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Portal:Current events/October 2003

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 217.158.106.189 (talk) at 11:51, 4 November 2002 (Turkish prime minister). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Every day, news articles appear that mention new, unfamiliar, but (now) important people, places, things, and concepts. Wikipedia can and should become a resource for background information on the topics behind these current events. For more information on contributing to this page, see current events article development. For information on contributing to the Current events section on the main page, see current events on Main Page.

Ongoing events and developing stories

These are entries which cover current events, that is, events that are ongoing and may have historical significance. These entries should be edited with an eye to historicity, while including timely information in a way not possible with paper encyclopedias.


Current events

  • Moscow theatre siege: Some medical experts now believe that the Moscow hostages and terrorists were gassed with a military incapacitating agent such as BZ or a similar substance. Others claim that a fentanyl derivative may have been used. The U.S. Embassy in Moscow stated that it believed that the substance was an opiate. Other candidates suggested include the Russian incapacitating agent Kolokol-1 and aerosolized Valium. Yet another medical expert has stated that the gas used is a common anaesthetic gas that is commonly used in Europe.
  • Jack the Ripper: The crime novelist Patricia Cornwell believes that she may have DNA evidence that identifies the painter Walter Sickert as the 19th century serial killer Jack the Ripper.
  • Sports: Team Bath become the first university team to qualify for the FA Cup First Round since 1882. They beat Horsham 4-3 on penalties in the Fourth Qualifying Round replay.


  • Moscow theatre siege: Suspected Chechen guerrillas took hundreds hostage in a theater in Moscow, threatening to blow up the building and demanding withdrawal of Russian troops from Chechnya.
  • Washington sniper: Police reported that a ransom note was left at the scene of the latest shooting by the person believed to have shot 13 people and killed 9. The note apparently demanded $10 million, and it contained a threat to local residents saying, "Your children are not safe anywhere at any time."
  • recent celebrity deaths: Former CIA chief Richard Helms dies at 89.
  • Israeli-Palestinian conflict: Sixteen people were killed and 30 wounded when a car pulled alongside a commuter bus and exploded in Israel's Karkur Junction. The militant Islamic Jihad movement claimed responsibility for the attack, which police described as a suicide bombing.
  • Washington sniper: Authorities took two men into custody for questioning in the Washington-area sniper attacks, after surrounding a white van parked at a pay phone. They were later said not to be related to the sniper investigation.
  • European Union: The Irish referendum on the Treaty of Nice has approved Ireland's acceptance of the treaty, removing an obstacle to the proposed expansion of the EU to 25 countries. Since the caretaker administration in the Netherlands has also agreed not to veto the expansion, relying on the support of the parliamentary opposition, it seems that it will be approved by all member states.
  • Astronomy: Asteroid 2002 AA29 appears to be an astronomical object sharing the orbit of the Earth in an unusual "horseshoe" orbit.


  • October 18, 2002 Manila bus bombing: A bomb exploded in suburban Manila, destroying a bus and killing at least three people, while 23 others were wounded. A grenade exploded in the Philippine capital's financial district hours earlier. The bomb attacks occurred only one day after two deadly bombings in the southern Philippines.
  • An armed individual entered a school in Stuttgart, Germany and held five people hostage, demanding a ransom for their release. The hostages were known to be four schoolchildren and one teacher. The 16-year old gunman subsequently released the hostages and surrendered peacefully.
  • Valentin Tsvetkov, governor of the Russian Far East region of Magadan, was assassinated on the streets in Moscow, in what authorities claim was probably a contract killing.


  • Politics of the Netherlands: the cabinet of Balkenende resigns. Because of the constant internal fighting in the new party LPF, the other two governing parties, CDA and VVD decided that continuing the coalition was impossible. It seems almost certain that there will be new elections, possibly as early as December.
  • Officials in Brussels fear that the collapse in the Netherlands will delay the expansion of the EU. The Netherlands cabinet was already divided on the issue and if new elections are to be held it may take 4-5 months before another cabinet is installed that is willing to make a decision.
  • Politics of Germany: Gerhard Schröder and Joschka Fischer signed the coalition treaty for the second red-green cabinet.


  • A Kiev judge ordered prosecutors to open a criminal probe of Ukraine's veteran President Leonid Kuchma, on charges of corruption and abuse of power.
  • ImClone Systems founder Sam Waksal pleaded guilty to bank fraud and conspiracy in an insider trading scandal that threatens Martha Stewart and her home decorating empire.



  • Ethnic rioting in India results in numerous deaths. The riots are said to be a reaction to recent public comments by Jerry Falwell, American televangelist, derogatory of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad.


  • Stock market downturn of 2002: Nasdaq falls 1.8% to 1119.40, the Dow Jones index falls 1.4% to 7422.84, and the S&P falls 1.91% to 785.28, levels not reached since August 1996, mid-1997, and spring of 1997 respectively.
  • Israeli-Palestinian conflict: Israeli troops raid Khan Yunis in the Gaza Strip, killing 13 (10 from a helicopter missile) and wounding as many as 100, after Palestinians fire a rocket at a Jewish settlement in the area. Later Palestinians kidnap and kill Rajeh Abu Lehiya, chief of the Palestinian riot police, and two others die in gunfire during a police-Hamas supporters conflict.
  • Astronomy: Announcement of the discovery of Quaoar a planetoid object circling the Sun



Past events:

News pages

External links to news pages that can be used to gather new topics for the above list: