March 2004
2004 : January - February - March - April - May - June
- July - August - September - October -
November - December
- Four U.S. civilian
contractors are killed in a grenade attack by Iraqi guerrillas in Fallujah, Iraq. A violent mob pulls charred bodies from the burning vehicles and hang two bodies from
a bridge over the Euphrates. In a
separate incident, five U.S soldiers are killed in a large roadside bomb attack 12
miles (20 km) northwest of Fallujah. (CNN) (http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/03/31/iraq.main/index.html) (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3587931.stm)
- The Korea Train Express high-speed rail line opens, connecting Seoul to Busan and Mokpo. (CNN) (http://edition.cnn.com/2004/TRAVEL/03/30/bt.korea.train.ap/)
- The Guardian newspaper quotes British security service sources
as believing that yesterday's raids may have stopped a major terrorist bombing. The sources state that MI5 and MI6 worked with police during the investigation leading to the raids.
(Guardian) (http://www.guardian.co.uk/terrorism/story/0,12780,1182570,00.html)
- The International Court of Justice
rules that the USA violated the rights of 51 Mexican citizens on death row for murder and orders a review
of their cases. (AP) (http://apnews.myway.com/article/20040331/D81LEJBG0.html) (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3584539.stm)
- The controversial Higher Education Bill, which will
introduce variable tuition fees in England and Wales, passes its third reading in the House of Commons by 316 votes to 288, despite many MPs still vocally
opposed. The Bill's second reading in January was passed with a
majority of only 5 votes. (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3587263.stm) (Guardian) (http://education.guardian.co.uk/students/tuitionfees/story/0,12757,1182944,00.html) (Reuters) (http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsPackageArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=486155&section=news)
- Politics of Austria: Jörg Haider, a leading figure in the Freedom Party who is widely viewed as neo-fascist,
is re-elected governor of the state of Carinthia. (Scotsman) (http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=2721412) (Die Presse) (http://www.diepresse.at/Artikel.aspx?channel=&ressort=ee&id=413182)
- A Canadian court rules that the Canadian Recording Industry
Association did not prove that the downloading of music from the Internet is a
copyright violation. The ruling is in line with a decision from the Copyright Board of
Canada that downloading music is legal.
(Toronto Star) (http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1080732966812&call_pageid=968332188492&col=968793972154)
(Bell Globemedia)
(http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20040401/MUSIC0111/TPNational/Canada)
- Air America Radio, a self-styled liberal alternative to conservative talk shows on the radio, is launched on six stations from New
York City to Los Angeles. (Kansas City Star) (http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/nation/8324016.htm?1c)
- East African artifacts
support evolution of symbolic thinking in Middle
Stone Age. (National Geographic Society via EurekAlert) (http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2004-03/asu-eaa032504.php)
- A suicide bomber sets off a small explosion inside the Bolivian Congress. The bomber – a miner, protesting unpaid pensions – and the
chief congressional security guard are killed; several bystanders are wounded. (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3584447.stm) (USA Today) (http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2004-03-30-bolivia-blast_x.htm)
- French President Jacques Chirac retains his prime
minister, Jean-Pierre Raffarin, but asks Raffarin to
reform the country's government. (Washington Post) (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A36005-2004Mar30.html)
- New Jersey physicist Greg Olsen pays $20 million to conduct environmental research for eight days aboard
the International Space Station. (Miami Herald) (http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/business/national/8312158.htm)
- Police in Uzbekistan raid a militant's hideout south of the capital,
Tashkent. Fighting has caused 23 deaths in the area. (Reuters) (http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=4701844&section=news)
- The Philippines prevents a "Madrid-level attack" after arresting four
members of the Muslim extremist Abu
Sayyaf group. (SFGate)
(http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/a/2004/03/30/international1147EST0595.DTL)
- The White House allows Condoleezza Rice, the president's national security advisor, to publicly testify under oath on the investigation into
the September 11, 2001
terrorist attacks. (XINHUA) (http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-03/30/content_1392734.htm) (CNN) (http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/03/30/rice.testimony/index.html)
- Eight men are arrested after a series of raids in the UK under the
Terrorism Act 2000. Half a ton of ammonium nitrate fertiliser was found during the raids. (Guardian) (http://www.guardian.co.uk/terrorism/story/0,12780,1181017,00.html)
- SCO v. IBM: IBM has applied for
a declaratory judgment that it does not infringe the
SCO Group's copyrights. (Groklaw) (http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20040330184527522) (ZDNET)
(http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1104-5182078.html)
- Foreign relations of Taiwan: Dominica switches diplomatic recognition from the Republic of China to the People's Republic of China. (Channel News Asia) (http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific/view/77738/1/.html).
- ROC presidential election,
2004: The Pan-Blue Coalition drops its demand for another
round of voting by members of the military and the police who were put on a heightened state of alert on election day. Chen Shui-bian and Annette Lu
sign letters promising not to contest the Pan-Blue petition for a recount.(Miami Herald) (http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/world/8308379.htm)(Bloomberg) (http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000080&sid=an8jQ.GItx0s&refer=asia)
- Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin has a close
encounter with a UFO. Most likely the UFO
was actually a fireball. (Canadian Press) (http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2004/03/28/399829-cp.html)
- An explosion occurs close to the main bazaar in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, killing two and injuring around twenty; preliminary reports point to two female suicide bombers. Also in the capital, three police officers are shot dead; and,
in the city of Bukhara, another explosion at a suspected terrorist bomb factory
claims ten fatalities. (Reuters) (http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=4685593) (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3577803.stm)
- The Republic of Ireland becomes the first country to ban
tobacco smoking in all enclosed workplaces (including bars and
restaurants); infringers risk a €3,000 (US$3,600)
fine. (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3577001.stm)
- NATO welcomes seven new members, as Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia,
Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia formally became members
by depositing their instruments of accession with the United States'
government, though the countries will join officially next month at a NATO meeting. All but Slovenia were formerly members of the
Warsaw Pact. (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3578837.stm) (NATO) (http://www.nato.int/docu/update/2004/03-march/e0329a.htm)
- Nanoparticles allegedly cause brain damage in fish, according to a study of the toxicity of synthetic carbon molecules called "buckyballs". (NewScientist) (http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99994825)
- Beauty firm Dove is to use "real
women" in advertising after a survey finds two-thirds of UK women feel depressed about their figures and have low body confidence as a
result of beauty advertising. (Ananova) (http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_905522.html)
- Scientists discover methane in
the Martian atmosphere and state it could mean there is life on the Red
Planet. (Space.com) (http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/mars_methane_040329.html)
- Spain is reported to be considering doubling her number of troops stationed in Afghanistan. (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3579411.stm) (CNN) (http://edition.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/europe/03/29/spain.troops.ap/)
- Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi, leader of Hamas, states that God has declared war on the United States. (NYTimes) (http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/28/international/middleeast/28CND-HAMA.html) (abs-cbnNEWS) (http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/NewsStory.aspx?section=WORLD&oid=47988) (Reuters) (http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsPackageArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=484422&section=news)
(INDOlink) (http://www.indolink.com/displayArticleS.php?id=032904022618)
- Cambridge University wins a controversial victory in
the 150th Boat Race by 6 lengths, with a total time of 18:47 minutes. (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/boat_race_2004/3572649.stm)
- The Arab League summit is
postponed. The meeting was put off indefinitely because of differences of opinion regarding ways to encourage reform in the
region, including democratization. (VOA) (http://www.voanews.com/article.cfm?objectID=0F845116-0EF2-4C11-90F1A12AF8FC4A45) (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3575691.stm)
- UK Home
Secretary David Blunkett prepares to publish a white paper on organized crime that will unveil new details of the Serious Organised Crime Agency, the proposed "British FBI". (Ananova) (http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_904498.html?menu=news.scienceanddiscovery.medicalbreakthroughs)
- Israeli State Attorney Edna Arbel recommends that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon be indicted for
taking bribes. (AP)
(http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040328/ap_on_re_mi_ea/israel_sharon_10)
- The French regional elections
result in massive losses for the governing conservative parties and victories for socialist-green alliances in at least 20 of 22
regions. (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3575779.stm) (Spiegel) (http://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/0,1518,292926,00.html) (Yahoo France) (http://fr.news.yahoo.com/elections2004/regionales/resultats.html)
- A coup attempt in the Democratic Republic of the Congo fails. (BBC)
(http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3577197.stm)
- The skeletal remains of Cecilia Zhang are found in a Toronto ravine after her high-publicity kidnapping.
(Toronto Star) (http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&call_pageid=971358637177&c=Article&cid=1080477804939)
- The United States Congress prepares legislation
against peer-to-peer technology on multiple fronts. (Wired News) (http://www.wired.com/news/print/0,1294,62830,00.html)
- United Nations electoral experts and security support arrive in Baghdad. (UN News Center) (http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=10221&Cr=iraq&Cr1=)
- The first South Atlantic hurricane ever recorded forms 275 miles off the coast of Brazil.
(Miami Herald) (http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/8286042.htm)
- Lord Carey, former Archbishop of Canterbury, says that Islam is authoritarian, inflexible and under-achieving; and that Muslim countries have contributed little of major significance to the world's culture for centuries, at the same time stating that most Muslims are peace loving people who
should not be demonized. He, however, denounces moderates for not unequivocally
denouncing the "evil" of suicide
bombers. Critics said his critique of Islamic culture amounted to an "attack".
(Daily Telegraph) (http://news.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/03/26/narch26.xml&sSheet=/news/2004/03/26/ixnewstop.html&secureRefresh=true&_requestid=5165)
- ROC presidential election,
2004: The controversial victory of Chen Shui-bian is confirmed by
the state electoral commission, with a margin of only 29,518 votes – 0.2% of the total – separating the candidates.
Pan-Blue protestors storm and hurl eggs at the Central
Electoral Commission building. (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/3570531.stm)
- Israeli-Palestinian conflict: The
United States vetoes a United Nations Security Council resolution (sponsored by Algeria and Libya) condemning the killing by Israel of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin along with six other Palestinians outside a
mosque in Gaza City and calling for a
complete cessation of executions. The veto is publicly
motivated by the resolution making no mention of suicide bombings
committed by Hamas and attributed to Yassin. 11 votes are recorded in favour, with three
(United Kingdom, Germany,
and Romania) abstaining and one (the United States) against. (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3568349.stm) (KC Star) (http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/world/8277736.htm?1c)
- The World Trade Organization makes a
preliminary ruling that United States laws prohibiting Internet gambling violate international trade agreements, in response to a complaint by Antigua and Barbuda. The Bush administration
vows to appeal, while some members of the United States
Congress say they would rather allow a trade war or withdraw from future WTO
talks than repeal laws against online gambling. (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/3568281.stm) (Seattle PI) (http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/166397_gambing26.html)
- Danish artist Marco
Evaristti paints an iceberg in Greenland red, using 780 gallons of paint. (USA Today) (http://www.usatoday.com/weather/news/2004-03-25-painted-iceburg_x.htm)
- A bomb is discovered on a TGV railway between Paris and Geneva near Troyes, France. (ONE News) (http://onenews.nzoom.com/onenews_detail/0,1227,263451-1-9,00.html)
- Elk Grove
Unified School District v. Newdow: The United States Supreme Court hears oral arguments over
the constitutionality of the "under God" clause of the Pledge of Allegiance. (WTHR) (http://www.wthr.com/Global/story.asp?S=1735404&nav=9TaiLm3L) (CNN) (http://www.cnn.com/2004/LAW/03/24/scotus.pledge/index.html)
- The British explorer
David Hempleman-Adams sets an altitude record for a flight in a wicker basket balloon. (Bloomberg) (http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=a4DFSRTAakRg&refer=us)
- Israeli-Palestinian conflict:
- The leader of Hamas states that the group has no plans to attack US targets, retreating from earlier threats by its armed wing. However, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is announced as a new target, instead. (News Limited) (http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,9069472%255E2,00.html)
- Sharon states that Israel has a "natural right" to pursue those who would destroy it. (Jewish Press) (http://www.thejewishpress.com/news_article.asp?article=3547)
- Hussam Abdo, a 14-year-old Palestinian suicide bomber fails to detonate his
bomb-vest at an Israeli checkpoint outside Nablus. The child was paid $23 and promised sex in heaven as his reward. An armed wing of Fatah takes responsibility for sending the boy. (HaAretz) (http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/408359.html)
- Testimony begins in the state murder trial of convicted Oklahoma City
bombing accomplice, Terry Nichols, in McAlester, Oklahoma. (AP) (http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040323/ap_on_re_us/nichols_trial_19)
- ROC presidential election,
2004: Chen Shui-bian's Democratic Progressive Party submits a bill to the Legislative Yuan to allow an immediate recount, per Lien
Chan's demand, but the majority Pan-Blue Coalition
dismisses it as unnecessary saying the President could just issue an executive order instead. (The Star) (http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2004/3/23/latest/16578Taiwansr&sec=latest)
(Bloomberg) (http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000080&sid=abd6wwTxdVdA&refer=asia)
- Microsoft is to be fined a record €497 million ($613 million) by the
European Commission as punishment for abusing its Windows monopoly, according to reports ahead of a key meeting by EU
Commissioners on Wednesday. (Financial
Times) (http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/FullStory&c=StoryFT&cid=1079419836897)
- Salvadoran
presidential election: Tony Saca of the Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA)
declares victory over a former Communist Party guerrilla leader, with 60% of the votes. (Seattle Times) (http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2001885101_wdig22.html) (CoLatino) (http://www.diariocolatino.com/elecciones/detalles.asp?NewsID=48) (El Salvador) (http://www.elsalvador.com/especiales/2003/elecciones2004/nota356.htm) (Democracy Now!) (http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=04/03/22/1536226)
- Israel assassinates Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, the spiritual head of Hamas, in the
Gaza Strip. It then seals off both the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. (Reuters) (http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=4615931&section=news)
(BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3556099.stm) Kofi Annan, and the British, French, and German governments, amongst others, condemn the killing. (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3556753.stm) (FOX) (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,114826,00.html)
- The former chief counter-terrorism aide to U.S. President Bush, Richard Clarke, claims that Bush
diverted attention towards Iraq, ignoring the main threat of Al-Qaida. Clarke was the administration's senior counter-terrorism official when 9/11 took place. (Guardian) (http://www.guardian.co.uk/uselections2004/story/0,13918,1175070,00.html) (Reuters) (http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=politicsNews&storyID=4615469) (FT)
(http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/FullStory&c=StoryFT&cid=1079419814589)
(BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3559087.stm)
- The United Kingdom shuts its embassy in Algiers, Algeria, amid general security fears. (BBC)
(http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3555877.stm) (CNN) (http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/africa/03/21/algeria.embassy/index.html)
- Mijailo Mijailovic is sentenced to life imprisonment for the equivalent of First-degree murder, found guilty of assassination of Sweden's Foreign Minister Anna Lindh,
September 10, 2003.
- Same-sex marriage in
the U.S.: Benton County, Oregon commissioners,
after receiving a letter from state attorney general Hardy Myers, reverse their earlier vote to begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples this Wednesday.
But, stating they will observe the principal of equal treatment under the law, the commissioners decide that the county will stop
issuing any marriage licenses until the Oregon Supreme
Court has ruled on the constitutionality of the law. (Oregonian) (http://www.oregonlive.com/special/gaymarriage/index.ssf?/base/front_page/1080046579104020.xml)
(Register-Guard) (http://www.registerguard.com/news/2004/03/23/a1.bentonlicense.0323.html)
- Jimmy Carter, former US president and 2002 Nobel Peace Prize winner, vehemently condemns
George W. Bush and Tony
Blair for waging an unnecessary war "based upon lies and misinterpretations" in order to oust Saddam Hussein. He claims that Blair had allowed his better judgement to be swayed by Bush's desire to
finish a war that his father had started. (Independent) (http://news.independent.co.uk/world/politics/story.jsp?story=503722)
- Malaysian general election:
Secular ruling coalition Barisan Nasional wins a two-thirds
majority and wrests back the state of Terengganu from Islamist party PAS. A recount is pending for the closely contested state of Kelantan. (Malaysiakini) (http://www2.malaysiakini.com/splash/index.php)
- The second race of the 2004 Formula One championship, in Malaysia, is won by Michael Schumacher. (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/3554407.stm)
- Measurements taken at Mauna Loa Observatory show carbon dioxide readings of 379 parts per million, up by 3 ppm in one year;
average increase for the past decade has been 1.8 ppm. The reason for this accelerated buildup in a greenhouse gas requires further analysis. (AP) (http://www.usatoday.com/weather/news/2004-03-21-co2-buildup_x.htm)
- Al-Qaeda claims to have purchased "smart briefcase bombs" with nuclear capabilities on the black
market. (AP)
(http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=514&e=6&u=/ap/20040321/ap_on_re_au_an/al_qaida_nuclear)
- Salvadoran
presidential election: Voting takes place to elect a new president of El
Salvador. (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3554255.stm)
- ROC presidential election:
Taiwan's High Court has ordered all ballot boxes to be sealed, in order to preserve evidence. However, a recount of votes was not
ordered. Various protests are held throughout the island. (AP)
(http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040321/ap_on_re_as/taiwan_election&cid=516&ncid=716)
- Malaysian general election:
Voting gets underway all over Malaysia to decide the new holders of seats in Parliament and various state assemblies.
- ICANN announces that a Toronto, Canada organization, the International Foundation for Online Responsibility (IFFOR), has applied
to sponsor the .xxx top-level domain. IFFOR claims that a special
domain would help control the spread of pornography to children. However, in February the Internet Engineering Task Force released RFC 3675, ".sex
Considered Dangerous", detailing technical and administrative concerns with such proposals. (Web Host
Industry Review) (http://thewhir.com/marketwatch/ica032304.cfm) (IETF announcement) (http://www.spinics.net/lists/ietf-ann/msg13799.html) (.xxx application) (http://www.icann.org/tlds/stld-apps-19mar04/xxx.htm)
- Pakistani soldiers seal off an area of South Waziristan where they suspect that the senior Al-Qaida
leader Ayman al-Zawahiri is hiding. The Pakistanis have suffered
many casualties.(CNN) (http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/asiapcf/03/19/pakistan.alqaeda/index.html)
- The U.S. military drops all charges of alleged mishandling of classified information against Muslim Army chaplain Yousef
Yee at Guantanamo Bay.(FOX) (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,114716,00.html)
- Same-sex marriage in Canada: The Quebec Court of Appeal
upholds a Quebec superior
court ruling that same-sex marriages are valid under Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms. (CBC) (http://www.cbc.ca/stories/2004/03/19/gaymarriage040319) It joins Ontario and British Columbia in permitting same-sex
marriage. The couple which brought the suit is scheduled to be wed on April 10,
after a required 20-day waiting period.
- Taiwan presidential election
and referendum:
- The People's Republic of China announces
joint military exercises with France close to Taiwan, to coincide with the
elections.(BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3512088.stm)
- President Chen Shui-bian and Vice-President Annette Lu are shot while campaigning in Tainan. A bullet hits Lu in
the knee, before striking Chen in the stomach. The pair were travelling in the presidential motorcade. Both have left hospital
after treatment. (Wash. Post) (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A6817-2004Mar19.html) (ChannelNewsAsia) (http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific/view/76194/1/.html) (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3548893.stm)
- Äänekoski bus disaster: At least 24 young
people are killed and 15 injured, several of them seriously, in a collision on a icy road between a coach and a lorry carrying rolls of paper on Highway 4 near Äänekoski in Central Finland. The accident happened
at around 2 a.m. local time (UTC +2). (Helsingin Sanomat) (http://www.helsinki-hs.net/news.asp?id=20040318IE8) (BBC)
(http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3549379.stm)
- The newspaper USA Today admits that a former reporter, Jack Kelley, invented or distorted important parts of at least eight major stories.
He was, for example, a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 2001 on the
basis of an eyewitness account of a suicide bombing that, the
publication now acknowledges, could not have happened as described. (USA Today) (http://www.usatoday.com/news/2004-03-18-2004-03-18_kelleymain_x.htm)
- Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf reports that his soldiers have surrounded a cadre of Al-Qaida men located in Waziristan, Pakistan that was protecting
Ayman al-Zawahiri, the second-in-command for the
organization.
- Howard Dean announces plans to form Democracy for America, a political organization intended to help progressive candidates holding
similar views. (CNN) (http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/03/18/dean.advocacy.ap/index.html)
- Indian government officials warn that rebels from northeast India based in Bangladesh, Myanmar and Bhutan are planning major attacks to disrupt upcoming national elections. (Reuters) (http://in.news.yahoo.com/040318/137/2c2fd.html)
- Unrest in Kosovo: NATO
announces that it will reinforce its Kosovo peacekeeping force, following ethnic unrest
there that has killed at least 31 people over the past two days. More Serbian Orthodox Churches have been set ablaze by Albanians and violence has continued in and around Kosovo Serb enclaves. Russia and Serbia-Montenegro call for an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council. United
Nations officials attempt to restore order in the province and blame the unrest on nationalist extremists on both sides. More
demonstrations have taken place across Serbia, so far without the violence seen the
previous day. (Washington Post) (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A3832-2004Mar18.html) (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3525168.stm) (B92) (http://www.b92.net/english/news/index.php?order=priority)
- Near-Earth asteroid 2004 FH is making the closest approach of an asteroid ever recorded. At 22:08 UTC it will pass 43,000 km above
Earth's surface. (NASA-JPL) (http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news142.html)
- Cleanup work at Love Canal has been completed, federal officials said. The
EPA says it should be taken off the Superfund
list. Environmental activist Lois
Gibbs said the Bush administration was seeking to deflect criticism from a March
11 Senate vote against reauthorizing an expired user fee on corporations to fund environmental cleanup. (NYT)
(http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/18/nyregion/18LOVE.html?ex=1080190800&en=851eb845fc5a4ab3&ei=5062&partner=GOOGLE)
- US Supreme Court Associate
Justice Antonin Scalia refuses to recuse himself from a case -
involving his friend Dick Cheney - considering whether the White House must release information about private meetings of Cheney's energy task force stating that duck hunting and fishing trip "was not an
intimate setting" and that the energy case was never discussed. (SC) (http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/18mar20041000/www.supremecourtus.gov/opinions/03pdf/03-475.pdf)
- The United States House
of Representatives votes unanimously to double the reward for Osama
bin Laden's capture to US$50 million. (CNN) (http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/03/18/osama.reward.ap/index.html)
- ROC presidential election,
2004: Nobel laureate Lee Yuan-tseh endorses Chen Shui-bian for the second time. (Seattle PI) (http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apasia_story.asp?category=1104&slug=Taiwan%20Elections)
- Unrest in Kosovo: After two Albanian children are found drowned in the Ibar river in
Kosovo and Metohia, with a third still missing, riots erupt in
the town of Kosovska Mitrovica and later spread to the entire
province. Mitrovica Serbs are blamed by Albanian media for forcing the children into the
river, but this is later denied by United Nations officials. At least 22 people are
killed by the end of the day with hundreds injured in clashes between Serbs and Albanians; enclaves of Kosovo Serbs elsewhere in the province experience attacks by Kosovo Albanians as
well as offices of UN officials which were abandoned. In reaction to the violence in Kosovo, demonstrators in Serbia march in Belgrade and set ablaze mosques in Belgrade and Nish. (B92)
(http://www.b92.net/english/news/index.php?&nav_category=&nav_id=27520&order=priority&style=headlines)
(B92)
(http://www.b92.net/english/news/index.php?&nav_category=&nav_id=27483&order=priority&style=headlines)
(SwissInfo) (http://www.swissinfo.org/sen/Swissinfo.html?siteSect=143&sid=4798093) (NYT) (http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/17/international/europe/17CND-KOSO.html?hp) (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3521068.stm) (CNN) (http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/europe/03/17/kosovo.clash.ap/index.html) (B92)
(http://www.b92.net/english/news/index.php?&nav_category=&nav_id=27517&order=priority&style=headlines)
(RTS, in Serbian) (http://www.rts.co.yu/jedna_vest.asp?source=komentar&IDNews=71242)
- Occupation of Iraq: A car bomb flattens the Mount Lebanon Hotel in central Baghdad at 20:10
(UTC+3), killing at least 17 people and injuring 45 more. (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3522424.stm) (CNN) (http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/03/17/iraq.main/index.html) (Democracy Now!) (http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=04/03/18/157209)
- Utah bans execution by firing squad. (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3519310.stm)
- Ohio
highway sniper attacks: Suspect Charles A. McCoy Jr. is arrested in Las
Vegas, Nevada. (MSNBC) (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4536074/)
- Four U.S. Baptist
missionaries working on a water purification project are killed in a drive-by shooting in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul. (CNN) (http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/03/16/iraq.main/index.html)
- The city of Aliso Viejo, California, nearly
bans foam cups when they learn they are produced from a substance known as
Dihydrogen monoxide (water),
a substance that could "threaten human health and safety." (MSNBC) (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4534017/)
- Pavlo Lazarenko, former
prime minister of Ukraine, stands trial in a U.S. federal court in San Francisco for money
laundering. (AP) (http://www.ktvu.com/news/2923065/detail.html)
- Same-sex marriage in
the United States: Commissioners of Multnomah
County, Oregon dismiss state attorney general Hardy Myers' non-binding opinion that same-sex
marriages are illegal and vow to continue issuing marriage
licenses to same-sex couples. (Seattle Times) (http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2001879597_weboregaymarriage15.html)
- Newly elected Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero announces his
government's opposition to the invasion and continued occupation of Iraq and his intention to withdraw Spanish troops from
Iraq by June 30, unless they are part of a U.N.
force. (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3512144.stm)
- Astronomers announce the discovery of 90377 Sedna, a Pluto-like planetoid which
is the most distant individual object known to orbit the Sun. (Caltech)
(http://www.gps.caltech.edu/~mbrown/sedna/) (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/3511678.stm) (The Australian) (http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,8968352%255E29098,00.html)
- Iran will reallow the entry of UN nuclear inspectors
after March 27, says IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei. (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3511900.stm) (AFP)
(http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20040315/wl_afp/iran_nuclear_iaea_us_040315234028)
- Haiti recalls its ambassador of neighbouring Caribbean state Jamaica, where ousted president Jean-Bertrand Aristide is said to be making a personal visit.
Haiti also threatens to boycott a 2-day Caricom meeting. (AP) (http://apnews.myway.com/article/20040316/D81B5DV80.html) (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/3511676.stm) (Reuters) (http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N12167698.htm)
- In the aftermath of nomination day for the Malaysian general election, Barisan Nasional wins 4 more seats in various state assemblies and another parliamentary seat,
uncontested. (ChannelNewsAsia) (http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/southeastasia/view/75656/1/.html) (Toronto Star) (http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2004/3/16/latest/16442Barisanba&sec=latest)
- Exiled Syrian Kurds storm the Syrian
consulate in Geneva and other Kurds protest in Turkey and Germany at weekend violence
in northeast Syria. (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3513960.stm)
- The Spanish Socialist Workers'
Party (PSOE) wins the Spanish
Legislative elections. The outgoing government's support for the US-led invasion of Iraq was cited as a major factor leading
to the Socialists' 43% plurality. (El Mundo)
(http://www.elmundo.es/especiales/2004/03/espana/14m/resultados/congreso/globales/)
(BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3511280.stm) (CNN) (http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/europe/03/14/spain.blasts.election/index.html) (Ministry of Home Affairs) (http://www.elec_gen04.mir.es/congreso/CGF_TOP.htm)
- Two suicide bombers kill 10 people in Ashdod, Israel. (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3510708.stm) (CNN) (http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/03/14/mideast/)
- Madrid bombings: Spanish police receives a videotape where a man
identifying himself as an al-Qaeda spokesman says the organisation claims
responsibility for the attack, according to an announcement from the country's interior minister. The authenticity of the video
has not been verified. The al-Qaeda claim overshadows voting in the general election. (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3509426.stm) (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3509744.stm)
(Toronto Star) (http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1079265664422&call_pageid=968332188492&col=968793972154)
- Occupation of Iraq: Six United States soldiers are killed over the weekend in three separate insurgent roadside bomb attacks, two in Baghdad and one
in Tikrit. This occurs amidst the largest U.S. troop rotation since World War II.
- The National People's Congress of
China changes the constitution
to protect private property, in order to stop state officials from requisitioning property and private possessions. (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/3509850.stm) (Reuters) (http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=4562226) (Al Jazeera) (http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/CA8019B2-3495-447D-B4CB-DAF250E74761.htm)
- Voting takes place in the Russian presidential election. Incumbent
Vladimir Putin wins by a large majority. The election is widely
criticised by external observers who said Russian state television was very biased towards Putin during the campaign. (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3509412.stm) (Reuters) (http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsPackageArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=475555&section=news)
- Pope John Paul II becomes the third-longest reigning pope in history, the
other two being Saint Peter and Pope Pius IX. (Detroit Free Press) (http://www.freep.com/news/religion/pope13_20040313.htm)
- Several Kurds storm the Syrian embassy in
Brussels protesting about violence and deaths in north-east Syria over the weekend.
(BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3508710.stm)
- ROC presidential election,
2004: 2 million people march in 24 rallies across Taiwan in support of Lien Chan's bid for the presidency. (Reuters) (http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=4560910)
- The death toll in the Madrid
bombings rises to 200; investigators continue search for perpetrators, with suspicions against ETA complemented by the apprehension of five foreign citizens connected to terror attacks in Morocco. (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3509212.stm) (AP)
(http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=514&e=1&u=/ap/20040313/ap_on_re_eu/spain_bombings_9)
- U.S. forces launch new offensive aimed at the Taliban and al-Qaeda and the capture of Osama bin Laden and Mullah
Omar in Afghanistan. (AP)
(http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=514&e=2&u=/ap/20040313/ap_on_re_as/afghan_mountain_storm)
- Fifteen teams that qualified for the DARPA Grand
Challenge start on a 150–200 mile robotic race to Las
Vegas, Nevada, for a $1 million prize. All of the teams
break down within seven miles of the start line; none collect the prize. (The Register) (http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/28/36231.html) (The Register) (http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/28/36234.html)
- Nine people, eight of whom are children, are found dead in Fresno, California, USA. A man apparently related to the victims is arrested. The police speculate that
the deaths may have been part of a ritual. (CNN) (http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/West/03/15/fresno.killings/index.html) (AOL news) (http://aolsvc.news.aol.com/news/article.adp?id=20040313025809990001)
- Malaysian general election,
2004: Nomination day. Barisan Nasional takes 15 Parliamentary
seats uncontested and 7 state assembly seats. The Islamic Party of Malaysia captures one parliamentary seat in the state of Johor.
