The U.S.
Centers for Disease Control announce that three
organ transplant recipients have died from
rabies infection after receiving organs from a donor infected with the rabies virus. This is a medical rarity, as human rabies infections in the
developed world are extremely rare.
(CNN)
Brazil's strict new
gun control legislation, including a nationwide register of all firearms, both privately owned and government issued, comes into force.
(BBC)
Entertainer
Bill Cosby, in an appearance with
Jesse Jackson, criticizes the
African American community, saying illiterate blacks are "going nowhere" and advising unemployed black men to "stop beating up your women".
(CNN/archive.org)
Alfonso Durazo, spokesman and private secretary to
MexicanPresidentVicente Fox, resigns over "political differences" with his boss, including the presidential ambitions of First Lady
Marta Sahagún. The announcement came shortly after, but was not related to, a bad day for Fox's
PAN party in state elections in its northern heartland.
(BBC)(Reuters)
The
World Health Organisation says that six months into its project against
AIDS, 440,000 people in developing nations have received
antiretroviral drugs. Despite being 60,000 short of its target, the organisation says it is still hopeful of achieving its aim of distributing to 3,000,000 people by the end of 2005
(BBC)
The United States
Department of Homeland Security asks the
Justice Department's office of legal counsel to research on the legal requirements for postponing the November elections, stating that they are concerned that terrorists might disrupt the elections.
(Newsday)
The
Iranian government rejected requests for Canadian government observers to attend the trial of intelligence agents charged with the death of Canadian
photographer,
Zahra Kazemi
In commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the
Entente Cordiale, troops from the United Kingdom are accorded the honour of leading France's parade on the
Champs-Élysées in
Paris.
(BBC)
A
Turkish court orders a retrial of four Kurdish former members of parliament who were jailed in 1994. They have been accused of supporting separatism and for making speeches in
Kurdish.
(BBC)
The U.S.
bankruptcy court for
Manhattan approved the reorganization plan of notorious energy-trading company
Enron, which is now likely to formally emerge from
chapter 11 later this year.
(Washington Post)
American celebrity
Martha Stewart is sentenced to five months in a federal
prison, five months of
house arrest, two years
probation, and ordered to pay a $30,000 fine, for attempting to cover up illegal stock trading. The sentence is stayed pending appeal.
(Reuters)Archived 2013-09-29 at
archive.today
Acceding to the demands of
Iraqi militants who kidnapped and threaten to behead truck driver
Angelo de la Cruz, the
Philippines agrees to withdraw from Iraq. Eleven soldiers leave today, while the remaining 32 are slated to withdraw at a later date.
(BBC)
Allegations surface that
Iyad Allawi himself summarily executed six prisoners at a Baghdad police station one week before becoming Iraqi prime minister, to "send a clear message to the police on how to deal with insurgents". His office completely denies the event.
(SMH)(Age)
The trial for the murder of Canadian
journalistZahra Kazemi in
Iran ended abruptly on the second day of the proceedings. The lawyers of the Kazemi family insisted that the time has not been enough for proofs to be given,
witnesses to be brought to court, and the
murderer to be identified.
Jordanian troops detect and intercept four unidentified individuals attempting to "infiltrate to the western side of the
Jordan River" (
Israel). Three are killed and the fourth arrested.
(JNA)
IsraeliPrime MinisterAriel Sharon calls on French Jews to move to Israel immediately in light of the dramatic rise in French
anti-semitism (510 anti-semitic acts or threats in the first six months of 2004, compared to 593 for all of 2003). The French government describes his comments as unacceptable. An Israeli spokesperson later claims that Sharon had been misunderstood.
(BBC)(Haaretz)
Hezbollah official Ghalib Awali is killed in an explosion in
Beirut, Lebanon. The governments of
Syria and
Lebanon blame
Israel. A statement attributed to underground
Sunni Muslim group
Jund as-Sham claims responsibility for the attack against "
Shiite infidels"; later, the group denies involvement in the bombing and proclaims its solidarity with Shiites and Hezbollah.
(INN)(Daily Star)
Despite threats, Japan rebuffs demands that Japanese troops be withdrawn from
Iraq. Deputy Cabinet Secretary Masaaki Yamazaki states: "For the rebuilding of Iraq, we must continue our support and not give in to
terrorism".
(Reuters)Archived 2004-11-13 at the
Wayback Machine
Following the decision of the
Philippines to accede to hostage-takers' demands that it withdraw all 51 soldiers from
Iraq, militants in Iraq abduct three
Indians, two
Kenyans and an
Egyptian, announcing that the hostages would be beheaded unless their countries immediately announce the withdrawal of troops from Iraq.
Major North American
brewersCoors and
Molson announce they will go ahead with a proposed
merger, creating the world's fifth-biggest brewing company.
(Toronto Star)
The
United Nations raises its threat warning level for the
Gaza Strip to "Phase Four" (the maximum is five) and plans to evacuate non-essential foreign staff from the Gaza Strip.
(Reuters)Archived 2005-04-15 at the
Wayback Machine
Kenya calls on its citizens to leave
Iraq, after the recent abductions of three Kenyan citizens
(AP)
In Canada, one person is reported to have died and five others hospitalized due to an
E. coli contamination
(AFP)
In
Turkey a passenger train travelling between
Istanbul and
Ankara derails at about 18:45 local time (16:45 UTC) near
Pamukova in
Sakarya Province. Initial fatality reports from the government suggested that 139 people were killed; this was reduced to approximately 30, without explanation, a few hours later, and the actual number is unclear.
(BBC)
Ignacio Carrill, the Special
Prosecutor for Past Social and Political Movements in
Mexico, presents the findings of the investigation into the "
dirty war", where it classifies the killings by government forces as
genocide, and requests warrants be issued for the arrest of former president
Luis Echeverría and 11 other ex-government figures.
(BBC)(La Jornada in Spanish)
An 18-year-old
Palestinian, Hassan Zaanin, is shot dead in Beit Hanoun in the
Gaza Strip when he and his family attempt to stop Palestinian gunmen from planting an anti-tank explosive outside their house.
(Haaretz)(BBC)
The bridge in
Mostar dividing
Croatian and
Bosniak communities is opened 11 years after it was destroyed in the Bosnian war.
(BBC)
A special prosecutor files
genocide charges against former
President of
MexicoLuis Echeverría for actions taken by the Mexican military during a student protest in 1971.
An
Iranian court clears Mohammad Reza Aghdam-Ahmadi, the
intelligence agent accused of killing the Iranian-Canadian journalist
Zahra Kazemi, of charges of "semi-intentional murder", stating that the
blood money should be paid from the state's
treasury.
(BBC)
A roadside bomb explodes in
Karachi,
Pakistan, killing an electrician and wounding six others. The victims were all students and staff at an Islamic seminary, and appear to be the targets of the attack.
(BBC)
In
Mexico Judge César Flores refuses to authorize an arrest warrant for former president
Luis Echeverría and other officials under the accusations of
genocide for the killing of students during the "
dirty war". Prosecutors are expected to appeal the decision.
(BBC)
Fifteen insurgents are killed in a five-hour battle near the guerrilla stronghold of
Buhriz near
Baquba in which small-arms, artillery, and mortars are used.
A U.S soldier is killed in a roadside bomb attack near
Baiji, 90 miles south of
Mosul.
A former government official is killed in Baghdad.
Guerillas murder two police officers in Mahumudiya, 25 miles south of Baghdad.
A police officer, a Kurdish Patriotic Union of Kurdistan fighter, and a Kurdish woman and her two sons are killed in Kirkuk.
(AP)
A
suicide bomber attacks near a U.S base in the northern city of
Mosul, killing two civilians and an Iraqi security guard. Three U.S soldiers and an Iraqi security guard were wounded.
The Iraqi interim Interior Ministry's Deputy Chief of Tribal Affairs, Col. Musab al-Awadi, is assassinated in
Baghdad, along with two of his bodyguards.
Insurgents kill two Iraqi women working as cleaners for British forces in
Basra in southern Iraq.
Militants threaten to kill two Jordanian truck drivers they captured within 72 hours if their Jordanian employer does not stop doing business with the U.S. military.
(AP)
The
International Maritime Bureau says that deaths due to
piracy doubled in the first month of 2004 compared with the same period in 2003, to 30 people. Half of the killings were in
Nigerian waters. Despite the increased violence, the total number of piracy attacks fell. In the economically critical
Straits of Malacca however, attacks rose by a third.
(BBC)
South African authorities announce that
Al-Qaeda militants have illegally obtained a large number of South African passports, enabling operatives to travel to many African countries and Britain without visas. It is believed that the passports came from
crime syndicates operating within the passport office.
(AP)[permanent dead link]
A lower French court annuls the same-sex union of Stephane Chapin and Bertrand Charpentier, stating that the
Civil Code does not allow same-sex unions and that allowing them is for the
legislature. The couple say they will
appeal against the court's ruling, even to the
European Court of Human Rights. The
mayor who officiated at the ceremony, Noel Mamere of the left-wing Greens Party, had been suspended from duties for one month by the national executive.
(AP)[permanent dead link]
Guerilla mortar fire, directed at the
Green Zone in
Baghdad, strikes the nearby neighborhood of Salhiya, killing an Iraqi garbage collector, wounding another, and injuring 15 U.S. soldiers.
Dr. Qassem el-Obaidi, assistant director of
Mahmudiya hospital, is assassinated in Mahmudiya, 25 miles south of Baghdad.
A suicide bomber launches a failed attack in
Baquba, north of Baghdad, killing himself but inflicting no other casualties.
The
Jordanian company Daoud and Partners decides to withdraw from Iraq, so as to secure the release of two Jordanian hostages.[1]
The
United Nations warns that
Bangladesh is on the verge of a humanitarian crisis, as severe
flooding causes more than 350 deaths. Forty-one of the country's sixty-four districts are affected by the floods, and officials say 14 million people are either marooned or homeless; other estimates reach as high as 30 million.
(BBC)
The
European Union's 25 foreign ministers jointly call on the
United Nations to pass a resolution threatening sanctions if the
Sudanese government does not rein in the
Arab militias blamed for atrocities in
Darfur.
(BBC)
A massive suicide car-bomb kills 70 Iraqi civilians in an attack near a police station in the city of
Baquba, north of
Baghdad.
Insurgents launch simultaneous attacks on U.S bases around
Ramadi, killing two U.S soldiers and wounding eight. One guerrilla and an Iraqi civilian are killed in the Ramadi fighting. Clashes between Marines and guerillas are reported elsewhere in
Al Anbar province, west of Baghdad.
A U.S soldier is killed and three wounded in a roadside bomb attack on a convoy in the town of Balad Ruz, north of Baghdad.
A U.S soldier is killed and another three wounded in a roadside bomb attack in Baghdad. An Iraqi civilian was also injured in the blast.
Seven Iraqi policemen and 35 guerillas are killed in a battle in the town of Suwariyah, southeast of Baghdad, that was started by a raid by Iraqi security forces backed by U.S and Ukrainian troops.[2]
About 220
North Koreans fly to
South Korea from an unnamed third country, following 247 who arrived the day before. They arrive at
Incheon International Airport on a plane chartered by the South Korean government. The North Korean government describes their apparent defection as "kidnapping".
(BBC)
A
United Airlines flight carrying 246 passengers to
Los Angeles, US, is forced to return to
Sydney, Australia, after a bomb threat. Police later describe a
hoax warning, found written on an air sickness bag.
(CNN)
United States Senator
John Kerry formally accepts the 2004 Democratic Presidential candidate nomination. In his acceptance speech he undertakes to "restore trust and credibility to the White House".
(MSNBC)
The
Bank of England says that
consumerdebt in the United Kingdom has passed one
trillionpounds for the first time. Coupled with increasing
interest rates, this increased amount of debt has caused a sharp rise in the number of people seeking help with money problems – up 44% on five years ago.
(BBC)
Two Australian anti-war protestors who daubed "No War" in red paint on the top sail of the
Sydney Opera House on March 18, 2003, take their case to the New South Wales Court of Appeal. David Burgess, 33, and Will Saunders, 42, claim their defence of self-defence was not heard by their original trial judge.
(Sydney Morning Herald)
In
Vietnam, dissident pro-democracy activist Dr
Nguyen Dan Que is sentenced by the Ho Chi Minh People's Court for "abusing democratic rights to jeopardise the interests of the state, and the legitimate rights and interests of social organisations and citizens". Que is the third dissident this month to be jailed after using the
Internet to criticise the ruling Communist government.
(Vietnam News Agency) (note the Agency is state-controlled),
(Miami Herald).
Doughnut maker
Krispy Kreme announces that its accounting practices are the subject of an informal inquiry by the
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The inquiry is concerned with the company's repurchase of franchises as well as a recent earnings warning.
(AP)
Scientists at the
Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute announce the discovery of a new genus of deep sea worms, Osedax (meaning bone devourer). The worms feed on
lipids found in the bones of
whale carcasses.
(MBARI)
The
Olympic Stadium in
Berlin is given a new lease of life after a four-year renovation. The stadium is to stage the
Football World Cup 2006 final, Germany's biggest sporting spectacle since reunification, exactly 70 years after the infamous
Nazi Olympics.
(BBC)
Valve & Sierra's joint
WON system was permanently shut down, and replaced by
Valve's new
Steam client.
The Vatican denounces
feminism, claiming that it would blur differences between men and women and threatens the institution of the traditional
family of one man and one woman, stating that the drive for equality makes "
homosexuality and
heterosexuality virtually equivalent, in a new model of polymorphous
sexuality".
(AP)[permanent dead link]
Iran states that it has resumed building
nuclearcentrifuges to enrich
uranium, reversing an October 2003 pledge to Britain, France and Germany to suspend all uranium enrichment-related activities. The United States contends that the purpose is to produce
weapons grade uranium.
(Reuters)Archived 2005-04-08 at the
Wayback Machine