Portal:Current events/July 2003

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A timeline of events in the news for July, 2003.

See also:

July 31, 2003

It is reported that the United States is secretly negotiating with Iran to trade members of Mujahadeen al-Khalq captured by the U.S. in Iraq for members of al-Qaida being held by Iran.
Admiral John Poindexter, former United States National Security Advisor, is rumored to be planning his resignation from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency following Congressional objections to DARPA's proposed plan to create a futures market on terrorist activities. Poindexter was convicted on multiple counts for his involvement in the Iran-Contra Affair. [1]
The Vatican releases a document entitled Considerations Regarding Proposals to Give Legal Recognition to Unions Between Homosexual Persons, in which it rejects same-sex marriage and urges Catholic lawmakers to oppose it in their countries.
In Canada, Prime Minister Jean Chrétien and Liberal party leadership candidate Paul Martin Jr., both Roman Catholics, indicate that they will continue to advance a bill for same-sex marriage in Canada despite the Vatican's pronouncement, citing the separation of church and state.
A US$30 million payment to the informant who led U.S. soldiers to Qusay and Uday Hussein was approved by the U.S. government. The informant will receive both $15 million rewards for Qusay and Uday, a spokesman for the United States Department of State said. [2]

July 30, 2003

Ibrahim al-Jaafari, a Shi'ite Muslim and chief spokesman for the Islamic Dawa Party, which was banned during Saddam's rule, is picked to be the first of nine men who will serve one-month stints leading postwar Iraq. He will hold the presidency in August.
A Canadian concert, Molson Canadian Rocks for Toronto, attended by 450,000 people, takes place to show that SARS is no longer in Toronto and to raise money for health care and hospitality workers affected by the outbreak.

July 29, 2003

In Mexico City, the last production Volkswagen beetle, nicknamed El Rey, is rolled out.

July 28, 2003

The United Nations Security Council appoints Harri Holkeri to head the temporary civilian administration UNMIK in Kosovo.
Ambassador Ole Wøhlers Olsen, the Muslim Danish coordinator for the U.S.-led provisional authority in southern Iraq resigns unexpectingly, to be replaced by Sir Hilary Synnott, currently the British High Commissioner to Pakistan. Ambassador Olsen, who has been critical of the lack of support for his reconstruction efforts, declared the British and Danish foreign services have chosen to replace him now instead of in October, as earlier planned, stating that he himself had been prepared to continue his work in Basra. [3]

July 27, 2003

Comedian Bob Hope dies in his sleep [4]
A group of approximately 50 rogue soldiers from the Armed Forces of the Philippines seizes a portion of a shopping mall and the adjacent hotel in Makati City, Metro Manila in the Philippines demanding President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's resignation. They claim to have surrounded the occupied zones with explosives and have temporarily held several people in the hotel, including Australian Ambassador Ruth Pierce. The group is said by some officials to be connected to ousted President Joseph Estrada and oppositionist Senator Gregorio Honasan, who staged several coup attempts in the late 1980s. [5] [6]
The BBC reports that an extensive investigation of Loch Ness by a BBC team, using 600 separate sonar beams, found no trace of any "sea monster" in the loch. Loch Ness is a popular tourist attraction because of the rumors surrounding an alleged monster or plesiosaur populating the lake (see Loch Ness Monster). The BBC team stated that it is now conclusively proven that "Nessie" does not exist. [7]
2003 Tour de France: Lance Armstrong wins his 5th consecutive Tour de France.

July 26, 2003

U.S.-led occupation of Iraq: Three US soldiers are killed while guarding a Baquouba children's hospital northeast of Baghdad, Iraq bringing the number of US troops killed in combat to 161, 14 more than the 1991 Gulf War total. [8]

July 24, 2003

The United States' provisional authority in Iraq releases photos of what are presumably the dead bodies of Uday and Qusay Hussein in an attempt to show the Iraqi people proof that the two were actually killed in a U.S. military operation.[9]
California lieutenant governor Cruz Bustamante announces that governor Gray Davis will face a recall election on October 7. This will be the second gubernatorial recall election in the United States history (the first occurred 82 years beforehand).[10]
Italian officials have decided to attempt a restoration of Michelangelo's David using distilled water. [11]
Colin McMillan, President Bush's nominee for the post of United States Secretary of the Navy, dies of an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.

July 23, 2003

Die Zeit, a German newspaper, publishes an opinion poll which claims that almost one in three Germans under the age of 30 believe the United States government "could have ordered the September 11th attacks [on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon] itself". 1000 people took part in the survey.
California officials announce that over 110% of the required signatures to force a recall election of Governor Gray Davis are in setting the stage for what will be the first gubernatorial recall election in the United States in 82 years.[12]
New York City Councilman from Brooklyn, James E. Davis is assassinated at City Hall by former political opponent Othniel Askew.
Zahra Kazemi affair: Bill Graham, the Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs, announces that Ms. Kazemi's body has been buried in Iran, contrary to her family's wishes. Consequently, Canada has recalled its ambassador to Iran.
The Minister of Justice in Finland, Johannes Koskinen, said that there could be legalized brothels for example for handicapped people. He got very angry response of organizations for handicapped. 66% of people in Ilta-Sanomat newspaper's readers said that prostitution must be under state control.

July 22, 2003

John Manley, Deputy Prime Minister of Canada, drops out of the race to succeed Jean Chretien as leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and Prime Minister after conceding he cannot catch front-runner Paul Martin, Jr.. [13]
One of the top floors of the Eiffel Tower catches fire. No-one is injured. [14]
Fighting continues and the death toll rises in Liberia as rebels move into Monrovia to depose President Charles Taylor.
U.S.-led occupation of Iraq: In Iraq, "four key figures" in the former Iraqi regime die in a large operation by US troops. The dead included Saddam Hussein's sons Uday and Qusay. [15][16] [17]
A severe storm strikes Memphis, Tennessee, leaving several dead and as many as 300,000 without power, including extremely severe damage to the power grid in some areas. [18] [19]
Geographers announce that, with respect to its relative size, Kansas is flatter than a pancake. [20]

July 21, 2003

npr.org's All Things Considered program aired a humorous article on the Wiki phenomenon, and on Wikipedia.org.
Jong-Wook Lee becomes the new Director-General of the World Health Organization.
SCO v. IBM Linux lawsuit: SCO announces that it intends to sell binary-only licences to use the free Linux operating system which will remove the threat of litigation from licence-holders. Linux advocates react by stating that SCO has no basis for this action, and that doing this may cause SCO to forfeit their rights under the GNU GPL to use or distribute Linux or Linux-derived code in any form. SCO press release CNet story
In Puerto Rico, 25 people are seriously injured after a roof collapse in a Vega Alta, Puerto Rico mall.[21] (in Spanish)

July 20, 2003

16 people are injured after two bombs explode outside tax offices in Nice, France. [22]
Richard Sambrook, the Director of BBC News reveals that Dr. David Kelly was the source of claims that Downing Street had "sexed up" the September Dossier. (see also: Dodgy Dossier)
Former Ugandan dictator Idi Amin is in a coma at a hospital in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and Uganda has refused permission for him to return.
British Open (golf): Rookie Ben Curtis, ranked 396th in the world, becomes the first golfer to win a major golf tournament in the first attempt in more than 90 years.
14 people - a US family of 12 who had chartered the plane and the South African crew of 2 - die when a light plane crashes into Mount Kenya after taking off from Nairobi for Buffalo Springs National Reserve in northern Kenya. [23]

July 19, 2003

The US Governing Council of Iraq announces that it has failed to select a new Iraqi President. [24]
Doctors in Vienna transplant a human tongue at Vienna General Hospital. [25]

July 18, 2003

US Basketball: Eagle County, Colorado District Attorney Mark Hurlbert announces that Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant has been charged with one count of felony sexual assault, stemming from a June 30 incident at a gated resort involving a 19-year-old woman.
The corpse of Dr. David Kelly is discovered, it appears that he committed suicide. Kelly was a British government advisor involved in the September Dossier investigation relating to the 2003 war on Iraq. Former Labour Junior Minister Glenda Jackson calls for Prime Minister Blair's resignation and a Mail on Sunday reporter asks, "Do you have blood on your hands. Prime Minister?" Blair refuses to comment, as does Communications Director Campbell. [26]
The United States Senate passes a defense appropriations bill which explicitly forbids the Department of Defense from spending any money on Terrorist Information Awareness research, effectively putting an end to the Information Awareness Office. [27]

July 17, 2003

Same-sex marriage in Canada: The federal government releases its draft bill to extend marriage rights to same-sex couples while protecting the rights of clergy not to perform marriages that run counter to their religious beliefs. The government will seek a reference from the Supreme Court of Canada to ensure the bill is constitutional. [28]
India declines a United States request to send an occupation force to Iraq. United States Envoy assures that Indo-US relations will not be hampered by the refusal.
In a press conference in Belfast, journalist Seán Ó Muireagáin denies Israeli claims that he is a former convicted Provisional IRA terrorist. He states that he is not, and never has been, a member or supporter of the IRA. Israel repeats that the arrest of Ó Muireagáin was "unfortunate" but refuses to apologise. Israel's treatment of Ó Muireagáin is strongly criticised in Ireland. SDLP ex-minister Sean Farren states that Ó Muireagáin is "well known and respected" in Northern Ireland.
Evangelist and former United States Presidential candidate Pat Robertson announces his "massive prayer offensive" dubbed "Operation Supreme Court Freedom", asking Americans to pray that at least three United States Supreme Court justices retire so that the court can be filled with conservative justices who will overturn Supreme Court rulings on school prayer, separation of church and state and sodomy.
The Uniting Church in Australia votes to officially recognise and approve of homosexual clergy. (ABC (Australia) news report)

July 16, 2003

Seán Ó Muireagáin, a Northern Irish journalist, arrested by Israel and held for five days without legal representation in a case of mistaken identity, is released and leaves Israel. The affair causes considerable embarrassment to the Israeli and British secret services, the former having arrested Ó Mureagáin on the advice of the latter, who claimed incorrectly that he was a Real IRA man with the same name. In the confused aftermath, the Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman suggests that Ó Muireagáin may have been guilty, while Prime Minister Sharon's spokesman states categorically that he was innocent and the entire affair an error. He claims that Ó Muireagáin is a former convicted Provisional IRA terrorist.
A coup d'état takes place in São Tomé and Príncipe; the prime minister Maria das Neves is arrested. [29]
Following the 500,000-people protest on July 1, the government of Hong Kong is hit by two resignations of high-ranking officials in one day. One is the Financial Secretary Antony Leung and the other is the Security Secretary Regina Ip who was in charge of the controversial Article 23. [30]
Noor Fatima, a two-and-a-half-year-old Pakistani girl was sucessfully operated on in an Indian hospital today to plug holes in her heart, making her father term it, "the resumption of a new era of friendship betweIen India and Pakistan".
Phil Fontaine is elected Grand Chief of the Assembly of First Nations of Canada.
An 86-year-old man accidentally hits the accelerator instead of the brake at a farmer's market in Santa Monica, California, driving his car through a closed-off street and killing at least 10 people (including a 3-year-old girl and a 7-month-old boy) and injuring over 50 others. One of the dead is the daughter-in-law of actor Dennis Weaver.
An Australian research team led by Graham Giles of The Cancer Council published a medical study which concluded that frequent masturbation by males may help prevent the development of prostate cancer.

July 15, 2003

Scott McClellan replaces Ari Fleischer, as White House press secretary. [31]

July 13, 2003

A national governing council meets for the first time in Baghdad, as US troops launch a new assault on anti-coalition elements. [32]
Yahoo! announces that it will buy Internet search listing service Overture Services for $1.63 billion in cash and stock.
The United Kingdom media, following tip-offs from the Israeli and British Intelligence Services, state that a Real IRA terrorist Seán Ó Muireagáin, has been captured in Israel. The arrest his triumphed as an example of the successful relationship between both country's intelligence services, and comes after a meeting between prime ministers Tony Blair and Ariel Sharon in Downing Street.

July 12, 2003

The intelligence service of the United States says that the CIA's head, George Tenet, accepted George W. Bush's speech in January, which included wrong information of Iraq's plans to buy uranium from Africa. [33] The office of Prime Minister Tony Blair responded that it stands by its belief that Saddam Hussein attempted to buy African uranium, claiming that it cannot share its information with the United States because it comes from "foreign intelligence sources." [34]
Baseball: Barry Bonds ties the 63-year-old record of Jimmie Foxx by homering against the Arizona Diamondbacks' Curt Schilling, becoming the second player in Major League Baseball to hit at least 30 home runs in 12 consecutive seasons.

July 11, 2003

Zahra Kazemi, an Iranian-born Canadian journalist, dies of injuries received from beating while in Iranian custody. She had been arrested on June 23 while taking photographs outside an Iranian prison. Her death sparks a furor between Canada and Iran over the disposition of her body and the punishment of her killers, and among international free speech groups concerned with freedom of the press in Iran.

July 10, 2003

The Princess Diana Memorial Fund announces that on legal advice it has frozen its funds as it faces a demand for £15 million ($25 million) damages for alleged malicious prosecution from the Franklin Mint in the US. The Mint had won a courtcase over its right to manufacture a Diana, Princess of Wales lookalike doll. Hundreds of charities are expected face financial difficulties as a result of the freeze. Arc Charity Chief Executive James Churchill says "I hope that the Franklin Mint Corporation is aware of the damage that their action is causing to groups of vulnerable young people all over the world."
Former International Development Secretary Clare Short urges that British Prime Minister Tony Blair voluntarily leave the premiership. Blair, dining with Bill Clinton in London's Guildhall, makes no comment.
Gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell claims the second most senior Church of England cleric, Archbishop Hope of York, is gay. The Archbishop had previously described his sexuality as a "grey area". The claim follows the row over a nomination of a openly homosexual canon to a bishopric in England and his withdrawal after attacks from conservative groups within the Anglican communion.
NASA reports the discovery of Methuselah, the oldest extrasolar planet yet discovered. The planet, which is estimated to be 12.7 billion years old, is orbiting the pulsar PSR B1620-26 in the core of the ancient globular star cluster M4, located 5,600 light-years away in the summer constellation Scorpius. [35]

July 9, 2003

The ferry MV Nasrin-1 capsizes and sinks near Chandpore in Bangladesh. The whereabouts of most of the approximately 700 passengers is unknown. [36]
The U.S. government announces that two more officials of the defeated Iraqi government on the U.S. list of most wanted Iraqis were taken into custody on Tuesday. Mizban Khadr al-Hadi was a high-ranking member of Iraq's Baath Party Regional Command and Revolutionary Command Council, and Mahmud Dhiyab al-Ahmad was a former Interior Minister.
Nike announces an agreement to purchase Converse; for $305M.

July 8, 2003

A worker at a Lockheed Martin aircraft parts factory in Meridian, Mississippi shoots 13 co-workers, killing five, before committing suicide. Investigators are unsure of the motive.[37]
Ladan and Laleh Bijani die during their unsuccessful separation operation in Singapore. [38]
During a visit to the former slave-trading station on Goree Island, off the coast of Dakar, Senegal, U.S. President George W. Bush calls slavery "one of the greatest crimes of history", but stops short of an official apology. [39]
Same-sex marriage in Canada: A British Columbia court rules that same-sex couples may get married in that province, effective immediately. BC becomes the second Canadian province, and second political division in the Western Hemisphere, to legalize same-sex marriage. This decision is [Asimilar to the Ontario decision on June 10, 2003. [40]
A Sudan Airways Boeing 737 jetliner crashes in Port Sudan, killing 116 passengers. A toddler of two or three years is the sole survivor. [41], [42]

July 7, 2003

MSNBC fires conservative talk show host Michael Savage for making several anti-gay remarks, including telling a homosexual caller that he "should only get AIDS and die". Gay rights group GLAAD applauds the decision to fire Savage.[43]
United States Central Command chief Gen. Tommy Franks retires after 36 years in uniform. Newcomer Army Gen. John Abizaid is appointed as his replacement. [44]
Thousands of people take part in the first bull run of the annual San Fermin festival in Pamplona, Spain. No serious injuries or gorings were reported. [45]
A United States district court approves a settlement between WorldCom and the Securities and Exchange Commission, in which WorldCom will pay $750 million to investors for its accounding scandal.[46]
A rare political drama happens in Hong Kong. Chief Executive Tung Chee Hwa is forced to postpone the legislation of Hong Kong Basic Law Article 23, just few hours after he insists the second reading will go on schedule despite the giant protest on July 1.

July 6, 2003

Wimbledon championships:

Roger Federer makes history, becoming the first Swiss male ever to win the Wimbledon final, defeating Mark Philippoussis, 7-6 (7-5), 6-2, 7-6 (7-3)
Martina Navratilova equals her idol, Billie Jean King's record of 20 Wimbledon titles after winning the mixed doubles final with Leander Paes against Andy Ram Anastassia Rodionova, 6-3 6-3. [47]
Todd Woodbridge also equals a record, winning with Jonas Bjorkman his 8th men's doubles title by beating Mahesh Bhupathi and Max Mirnyi, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6, 6-3. [48]
Kim Clijsters and Ai Sugiyama win the women's doubles final, and so their first Wimbledon title, 6-4, 6-4, against first seeds Virginia Ruano Pascual and Paola Suarez, as they did in this year's French Open final. [49]

Laden and Laleh Bijani, 29-year-old female Iranian twins conjoined at the head, begin their 2 to 4-day-long separation surgery in Singapore. [50]

July 5, 2003

At least 16 people are killed and 40 injured by two female suicide bombers in an attack at Krylya, a popular music festival, at the Tushino airfield near Moscow. The Russian authorities blame an on-going terrorism campaign by Chechen rebels; the Chechen government denies any connection to the attacks. [51]
2003 occupation of Iraq: 7 newly US-trained Iraqi policemen are killed and at least 13 are wounded by an explosion while they are marching from training school in Ramadi. The American forces overseeing the rebuilding of Iraq's infrastructure, who gave their blessing to the march taking place, blames loyalists to Saddam Hussein; some people on the scene blame U.S. forces. It is the first attack on Iraqis collaborating with the invading coalition forces, as opposed to on the forces themselves. [52]
In response to 500,000-strong protests earlier in the week, Tung Chee-hwa, leader of Hong Kong, announces that controversial provisions limiting civil liberties in Hong Kong Basic Law Article 23 will be rewritten. [53]
Taiwan is the last territory to be declared free of SARS by the World Health Organization, after 20 days with no new cases reported. [54]
Premier John Hamm of Nova Scotia, Canada, calls a provincial election for August 5.
The 2003 Tour de France begins in Paris.
Wimbledon championships: Serena Williams repeats as women's champion by beating her sister Venus, by scores of 4-6, 6-4, 6-2.

July 4, 2003

A Shia Muslim mosque in Quetta, Pakistan is stormed by armed attackers, killing at least 32 worshippers and wounding 52. [55]
A tape, purporting to be of Saddam Hussein and to have been made on June 14, is broadcast on Al-Jazeera, the Arabic language satellite television station. If it is Saddam, it marks the first public communication from the former Iraqi leader since his disappearance early on in the Invasion of Iraq.

July 3, 2003

The World Meteorological Organisation publishes a report stating that recent extreme weather conditions around the world may mark changes in global climate caused by global warming. [56]
President Bush continued to consider whether or not to contribute United States troops to a [[UN [Apeacekeeping|peacekeeping]] mission in Liberia.[57]

July 2, 2003

On taking up the EU presidency, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi makes an embarrassing remark, causing an uproar of criticism from the 626-seat European Parliament and the European media, by insulting the German MEP Martin Schulz (SPD) with the words "Mr. Schulz, I know there is a producer in Italy who is making a film on the Nazi concentration camps. I will suggest you for the role of kapo. You'd be perfect."
The European Parliament approves two laws that regulate the selling of genetically modified food in the EU territory, requiring labelling of all GM products (products with more than 0.9 % genetically modified parts) and allowing member states to separate GM food and non-GM food and crops.
The International Olympic Committee announced in Prague, Czech Republic, that Vancouver, British Columbia will host the 2010 Winter Olympics.

There are reports of the discovery of a possible new type of subatomic particle, a pentaquark. [58]
The results of a Royal Commission on renewing the relationship between Canada and the province of Newfoundland and Labrador is released. [59]

July 1, 2003

In Hong Kong, 500,000 people march to protest the rush into legislation of Hong Kong Basic Law Article 23, the anti-subversion law. Critics say the law is both too broad and too vague.
After many years of controversy, the United Kingdom House of Commons, the lower house of parliament, again votes in favour of legislation to ban fox hunting.
Italy Premier Silvio Berlusconi's government assumed the rotating EU presidency.
In Canada, Canadians celebrate Canada Day, their nation's 137th anniversary since confederation on this day in 1867.