Portal:Current events/March 2005

September 20, 2024 (2024-09-20) (Friday)

March 23 2005

• An explosion occured at a BP oil refinery in Texas City, Texas. Over 100 are injured, and at least 14 are feared dead. (Fox News) (Globe and Mail)
• Prince Rainier III of Monaco reportedly has gone into renal and heart failure and is on a respirator. (Yahoo! News)
• Conflict in Iraq: Iraqi Army officials claim that they along with backing from US troops have killed at least 80 insurgents in a raid on a camp near Tikrit. (BBC)
• 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 Lebanon, Michel Abu Arraj, a judge investigating the murder of Rafik Hariri, asks to step down from the case prior to public announcement of the results of the United Nations investigation. /Reuters Alertnet) (BBC)
• Israel announces that it will ban Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza Strip from entering Israel during the upcoming Purim holiday. (People's Daily) (RTE)
• In Brazil, the Brazilian Army receives permission to set up second emergency field hospital in the park of Rio De Janeiro to alleviate shortage of medical services. Mayor Cesar Maia opposes the move, blaming the situation on lack of government funding. (Reuters AlertNet) (BBC)
• In Kyrgyzstan, riot police break up a protest in the capital Bishkek. (Reuters Alertnet) (BBC) President Askar Akayev sacks his interior minister and prosecutor general for "poor work" in dealing with the growing protests against his government. (Interfax) (Reuters) (RIA Novosti) (BBC) USA and UN appeal for calm and negotiations. (Bloomberg) (Bloomberg)
• The College of Bishops of the Episcopal Church of Scotland declares that being a practicing homosexual does not constitute "a bar to the exercise of an ordained ministry". (BBC)
• In 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)
• In Cambodia, 16 prisoners die during an jailbreak in the province of Kampong Cham; 30 others escape. (Reuters AlertNet) (BBC)

March 22, 2005

• The World Hockey Association announces that a six-team tournament, the "Bobby Hull Invitational", will take place in May 2005 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. (ESPN)
• Israel hands over control of Tulkarm to the Palestinian Authority. (BBC)
• Prince Rainier III of Monaco, hospitalized for the past two weeks with a pulmonary infection, is moved to intensive care. (Yahoo! News)
• In Chile, Paul Schaefer, former leader of Colonia Dignidad, is charged with involvement in the 1976 disappearance of Juan Maino, activist and opponent of the regime of Augusto Pinochet. (Reuters AlertNet) (Prensa Latina) (BBC)
• In Kyrgyzstan, President Askar Akayev's spokesman claims that the protests are a coup attempt planned by "drug mafia". (Pravda) (CNN)
• In the Democratic Republic of Congo, authorities say they have arrested many senior members of militia groups in Ituri, including Thomas Lubanga of the Union of Congolese Patriots. (Reuters AlertNet) (ReliefWeb) (BBC)
• United Nations declares World Water Day, starting a decade-long Water for Life campaign for clean water. (UN News Centre) (ABC) (Reuters AlertNet) (BBC)
• Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo sacks education minister Fabian Osuji for corruption. (Vanguard, Nigeria) (AllAfrica) (Reuters SA)
• German airline Lufthansa announces its takeover of Swiss Airlines. (Swissinfo) (Bloomberg)
• In Italy, the Council of State allows Alessandra Mussolini to stand in elections. (AGI) (BBC)
• In India, numerous bank workers take part in a one-day strike to protest government reforms and bank merges they say will lead to job cuts. (New Kerala) (Hindustan Times) (BBC)
• The Indian government bans veterinary drug diclofenac because of a connection to the near extinction of vultures. (Indian Express) (BBC)
• Ex-president of Peru, Alberto Fujimori, plans to finance his coming presidential campaign with Fuji-Cola. Fujimori is in exile in Japan, is wanted for corruption, murder and kidnapping and is legally banned from holding public office in Peru until 2010 (Reuters) (BBC)
• In Angola, at least 96 people have died of Marburg virus. (ReliefWeb) (Reuters SA) (News24) (CIDRAP)

March 21, 2005

• Iceland's parliament, Alþingi, votes to grant fugitive U.S. chess champion Bobby Fischer Icelandic citizenship. (NDTV) (Reuters)
• Israel has announced plans to add 3,500 homes to the Ma'ale Adummim settlement in occupied territories east of Jerusalem. Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said this would "sabotage" peace efforts. (BBC)
• Red Lake High School massacre: In a US school shooting, Jeff Weise opened fire at Red Lake High School in Minnesota, killing nine people and then himself. (Kansas City Star)(BBC)
• UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan proposes to have the Security Council expanded from 15 members to 24 members. (ISN) (CNN) (Reuters) (Wired)
• Tulip Revolution: After taking Jalal-Abad in southern Kyrgyzstan one day earlier, opposition protesters against electoral fraud in the 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 Narendra Modi addresses a meeting of Indian-Americans via satellite. He claims there is a "disinformation campaign" against India. (Sify) (Outlook India)
• World Wildlife Fund states that Asian river dolphins are in danger due to pollution and damming of rivers. (BBC)
• Tornadoes in northern Bangladesh kills 27. (Express Newsline) (BBC)
• Bangladeshi police charge 10 people accused of murder of opposition politician Shah AMS Kibria, member of Awami League. They include eight members of the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party. Kibria was killed in a grenade attack January 27. (New Nation, Bangladesh (BBC)
• In Haiti, four people, including two UN peacekeepers, are killed in a shootout between peacekeepers and former rebels. (Reuters)
• In Namibia, president Sam Nujoma retires and is succeeded by Hifikepunye Pohamba. (AllAfrica) (Reuters SA) (News24) (Reuters) (Bloomberg) (BBC)
• Russia criticises Polish decision to name a square in Warsaw after dead Chechen separatist leader Djokhar Dudayev (Reuters AlertNet) (Mosnews) (BBC)
• Dutch lumber merchant Guus van Kouwenhoven is charged with war crimes and arms smuggling to then-president Charles Taylor during civil war in Liberia (Reuters SA) (BBC)
• In Estonia, prime minister Juhan Parts announces his resignation after vote of no confidence against justice minister Ken-Marti Vaher. That also means his government is dissolved (Bloomberg) (BBC)

March 20, 2005

• US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice arrives in Beijing for the last leg of her six-country Asian trip. Rice met with President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao; talks about North Korea nuclear missiles program and Taiwan are on the top of the agenda. (CNN) (China Daily)
• Protesters in Kyrgyzstan march against electoral fraud in the 2005 Kyrgyz parliamentary elections, and appear to have taken control of the southern town of Jalal-Abad after mounting large-scale demonstrations to demand Askar Akayev to step down as President of Kyrgyzstan. (Reuters), (BBC), (CNN)
• Floods in Afghanistan kill more than 200. Coalition helicopters are dispatched to save people (Bloomberg) (Hi Pakistan) (BBC)
• In Azerbaijan, president Ilham Aliyev announces pardons for 114 people, including 7 opposition leaders and total of 50 political prisoners (Azertag) (CASCFEN) (BBC)
• Serbian government states that Bosnian Serb general Vinko Pandurević will surrender to war crimes tribunal at the Hague. He is charged with genocide connected to Srebrenica massacre in 1995 (FENA) (B92) (Reuters)

March 19, 2005

• A 7.0 magnitude earthquake hits Japan's southernmost main island of Kyushu. Japan's Meteorological Agency emits warnings for tsunamis that could hit areas including the coast of Kyushu. (CNN)
• One Briton killed and 12 people wounded by a car bomb in Doha, Qatar. (Al-Jazeera) (BBC)
• Pakistan successfully test-fires a long-range nuclear-capable ballistic missile, Shaheen-II, the latest in a series of tests. Shaheen-II can travel upto 2,000 km and carry all kinds of warheads. (Pakistan Times) (Daily Times, Pakistan) (Times of India)
• G20 group of the developing countries calls on rich nations to end their farming subsidies in five years (Reuters) (Business Week) (Bloomberg) (BBC)

March 18, 2005

• Woman Imam in NYC: Amina Wadud, an 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)
• Israeli-Palestinian conflict:
  • In Tel Aviv, 10,000 people rallied to support Israel's unilateral disengagement plan of 2004 and support Ariel Sharon's plan to leave the Gaza Strip now. (Haaretz), (Ynet)
  • Member of Knesset Effi 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 a disputed island called Tokto in Korea and Takeshima in Japan. (CNN)
• The government of Ukraine admits that 18 Kh-55 Granat nuclear-capable cruise missiles (without warheads) were smuggled to Iran and China by arms dealers. (BBC)
• In the Netherlands, businessman Frans van Anraat is put on trial for allegedly selling chemicals to Saddam Hussein to make poison gas. He is accused of complicity to commit war crimes and genocide. (Reuters) (BBC)
• USA denies diplomatic visa to Indian politician Narendra Modi, chief minister of Gujarat (times of India) (NDTV) (BBC)
• In the Solomon Islands, militia leader Harold Keke and two others receive a life sentence for murdering Augustine Geve (Solomon Star) (Reuters) (BBC)
• The United Nations fires one employee and suspends six others without pay for allegations of sexual abuse in the Democratic Republic of Congo. (Reuters AlertNet) (UN News Centre)
• The SMTH BBS, the most popular newsgroup-like Bulletin Board System among Chinese university students and graduates, is forced by the PRC government to shut down off-campus access. (Washington Times)
• Private Johnson Beharry of the British Army becomes the first person to receive the Victoria Cross since 1982 and the first living recipient since 1969. (Reuters)

March 17 2005

• At the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider particle accelerator in Upton, New York, physicist Horatiu Nastase may have created a black hole. (BBC)
• The People's Republic of China frees Uighur dissident and businesswoman Rebiya Kadeer on medical parole. (BBC)
• U.S. Congressman Rob Portman (R-Ohio) was nominated by President George W. Bush to be the United States Trade Representative, replacing Robert Zoellick. Portman is subject to Senate confirmation. (Reuters) [1]
• 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)
• A number of non-governmental organizations meet in Geneva, Switzerland in the World Water Forum. They call for water to be treated as a common asset instead of being privatized. (Swissinfo)
• In China, a bus explosion kills about 30 people in Jiangxi province. (China Daily) (Reuters AlertNet) (Channel News Asia) (BBC)
• In Bolivia, opposition leader Evo Morales calls off blockades against the government of Carlos Mesa after it raises taxes of foreign energy companies. (Bloomberg) (Reuters) (BBC)
• London police say they have foiled an attempt to steal £220 million from the London offices of the Sumitomo Mitsui Bank. (BBC) (Reuters UK)
• The only remaining statue in Madrid of the Spanish dictator Francisco Franco is removed on government orders. (BBC)
• In Italy, the staff of Milan's La Scala opera vote for the resignation of the famous conductor Riccardo Muti. (Reuters) (BBC).
• In Russia, Anatoly Chubais, head of Russia's state power monopoly Unified Energy System, survives an apparent ambush (Interfax) (RIA Novosti) (Reuters)
• King of Thailand, Bhumibol Adulyadej, intends to personally direct artificial rain making project to end drought in the country. He intends to use his own cloud seeding technique (BBC)
• In Zimbabwe, president Robert Mugabe states in his election campaign that the country is short of food. Local opposition group the National Constitutional Assembly says that ZANU-PF use food as a political tool (Reuters AlertNet)
• Russian police arrests an Australian man who threatened to blow up a passenger plane (Moscow Times) (Australian) (Reuters)

March 16 2005

• Israel formally hands Jericho to 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)
• Russia announces that it will pay $10 m to the people who betrayed Chechen separatist leader Aslan Maskhadov, who was killed by Russian special forces. (The Guardian)
• President of Bolivia Carlos 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) (Bloomberg) (BBC)
• President of El Salvador, Tony Saca, criticises new inquiries of The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights into El Mozote massacre in 1981. (Reuters AlertNet) (BBC)
• The United States Senate accuses seven US banks of complicity of allowing Augusto Pinochet to set up 100 bank accounts to hide money total to US$15 million. (Reuters) (CNN) (BBC)
• Amnesty International states that fair elections are "impossible" in Zimbabwe. (Amnesty International) (Reuters AlertNet) (News24)
• In the Supreme Court of British Columbia today, Ripudaman Singh Malik and Ajaib Singh Bagri were found not guilty in their trial for the bombing of Air India Flight 182. (The Globe and Mail) (Reuters) (Bloomberg)
• European Union postpones negotiations for Croatia's possible membership. Delegates state that Zagreb has not cooperated with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia in trying to arrest suspected war criminal Ante Golovina. (EUObserver) (Bloomberg) (Reuters) (World Peace Herald)
• A plane crash in Russia kills 28, some of them employees of Lukoil oil company. (Mosnews) (RIA Novosti) (Bloomberg)
• Zambian government files corruption charges against ex-president Frederick Chiluba in a British High Court. He is accused of defrauding the state of the equivalent of US$35 million. (Reuters SA) (BBC)
• United Nations withdraws its foreign personnel from west of Darfur after threats from pro-government militias. (AllAfrica) (Reuters) (BBC)
• Iran publicly executes serial killer Mohammad Bijeh, nicknamed the "Tehran Desert Vampire". (IranMania) (Reuters AlertNet) (BBC)
• In Japan, Hitachi unveils two examples of its wheeled robot Emiew. (Reuters) (Slashdot)

March 15 2005

• 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)
• OPEC announces that it's unable to control oil prices. (MSNBC)
• The dedication of the new Yad Vashem Holocaust museum in Jerusalem, Israel: leaders from 40 states and the General Secretary of the UN Kofi Annan attend inauguration of Holocaust museum. President of Israel 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)
• In the Philippines, police storm the Camp Bagong Diwa prison. 26 die during the fighting, three of them Abu Sayyaf members. Six police officers are wounded. (Reuters) (Bloomberg) (Sun Star, Manila) (BBC)
• Japanese immigration officials state that they are going to deport Bobby Fischer back to USA, instead of allowing him to move to Iceland. (Mainich Daily News) (MSNBC)
• In Kosovo, an explosion hits the motorcade of president Ibrahim Rugova in the capital Pristina. (Reuters) (CNN) (BBC)
• The International Criminal Court will hear its first case, the allegations of war crimes during a civil war in the Democratic Republic of Congo. (Daily Times) (BBC)
• The government of Italy announces that it will begin to withdraw its troops from Iraq in several months. (BBC)
• In Niger, thousands of protesters demonstrate violently outside parliament against rising prices and high tax increases. Some of them call for resignation of the president Mamadou Tandja (AllAfrica) (Reuters SA) (BBC)
• In Zimbabwe, new electoral court rules that jailed opposition politician Roy Bennett, member of the Movement for Democratic Change, can take part of parliamentary elections on March 31. (AllAfrica) (Reuters AlertNet) (BBC)
• In Paris, France, French-Algerian Djamel Beghal is sentenced to 10 years in jail for plotting to bomb US embassy in 2001. Five others received shorter sentences. (Reuters) (IHT) [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4350525.stm (BBC)
• In Lebanon, United Nations team that investigates murder of Rafik Hariri, completes its mission. They will present their findings to secretary general Kofi Annan in New York (Reuters AlertNet) (BBC)
• In Italy, cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Roman catholic archbishop of Genoa, speaks against what he describes as "lies" in the popular book "The Da Vinci Code"; the book effectively claims that, among other things, the church suppresses information about Jesus' marriage with Mary Magdalene (Catholic News Service) (Catholic World News) (Reuters) (BBC)

March 14 2005

• Massive protests take place in Beirut, Lebanon, against the Syrian presence there. With an estimated turnout of 800,000 to 1 million, it is the largest public demonstration on the issue yet. (ABC News)
• Cyclone Ingrid is moving away from Darwin, Northern Territory and towards the Kimberley region of Western Australia as a Category 4 storm. (AustBC News), (Aust BOM)
• The Anti-Secession Law of the People's Republic of China, a law aimed at resolving the issue of Taiwan, is passed and enters into force. (BBC News)
• According to World Wildlife Fund, melting glaciers in the Himalayas could lead first to floods in China, India and Nepal and then long droughts. (Bloomberg) (Xinhua) (BBC)
• In Italy, Alessandra Mussolini, granddaughter of Il Duce Benito Mussolini, is banned from regional elections for presenting fraudulent signatures. She threatens to go on a hunger strike. (Reuters) (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 the police, the attempt was led by imprisoned members of Abu Sayyaf. (Sun Star, Manila) (Reuters)
• Bangladesh bans smoking in public places. (Reuters)
• San Francisco Superior Court Judge Richard Kramer says that limiting marriage to between man and woman is unconstitutional (San Francisco Chronicle) (Reuters) (BBC)
• In India, muslim charity Sunni Waqf Board claims ownership of the Taj Mahal. They have issues notice to Archeological Survey of India to show opposing evidence (Express Newsline) (New Kerala) (BBC) (Hindustan Times)
• 500 protesters are arrested in Nepal (BBC)
• In Macedonia 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) (RFE) (BBC)
• According to International Maritime Bureau, 35 pirates stormed gas tanker MT Tri Samudra in Malacca Strait last saturday and captured its captain and chief engineer for ransom. The ship has been released. In another attack, pirates capture three members of a japanese tugboat (Today Online) (Channel News Asia) (ABC) (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 suspects that the clothes were bought using government funds (AllAfrica) (BBC)
• The United States government announces the arrests of 103 members of the violent street gang MS-13. (AP)

March 13 2005

• International authorities apprehend 41 suspects in a massive money laundering ring code-named White Whale in Spain. (Bloomberg) (Independent) (BBC)
• Pope John Paul II leaves Gemelli Polyclinic 2 1/2 weeks after his tracheotomy and returns to Vatican City. BBC
• The Malta Labour Party celebrates a long expected victory in the Local Council Elections in Malta. 53.18% of the electorate voted Labour whereas 44.6% voted for the Partit Nazzjonalista. (di-ve)
• China begins human trials of AIDS vaccine (People's Daily Online) (Channel News Asia) (Medical News Today)
• In France, prime minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin agrees to demands of protesters and grants concession on his reform policies (Reuters) (BBC)
• Former leader of Togo, Gnassingbé Eyadéma, is buried in the capital Lome (News24) (BBC)
• Roll Back Malaria charity concert begins in Dakar, Senegal, to collect funds to fight against malaria and to buy mosquito nets. Local musician Youssou N'Dour organized the concert and it features major african artists. (News24) (Reuters) (IOL)
• Muslim religious scholars in Pakistan announce a fatwa that decrees that heroin use is un-Islamic. The fatwa is pronounced in a seminar in Baluchistan. (Daily Times, Pakistan (BBC)
• In Turkey, authorities close down the Bosphorus shipping channel after a cargo ship that carried liquiefied petroleum gas sinks due to bad weather. It takes hours for the shipping authorites to collect gas tanks. (Planet Ark) (BBC)
• In Italy, explosion in the Motta di Livenza injures three people. Officials suspect serial bomber (CNN) (BBC)

March 12 2005

• President Hu Jintao of the People's Republic of China is elected to be chairman of the Central Military Commission by the 3rd Plenum of the 10th National People's Congress. (Xinhua) (Reuters) (NBC-WTSM) (CCTV)
• The State Council of the People's Republic of China approves the resignation of Hong Kong's Chief Executive Tung Chee-Hwa, who then becomes a vice-chairman of the Political Consultative Conference, an advisory body. (Channel News Asia) (Xinhua)
• Ukraine begins to pull its troops out of Iraq. (VOA) (Al Jazeera) (Guardian)
• Local council elections in Malta are to take place. Results initially appear to favour the Malta Labour Party. (di-ve)

March 11 2005

• A day of mourning is held in Spain to mark the first anniversary of the 11 March 2004 Madrid attacks. At noon, King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofía inaugurate the Forest of the Departed (Bosque de los Ausentes), a memorial park in Madrid where an olive or cypress tree has been planted for each victim of the tragedy. (BBC) (CNN) (Toronto Star) (4ni)
• Released official documents have confirmed that the U.S held children as young as 11 years old at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. (BBC)
• President of Switzerland, Samuel Schmid, speaks in Madrid in a conference on terrorism and urges countries to respect international law and human rights (Swissinfo) (NZZ)
• Former Chess world champion Garry Kasparov announces he is going to retire from professional competitions (ITAR-TASS) (BBC)
• In Brussels airport, 56 Iranian monarchist protesters sit in an airliner for 16 hours to protest against the Islamic government of Iran. Police later remove them from the plane. (Reuters) (CNN) (BBC)
• All is set for the local council elections in Malta which shall take place tomorrow. The results are expected to be in favour of the Malta Labour Party, the current opposition party. (di-ve) (MaltaToday) (Independent Online)
• In the UK, the controversial Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005 was finally given Royal Assent after one of the longest ever sittings by the House of Lords.

March 10 2005

• Paul Schäfer, former leader of Colonia Dignidad community in Chile, is arrested in Argentina accused of child sexual abuse. He has been on the run for 8 years. (Reuters) (BBC)
• USA withdraws from part of the Vienna Convention that gave the International Criminal Court the right to intervene in cases of foreigners held in death rows in US jails (CNN) (Reuters) (BBC)
• In Rwanda, traditional Gacaca community courts begin to judge cases of people accused of involvement in the Rwandan genocide in 1994 (Reuters AlertNet) (ReliefWeb) (AllAfrica)
• In Djibouti, Mohamed Daoud Chehem, the only opposition candidate in the forthcoming presidential elections, withdraws from the race. The incumbent President Ismail Omar Guelleh remains the only candidate in the elections of April 8 (BBC)
• Conflict in Iraq: At least 47 people have died following an apparent suicide bombing at a Shia funeral in the Iraqi city of Mosul. (BBC)
• A U.S Judge has dismissed a case brought by Vietnamese plaintiffs over the use of Agent Orange during the Vietnam War. (BBC) (Judges Decision in Full)
• Lebanese President, Emile Lahud, reappoints Omar Karami as 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)
• Israeli troops kill Mohammed Abu Hazneh, a member of Palestinian Islamic Jihad and an alledged plotter of the recent Tel Aviv "Stage" nightclub suicide bombing. After he killed a K9 dog, the troops bulldozed his house, crushing him to death. (BBC)
• The Chief Executive of Hong Kong, 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 half-mast as the largest police memorial in Canadian history is held in Edmonton, to honour the four RCMP victims of the Rochfort Bridge massacre. Attending were ~10,000 officers from North America, Canadian dignitaries and entertainers with songs of reflection and sorrow. (CBC) (Toronto Star)
• The Islamic Commission of Spain, that country's largest Muslim group, issues a fatwa against al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Ladin, ruling that his actions have made him an apostate, that he should not be regarded as a Muslim, and that his claim that 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)

March 9, 2005

• Cyclone Ingrid diminishes to a category 3 storm, and is crossing the Cape York Peninsula in northern Queensland, Australia late on March 9, 2005 UTC. ABOM
• In Australia, immigration minister Amanda Vanstone grants Cui Yu Hu permanent residency (News.com.au) (Australian) (BBC)
• In Bolivia, Congress refuses to accept resignation of President Carlos Mesa and he withdraws it (Reuters) (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)
• Colombia extradites captured FARC leader Omaira Rojas Cabrera, also known as Sonia, to USA to face drug trafficking charges (BBC)
• Conflict in Iraq: 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 Israeli settlements in the West Bank. Former state prosecutor Talia Sasson has recommended that criminal investigations be launched. (BBC)
• Ramush Haradinaj, the former prime minister of Kosovo, flies to International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia in The Hague to answer for charges for his role as a former commander of Kosovo Liberation Army in 1998-1999. He goes there voluntarily. (OneWorld) /Reuters) (BBC)
• In the Philippines, 29 children from San Jose Elementary School die from food poisoning after eating cassava balls. (Reuters)
• Syria says its troops will leave Lebanon before parliamentary elections in May (BBC) (Reuters)
• In Costa Rica, bank robbers take hostages in the western town of Santa Elena de Monteverde. Three robbers, five hostages and a security agent are killed during the siege. Last robber surrenders (Reuters AlertNet) (San Jose Mercury News) (BBC)
• In South Africa, 5.3 Richter scale earthquake collapses 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)
• In Spain, Alfredo Galán, a serial killer who left playing cards on the bodies of some of his victims, is sentenced to jail for 142 years (Reuters) (BBC)
• In Guinea, president Lansana Conte sacks three senior ministers, security minister Moussa Sampil, foreign affairs minister Mamadi Conde and mines minister Alpha Mady Soumah, to replace them with the members of his own 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)
• World Health Organization issues a warning that cases of malaria have increased to 500 million- much more than they anticipated (Reuters) (Scientific American) (BBC)

March 8, 2005

• In Lebanon, almost five hundred thousand people have flooded a Beirut square, in front of the United Nations building, in a rally showing their support for Syria, dwarfing previous anti-Syria demonstrations. (CNN) (BBC) (ABC)(Daily Star, Lebanon) (Reuters)
• A very high plume of ash and steam is seen coming from the direction of active volcano Mount St. Helens in the U.S. state of Washington. The plume is visible as far away as Portland, Oregon. (Wikinews) (ABCnews)
• In Northern Ireland the IRA issues an unprecedented statement that they made an offer to the family of murder victim Robert McCartney to shoot the members involved in his 31 January killing. The family made it clear that they wanted the people concerned prosecuted, not physically harmed. (BBC)
• Russian armed forces claim that Chechen separatist leader Aslan Maskhadov has been killed in a special forces operation. (Guardian)
• Kosovan Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj reports that he has been charged with war crimes by the 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)
• Gianfranco Fini, the foreign minister of Italy has demanded that the US "identify and punish" those responsible for the death of Nicola Calipari, the Italian intelligence agent killed by US soldiers in Iraq. (BBC)
• In Australia, 104-year-old Chinese widow Cui Yu Hu, who has lived in the country for 10 years, loses an appeal to receive a permanent visa. She has asked immigration minister Amanda Vanstone to intervene. (The Australian) (BBC)
• South Africa intends to change the name of the capital Pretoria to Tshwane (IOL) (BBC)

March 7 2005

• 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)
• 133 prisoners have died following a fire in a prison in the Dominican Republic. The government has promised an investigation, as the fire follows clashes between rival gangs in the prison which is located in the eastern city of Higuey. (BBC)
• 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)
• John R. Bolton is nominated by President George W. Bush to become the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. (CNN) (Fox News).
• Hans Bethe, Nobel Laureate in Physics, discoverer of stellar fusion, key participant in development of atomic and hydrogen bombs, outspoken critic of arms race and nuclear testing, died at age 98. wikinews Cornell University News Service
• A Vietnamese nurse is confirmed to have contracted the bird flu, raising the number bird flu patients in Vietnam to 22, since late 2004. (Xinhua) (Reuters) (Bloomberg)
• Irish singer Bono, of rock band U2, is nominated for World Bank presidency. (Guardian) (Business World) (Zaman)
• 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)
• In Moldova, ruling Pro-Western Communist Party of the Republic of Moldova wins a narrow majority in parliamentary elections but will be probably unable to elect a president without further political alliances with other parties (Reuters) (BBC) (CNN)
• 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)
• Italy prepares a funeral for the agent Nicola Calipari who died in Iraq protecting released hostage Giuliana Sgrena. Sgrena disputes US Army account of the shooting (New York Post) (BBC) (BBC Sgrena interview)
• In South Korea, finance minister Lee Hun-jai resigns over allegations that his wife has made illegal property deals (Korea Times) (Bloomberg) (Reuters UK)
• German financial company Deutsche Börse AG withdraws its takeover of the London Stock Exchange (MarketWatch) (Bloomberg) (BBC)
• Malaysia and Indonesia agree to talks about the border dispute in Borneo over oil resources. Indonesia has deployed military units to the area (Channel News Asia) (Reuters) (Jakarta Post)
• Representatives of European Union meet with those of Turkey, a prospective new member. They also critisize Turkish police for violent handling of a demonstration that marked the International Women's Day in Istanbul. Turkish officials promise to investigate the case (Bloomberg) (IHT)
• Momčilo Perišić, former Yugoslavian army general, hands himself in to the United Nations war crimes tribunal in the Hague. He is charged with complicity of Serbian separatist war crimes in Bosnia and Croatia during the Yugoslav Wars. (Bloomberg) (B92) (BBC)
• Prison fire in the Dominican Republic claims 134 lives and injured 25. Fire started during a clash of prison gangs (Reuters) (BBC)
• In Spain, prosecutors of the case of Adolfo Scilingo, Argentinean naval officers accused of multiple counts of genocide, murder and terrorism, request a prison sentence of 9138 years (Prensa Latina) (BBC)
• In Norway, police recovers three paintings of Edvard Munch the day after they were stolen (CNN) (BBC)
• In Sierra Leone, three members of the former military government, Armed Forces Revolutionary Council, go on trial accused of crimes against humanity during the civil war. (Reuters) (AllAfrica) (ReliefWeb) (BBC)

March 6 2005

• Bolivian President Carlos Mesa announces his resignation, effective Monday. (Reuters)
• In Rabat, Morocco, some 30.000 protesters march to call for release of prisoners of war held by Polisario in Algeria. (Morocco Times) (Reuters SA)
• In Israel, police arrest 22 employees of Bank Hapoalim for suspected money laundering. (Haaretz) (Jerusalem Post) (BBC)

March 5 2005

• President Bashar al-Assad of Syria announces that Syria will withdraw all 14,000 troops in Lebanon to the Bekaa Valley area, on the Syrian-Lebanese border. (Reuters)
• Scientists flock to an area about 300 miles off the coast of U.S. state of Washington to study what appears to be an ongoing undersea volcanic eruption. Accompanying earthquakes measuring up to magnitude 4.0 have numbered thousands per day. (Seattle Times)
• The South African film director Zola Maseko wins the top prize at the 2005 FESPACO African film festival for his film Drum. (FESPACO site) (BBC)
• The Pakistani government is appealing to the Supreme Court of Pakistan after the Lahore High Court overturned the death sentences of five of the six men convicted for the alleged gang rape of Mukhtaran Bibi in a tribal feud. Daily Times, Pakistan
• In Niger, government cancels special ceremony that would have released about 7000 slaves because no slaves appeared. Local human rights group Timidra blames government threats against tribal leaders. (News24) (CNN) (Telegraph) (BBC)
• Chin Peng, leader of communist rebels during Malayan Emergency, asks Malaysian court to allow him to return. (Malaysian Star) (New Straits Times) (Reuters India)

March 4 2005

• Abducted Italian journalist Giuliana Sgrena, a reporter for Il Manifesto, is released in Iraq. An Italian secret service agent, Nicola Calipari, was killed and Sgrena wounded when a US armored vehicle opened fire on her car after it allegedly failed to slow as it approached a checkpoint. (ABCNews - AP) (Reuters) (BBC)
• United Nations warns that about 90 million Africans could be infected by the HIV virus in the future without further action against the spread of the disease. See AIDS in Africa. (Health24) (WHO) [2]
• President of India, APJ Kalam meets 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)
• Former interior minister of Ukraine, Yuri Kravchenko, is found dead in his country house, in an apparent suicide. He had been linked to the murder of journalist Georgiy Gongadze and was due to give evidence. (Reuters) (Scotsman) (BBC)
• The BSE Sensex breaches the 6,800-mark for the first time in its history, ending at 6,849, up 65 points over its previous close. The market rally has added about 160 billion Indian rupees (approx. 3.6 billion US$) to investor wealth with the BSE's market capitalisation at a record high of 17.65 trillion Indian rupees (approx. 400 billion US$). (Financial Express, India)
• President's rule is imposed in Goa and the Goa assembly is placed under suspended animation. (Deccan Herald) (Sify, India)

March 3, 2005

• In Belgium, Naïma Amzil, a Muslim woman leaves her job after her employer is targeted with a seventh death threat, sent by a group named New Free Flanders (Dutch: Nieuw Vrij Vlaanderen). She is targeted because she is Muslim and wears a headscarf at work. (BBC) (Middle East Online)
• Four officers of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police are shot dead while investigating a man suspected of stealing a pickup truck, west of Edmonton, Alberta. This is the largest single death toll for RCMP officers since the Northwest Rebellion. (CBC)
• 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)
• In Indonesia, Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Bashir is found guilty of conspiracy for his involvement in the 2002 Bali bombing, but was found not guilty of all charges surrounding the 2003 bombing of the Marriott hotel in Jakarta. He received a two and a half year jail sentence. (BBC)(Jakarta Post) (Reuters)
• In China, a dynamite explosion in a home of a miner kills 20 people, most of them schoolchildren (Xinhua) (Reuters) (BBC)
• In Japan, Yoshiaki Tsutsumi, millionaire and chairman of Kokudo Corporation, is indicted in insider trading and false financial reports (Daily Yomiuri) (Asahi Shimbun) (Reuters)
• Steve Fossett's GlobalFlyer touches down in 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)
• After 5 months in prison, Martha Stewart is released from Camp Cupcake at 12:30 EDT. (CNN)
• In South Africa, police look for three killers of Thulani Zulu, Zulu prince and ANC official. Thulani Zulu was killed in a drive-by shooting. IFP also condemns the act (SABC (IOL) (News24) (BBC)
• Zimbabwe intends to release 62 mercenaries connected to failed coup attempt in the Equatorial Guinea last year. Most of the suspected mercenaries are South African. (Reuters SA) (IAfrica) (BBC)
• FBI sends a special agent to Azerbaijan to help in the investigation of murder Elmar Huseynov. editor in chief of Monitor magazine. The magazine has often critisized the government of the country. (Baku Today) (IJNet) (BBC) (CASCFEN)
• World Trade Organisation upheld a ruling that orders USA to stop subsidies to its cotton farmers. (Bloomberg) (New York Times) (BBC)
• Mexico allocates equivalent to US$ 2.7 million to compensate relatives of more than 300 women killed in Ciudad Juárez since 1993. (UN News Centre) (KLTV) (BBC)
• In Angers, France, 66 people go into trial for sexual child abuse and child prostitution of 45 victims of various ages. (Reuters) [] (Guardian) (BBC)
• In Naples, Italy, police has arrested at least 42 people during a large operation against Camorra. (AGI) (News.Com.Au) (BBC)
• Scientists at Florida State University conclude that Homo floresiensis is a separate species from Homo sapiens and belongs in the Homo genus through computer mapping of its brain. (Reuters), (CBC)
• At 18:17Z, a 3500-tonne freighter, 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)

March 2, 2005

• In Pakistan, a bill proposing to strengthen the law against "Honour Killing" is defeated in Parliament, after the government sides with the Islamist opposition and deems the bill "un-Islamic". (BBC)
• Unpopular Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa of the former British colony of Hong Kong reportedly resigns, with reluctant approval from Beijing. (The Standard), (BBC),(CBC), (Globe&Mail), (Reuters), (CNN). (BBC).
• Banda Sea Earthquake: An earthquake measuring up to 7.5 on the Richter scale hits Darwin, Northern Territory in Australia (ABC News)
• The 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)
• US company Titan Corporation agrees to pay a fine equivalent to US$28.5 million after they admit attempting bribery to get a military communications contract in Benin. The corporation allegedly gave US$2 million to the re-election campaign of president Mathieu Kérékou. (Reuters), (Financial Times), (BBC)
• Microsoft founder Bill Gates is awarded the title of Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire by Queen 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)
• Windsor Tower, the building in central Madrid which was burnt down by a fire on February 12th, starts to be demolished. Technicians pay attention now to the wind, since it may make harder to control the cranes. (EiTB)

March 1, 2005

• In Afghanistan, president Hamid Karzai appoints Abdul Rashid Dostum as his chief-of-staff. Dostum has been accused of involvement in human rights abuses. (Reuters) (Daily Times, Pakistan) (BBC)
• In Bangladesh, 15 suspected radical leaders of Islamic groups are charged with sedition (Reuters) (Matamat, Bangladesh)
• In Burundi, a referendum approves the new constitution, which is intended to end 12 years of civil war (Reuters AlertNet) (IAfrica) (BBC)
• Canada deports Holocaust denier Ernst Zündel to Germany, where he is arrested (CTV) (CNews) (Reuters AlertNet) (BBC)
• In the Democratic Republic of Congo, militia leader Floribert Ndjabu of Nationalist and Integrationist Front is reportedly arrested for the killing of nine Bangladeshi UN peacekeepers last week (Reuters AlertNet) (BBC)
• A French court in Angers prepares for a major child sex trial (BBC)
• In Italy, a court sentences Laura Proietti, a member of the Red Brigades, to life in prison for involvement in the murder of Massimo D'Antona in 1999. A second member, Cinzia Banelli, receives 20 years (BBC) (Newsday)
• Protests break out in Indonesia over fuel price increases (Reuters) (Channel News Asia)
• 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) (BBC)
• Malaysia begins to round up illegal immigrants after a 4-month amnesty (Channel News Asia) (ABC Asia) (Reuters) (BBC)
• David Crane, the chief prosecutor of Sierra Leone's war crimes tribunal, will step down in July after three years (Reuters AlertNet) (AllAfrica) (BBC)
• Greenpeace in Switzerland accuses three chemical firms based in Basel of failing to clean up toxic waste (SwissInfo) (NZZ)
• Syrian president Bashar al-Assad states that Syria could withdraw all its troops from Lebanon in a couple of months (Reuters) (Jerusalem Post) Lebanese protestors destroy a statue of former Syrian president Hafez al-Assad in the southern village of Qana (Daily Star, Lebanon)
• 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)
• The President of Ukraine, Viktor Yushchenko, announces that suspected killers of a journalist Georgiy Gongadze have been arrested (DVC, Ukraine) (Bloomberg) (Reuters) (BBC)
• In Uruguay, Dr. Tabaré Vázquez, the first leftist president in the country's 180-year history, takes office, announces his cabinet and restores diplomatic relations with Cuba. (Prensa Latina), (Bloomberg),(XinHua), (Globe&Mail), (BBC)
• In a major change to capital punishment in the United States, by a closely-divided vote, the US Supreme Court rules, in Roper v. Simmons, that imposition of the death penalty on persons convicted of capital crimes committed before they were 18 is unconstitutional. (BBC)(CSM)
• In the USA, New York Federal court hears a case of Vietnamese plaintiffs who demand compensation for effects of the Agent Orange during the Vietnam War. United States Justice Department and companies that manufactured Agent Orange demand that the federal judge dismiss the case.(Forbes) (Voice of Viet Nam) (International Herald Tribune) (BBC)

Past events by month

see list of months by year for a more complete list.

2005: January February
2004: January February March April May June July August September October November December
2003: January February March April May June July August September October November December
2002: January February March April May June July August September October November December
2001: January February March April May June July August September October November December
2000: January February March April May June July August September October November December

News collections and sources

• Wikipedia:News collections and sources.
• Wikipedia:News sources - This has much of the same material organized in a hierarchical manner to help encourage NPOV in our news reporting.