with mosque officials accusing Israel of having "political reasons" to do so. (Haaretz)(Jerusalem Post)[permanent dead link](AFP)
Bosnian Serb division of Bosnia and Herzegovina, admit for the first time the actual scale of the 1995 Srebrenicamassacre, providing a list of over 7,000 Muslim victims. The Bosnian Serb president admitted in June that Serb forces had committed the massacre, but did not give a specific number of victims. (BBC)(Melbourne Herald Sun)(Channel News Asia)
A
Halifax International Airport in Nova Scotia, Canada. All seven of the crew are confirmed dead in Canada's worst-ever air cargo crash. (CBC)
war torn country of Burundi are postponed until April 2005. (BBC)
Conflict in Iraq
:
The US Army is investigating up to 19 members of an Army Reserve unit stationed in Iraq who refused to take part in a fuel delivery convoy mission they considered unsafe. Relatives of the soldiers say that several soldiers described it as a "suicide mission". Relatives also say that the soldiers were held under guard for almost two days, although an army spokesperson denies the claim. (Daily Telegraph)Archived 2007-03-13 at the Wayback Machine(San Francisco Gate)(Washington Times)
Major United States air strikes against Fallujah continue. The U.S. military says that the bombings are "not the beginning of a major offensive". (Reuters)Archived 2004-12-26 at the Wayback Machine
Senior British military sources say that the US has asked that some British troops be moved to an area south of Baghdad to replace U.S. troops moved to Fallujah. Sources also say that the troops would be under U.S. command, a possibility which provokes criticism from opposition members of Parliament. (BBC)
Former
Miguel Angel Rodriguez, is arrested after stepping down last week on allegations of corruption. He is not formally charged but a judge is demanding him to testify. (BBC)
Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
:
The
Iman al-Hams, while she lay wounded or dead, accepting the officer's claim that he actually shot into the ground near the girl. A separate military police investigation is continuing. (BBC)
The
UN Security Council for its next two-year term, which begins in January 2005. (BBC)
A United Nations official says that about 70,000 people have died in the troubled Darfur region of Sudan since March. (BBC)
. Three men, allegedly militants, and a 70-year-old Palestinian woman are killed on the final day. Over 100 Palestinians have died in the course of the 16-day operation; BBC sources say about one third were civilians.
Palestinian Prime Minister
Israeli Defence Forces sources, however, place the number killed at about 130, with only a few civilian deaths. (BBC)(News First Class)(Haaretz)
The UK ambassador to Uzbekistan is recalled and suspended after criticizing the use of intelligence allegedly obtained under torture by the Uzbekistan government. (BBC)
Conflict in Iraq
:
Heavy fighting in Fallujah continues as U.S. tanks blockade the city and insurgent targets are hit by air and artillery. Hospital officials say four civilians, including a child, were killed. (Reuters)(ABC)
A
Latifiyah (25 miles south of Baghdad), gunmen ambush and kill nine Iraqi policemen who were returning from training in Jordan. (Reuters)(ABC)
About 20,000 protesters march in London, United Kingdom, to demand an end to the "illegal occupation" of Iraq. (Reuters)(The Scotsman)
2004 U.S. presidential election, which officially takes place November 2. (CNN)
A referendum is held in Belarus on a proposal by President Alexander Lukashenko to permit Lukashenko to run for a third term by amending the country's constitution to remove term limits. The Belarus electoral commission says the referendum won the support of at least 75 percent of voters, but independent elections monitors say that the voting procedures "fell significantly short" of international standards. In Minsk, the capital, more than 2,000 people protest the results of the referendum. (BBC)(Reuters)[permanent dead link
Monday's referendum, which permitted President Alexander Lukashenko to seek a third term. At least 30 protesters are arrested, including opposition leader Anatoly Lebedko. Supporters say Lebedko was badly beaten by police and was refused treatment for his injuries. (BBC)
Thai officials say that Myanmar's military has removed the current prime minister of Myanmar, General Khin Nyunt, from office and placed him under house arrest. (BBC)
A team of explorers reached the bottom of the world's deepest cave, located in Krubera. The depth reached was 2,080 meters (6,824 feet), setting a world record. (National Geographic)
US war planes strike a building in Fallujah. Local sources say the strike killed a family of six, including four children. The U.S. military, however, denies a family was killed and issues a statement saying that "intelligence sources indicate a known Zarqawipropagandist is passing false reports to the media". (Reuters: 1, 2)
prisoner abuse scandal at the Abu Ghraibprison. He is the third person to plead guilty in the scandal. (CNN)
Rafiq Hariri resigns and says he will leave the government, ending several weeks of conflict between Hariri and the Syrian-backed President, Émile Lahoud. Lahoud's term in office was extended last month, allegedly as a result of pressure from Syria; in response, the United Nations Security Council passed a resolution condemning foreign interference in Lebanon and demanding the withdrawal of foreign troops. (Al Jazeera)Archived 29 November 2004 at the Wayback Machine
Typhoon Tokage kills at least 66 people and injures hundreds more in southern Japan, making it the deadliest typhoon to hit Japan in 22 years. (BBC)(Reuters)Archived 2005-01-24 at the Wayback Machine
The Human Genome Project revises its estimate of the number of genes in the human genome, putting the number at 20,000 to 25,000, about 30 percent fewer than the previous estimate. (ABC News)
Kyoto Treaty on climate change is ratified by Russia's State Duma, the lower house of parliament. The treaty will now go to the upper house and President Vladimir Putin for their approval. (BBC)
Margaret Hassan, the humanitarian aid worker who was kidnapped in Baghdad on October 19, is shown on the al Jazeera television network pleading for her life. (BBC)
airstrikes. Military officials say a precision strike had destroyed a known enemy command and control post. (Reuters)Archived 2005-04-08 at the Wayback Machine(BBC)
The Roman Catholic Church publishes a handbook intended to guide business, cultural], and political leaders in making decisions regarding social issues. The publication comes one week before the
Joaquin Navarro Valls says that "the Holy See never gets involved in electoral or political questions directly". (MSNBC)
Tensions remain high in French Polynesia as the Leadership remains in doubt. The Legislative Assembly failed to sit on Monday 25 October. Gaston Flosse, elected President on 22 October, attempted to enter the Presidential palace on the weekend but was met by closed gates. (Oceania Flash)
Iraqi National Guard checkpoint north of Baghdad, killing an Iraqi civilian. In Mosul, a car bomb kills a tribal leader and two civilians. (Reuters)Archived 2004-11-14 at archive.today(BBC)
Palestinian spokesman Saeb Erekat says "It is unfounded that President Arafat requested to go to a Ramallah hospital" and "He is recuperating from an acute case of the flu". (Reuters)Archived 2005-01-24 at the Wayback Machine
The International Atomic Energy Agency announces that two weeks ago, the Iraqi government informed the agency that about 380 tons (345,000 kg) of powerful explosives, potentially usable in detonators for nuclear bombs, apparently disappeared from the Al-Qaqaa weapons facility, a site about 30 miles south of Baghdad, sometime shortly before or after Saddam Hussein's government fell. The Iraqi director of planning attributed the disappearance to "the theft and looting of the governmental installations due to lack of security", although other sources indicate the explosives could have been removed by the Hussein regime itself. (Reuters: 1Archived 2004-10-26 at archive.today, 2Archived 2005-04-08 at the Wayback Machine, CNN: 1, 2)
Iyad Allawi tells the interim national council that yesterday's killing of 49 unarmed army recruits "was the outcome of major neglect by some parts of the multinational (forces)." (Reuters)[permanent dead link
]
The
U.S. military reports a known associate of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was killed in an early morning air strike on a safe house in Fallujah. Local residents say that the houses destroyed were empty for over a month and hospital staff report no casualties. (CNN)(Reuters)Archived 2005-04-08 at the Wayback Machine
78 people died of
suffocation while in the custody of Thailand police following the dispersal of a violent demonstration on October 25 in the restive Muslim-majority southern region of the country. The deaths appeared to have occurred during a five-hour trip in closed trucks to a detention facility. (Reuters)Archived 2005-04-08 at the Wayback Machine(BBC)
F-22 Raptor jet, the world's most expensive fighter aircraft. The Air Force has ordered 277 of the planes. (BBC)
Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat's health declines sharply, and a team of doctors is called in to treat him. Doctors performed a minor diagnostic procedure on Arafat on Monday, after he complained of stomach pains. (Reuters)(Haaretz)
Scientists announce the discovery on the
cm) tall—dates from only 18,000 years ago, disproving the accepted theory that modern humans became the sole human species 160,000 years ago. (AP)
Four British citizens, who were detained at the US military installation in
Amnesty International declares the Bush administration to be "guilty of setting conditions for torture and cruel treatment by lowering safeguards and failing to respond adequately to allegations of abuse", amid other criticisms of the "war on terror", which the report says is "violating basic rights in the name of national security" and urged the President and challenger John Kerry to support an independent inquiry into detention and interrogation policies. (Reuters)Archived 2005-04-08 at the Wayback Machine
Slobodan Milošević trial: Slobodan Milošević's defense team asks for a withdrawal, saying Milošević refuses to cooperate. (Reuters)
Washington Times, citing US Defense Department official John A. Shaw, alleges that Russian special forces moved weapons, explosives, and related materials out of Iraq and into Syria, Lebanon, and possibly Iran, shortly before the U.S. invasion of Iraq in March 2003. Russia denies the allegation, calling the claims "absurd". U.S. officials later say they cannot corroborate the claim, but are investigating. (Washington Times)(VOA)(Interfax)
A
genetic modification. At the same time, the company denied that it will be able to do the same for dogs, because whereas cats have a single gene that produces the allergenic protein, dogs have many allergenic proteins controlled by multiple genes. (San Jose Mercury News)(New Scientist)
U.S. presidential election
:
U.S. presidential election are missing. Officials mailed 60,000 absentee ballots earlier this month, but only 2,000 were delivered. (BBC)
NAACP sends out warnings about a forged letter that threatens the arrest of voters who have outstanding parking tickets or have failed to pay child support. (The State)
1963 Grammy Award for best album of the year, dies in Auburn, Maine. (CNN)
Fighting broke out for the second time in a month in Somalia between troops from the autonomous Somaliland and Puntland macro-regions. So far, fighting in the disputed region has left over a hundred dead.(BBC)
In
treaty establishing a constitution for Europe. The treaty is still subject to ratification by the member nations. (BBC)
Two bombings occur in southern Thailand, in the wake of clashes between minority Muslim protesters and Thai soldiers in which about 80 protesters were suffocated while being transported to detention camps. (INQ7.net)
reported by the International Atomic Energy Agency 18 months ago. (NY Times)
Arab television network
September 11, 2001 attacks, threatening further action against the U.S., and criticizing U.S. President George W. Bush. He said that the security of the American people depended neither on Mr. Bush nor on John Kerry, but on US policy. (Reuters)[permanent dead link](BBC)
Beslan school hostage crisis, threatens more attacks against Russian civilians. (BBC)
The
Viktor Yanukovich in first place with 40% and Viktor Yushchenko in second with 39%. The run-off will be held on November 21. International monitors report "serious irregularities" in the voting. (BBC)
Darfur conflict: Rwanda begins deploying a contingent of 237 troops to Darfur, Sudan, as part of an African Union mission to bring stability to the troubled region. Sixty-five soldiers have been sent this weekend; the rest will be deployed as the week progresses. Rwanda already had some troops in Darfur. (CNN)