April 2004

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< April 2004 >

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[edit] April 30, 2004

U.S. newscast Nightline is taken off the air by several stations owned by the Sinclair Broadcast Group because of its planned airing of a list of U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq. Sinclair claims it is a political ploy, while network ABC says it is meant as "an expression of respect which simply seeks to honor those who have laid down their lives for this country. President George W. Bush expresses his "disgust" at images of Iraqi prisoners being mistreated by U.S. soldiers: "Their treatment does not reflect the nature of the American people." [1] Macedonian officials admit that they staged a bogus gun-battle with "terrorists" in March 2002 and that they knew the seven men slain had no terrorist connections. Four members of the security forces face murder charges for their staged killing. [2] Diego Maradona leaves hospital after 12 days of treatment for heart and breathing problems. After 25 years, Bob Edwards hosts NPR's Morning Edition for the last time.

[edit] April 29, 2004

Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse: Photographs showing Iraqi prisoners in the Abu Ghraib prison outside Baghdad being tortured, abused, humiliated by U.S. soldiers spark outrage around the world. Six soldiers face courts martial and their commanding officer is suspended. (BBC) Google announces plans for an initial public offering to raise as much as USD 2.72 billion. The IPO will be unconventional in that it will use an auction process and a complex averaging formula designed to prevent brokers' elite customers from winning more shares than average investors. (SF Chronicle) (The Age) Ten U.S. soldiers are killed in three attacks in Iraq, raising the number of U.S. combat deaths in April to 126. More U.S. troops have been killed this month than during the six weeks of "major combat" in 2003. (Washington Post) President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney meet in private with all 10 members of the 9/11 Commission. [3] (PolitInfo) Federal authorities file the first criminal charges under the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 against a group that had spammed ads for allegedly worthless "diet patch" products. (Detroit Free Press) The last Oldsmobile is produced in Lansing, Michigan (CNN). Maccabi Tel-Aviv, Israel, beats CSKA Moscow, Russia in the Euroleague and qualifies for the finals. Final score: 93-85. (AP)

[edit] April 28, 2004

Republic of China presidential election, 2004: The High Court schedules a vote recount for 10 May. Iraq occupation and resistance:

Intense fighting breaks out in Fallujah as U.S. forces respond to attacks on their positions by insurgentss. Artillery and AC-130 gunships are used to bombard guerrilla positions, but the number of casualties is as yet unknown. (BBC) According to a CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll, 71 percent of Iraqis see the U.S. troops in their country as "occupiers" while 19 percent see them as "liberators," although 61 percent say that any hardships they had suffered were worth it to oust Saddam Hussein. Still, 57 percent would like U.S./British forces to leave immediately. (CNN) (USA Today)

Cable TV giant Comcast abandons its US$66bn bid to take over Disney, citing a lack of interest from the Disney board. (BBC) More than 100 suspected Jemaah Islamiah militants die during their attacks on security outposts in Thailand's Muslim-dominated southern provinces of Pattani, Yala and Songkhla. (BBC)

[edit] April 27, 2004

In heavy fighting outside Najaf, Iraq, U.S. forces kill 64 insurgents and destroy an anti-aircraft weapon. [4] A bomb explosion and gun battle occur in Damascus, Syria between security forces and a "terrorist group," in which four people are killed and a vacant United Nations building badly damaged. The identity and motives of the attackers is unclear but Islamist militants are the prime suspects. (BBC). South African president Thabo Mbeki is sworn in for a second term after being overwhelmingly reelected on April 14. The event is marred by controversy over the attendance of Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe. [5]

[edit] April 26, 2004

In an open letter to Tony Blair, 52 former high ranking British diplomats, including former ambassadors to Iraq and Israel, condemn the Prime Minister's foreign policy stance in the Middle East as "doomed to failure" and also condemn George W. Bush's recent endorsement of Ariel Sharon's offer to withdraw settlers from the Gaza Strip while leaving some in the West Bank as "one-sided and illegal and which will cost yet more Israeli and Palestinian blood." [6] Indian general election, 2004: The second phase of elections in the world's largest democracy takes place. Many key states such as Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Bihar vote; exit polls favour the opposition (BBC) The design of the new United States fifty-dollar bill is announced. (U.S. Treasury) (IHT) (CNN) Authorities in Jordan announce that they have broken up an attempt to set off massive explosions in Amman, possibly including the release of toxic chemicals. Alleged targets include the office of the Prime Minister, Jordanian intelligence headquarters, and the US embassy. The plot is attributed to Al Qaida operative Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. (CNN) Three Irishmen arrested in Colombia in August 2001 on charges of training FARC rebels are acquitted. (BBC) The Hong Kong democracy movement suffers a setback as the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress declares Hong Kong will not have direct elections for Chief Executive in 2007 nor for all its Legislative Councillers in 2008. A landslide buries a village in southern Kyrgyzstan, and emergency officials state that up to 33 people are missing and feared dead. Nick Holonyak Jr., inventor of the light-emitting diode (LED), receives the 10th annual Lemelson-MIT Prize, awarded to prominent inventors by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. (AP) Norwegian chess prodigy Magnus Carlsen (13) becomes the world's youngest international Grandmaster (GM), and the second youngest ever, after four wins and four draws out of nine games in the 6th Dubai Open Chess Championship. (Aftenposten)

[edit] April 25, 2004

The Arab League Conference commences in Cairo. (INN) Alan Kay, co-inventor of the Smalltalk programming language, receives the 2003 ACM Turing award, including 100 000 USD. (Dr.Dobb's Journal) Austrian presidential election: Heinz Fischer (SPÃ–) wins with 52% against Foreign Minister Benita Ferrero-Waldner (Ã–VP). (The Guardian) Arsenal F.C. wins the English football league title for the 13th time. Abortion in the United States: Hundreds of thousands march in Washington, D.C. to protest President Bush's pro-life policies. (AP) (Democracy Now!)

[edit] April 24, 2004

Iraq Occupation and Insurgency:

Suicide bombers detonate boats alongside two oil tankers and a coalition boat in the Persian Gulf, targeting Iraq's main oil terminal, Basra. (Reuters) A bomb in Baghdad's Sadr City market kills 12 Iraqis. In a separate incident, five US soldiers are killed in a rocket attack on a military base north of Baghdad. (CNN) (AP) Leaders of Australia and Bulgaria visited their troops Sunday. Australian Prime Minister John Howard joined Australian troops in Baghdad for ceremonies honoring the country's war dead. Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov visited his country's troops two days after a Bulgarian soldier was shot dead in Karbala, the sixth from that country to die in the war.

In the Cyprus reunification referendum, 65% of Turkish Cypriot voters accept and 75% of Greek Cypriot voters reject the Annan Plan. (BBC) (BBC) Forgent Networks sues 31 companies for infringement of their software patent, which they claim is used in the JPEG standard. (AP)

[edit] April 23, 2004

DaimlerChrysler announces it will no longer financially support Mitsubishi Motors and will try to sell its current stake. (Taipei Times) Muqtada al-Sadr threatens U.S. troops with suicide attacks if they move against him in Najaf. (Arab News) (Reuters) Palestinian gunmen attack a police station in the Gaza Strip, freeing three men arrested for the October 2003 bomb attack against an American diplomatic convoy. A fourth man arrested for the bombing refuses to leave the police station. (AP) A major fire in downtown Bangkok leaves thousands of residents homeless. Hundreds of buildings, including several hotels, are destroyed in the area near the Australian and German embassies. (AP) Ryongchon disaster: Breaking from previous precedent, the North Korean government asks for and receives United Nations recovery assistance. (CNN)

[edit] April 22, 2004

At the International Space Station, the second of four stabilizing gyroscopes fails, hours after a new crew arrives. A spacewalk to do the repair will be scheduled in a few weeks. (Reuters) Volkswagen buys LeasePlan from ABN AMRO. The US Army states that the insurgents in Fallujah, Iraq, have "days, not weeks" to fulfill a clause in the ceasefire that requires them to turn over heavy weapons. To date, only rocket-propelled grenade rounds marked "inert", rusted mortar shells, dud rockets and unusable guns have been surrendered. (AP) (Defenselink) The Evangelical Lutheran Church is ordered to pay the largest per capita settlement in a church sexual abuse case in the United States by a jury in Marshall, Texas. (AP) (ABC/US) The United Nations Security Council passes a unanimous resolution endorsing the inquiry into corruption in the United Nations Oil for food program for Iraq calling upon all 191 member states to cooperate. (NYT) Ryongchon disaster: at least 154 people are killed and over 1200 are injured, according to the Red Cross, in a massive explosion after a train carrying explosives came in contact with live electrical wires in Ryongchon, North Korea (BBC) (BBC) (NYT). 1850 homes were destroyed and thousands more damaged. Yasser Arafat orders 21 members of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades section of Fatah, who are wanted by Israel and have been seeking sanctuary within the Mukata for many months, to leave his Mukata headquarters in Ramallah. (INN)

[edit] April 21, 2004

A grand jury indicts Michael Jackson on charges of child molestation. (FoxNews) Mordechai Vanunu, who leaked Israeli nuclear-weapons secrets in 1986, is released from prison after 18 years. (Guardian) (BBC) Two car bombs explode outside the General Security headquarters of Saudi Arabia in Riyadh, killing nine and wounding 125. (AP) (CNN) Iraq Occupation and Insurgency:

Three car bombs explode outside police stations in Basra, killing 68 people and wounding over 100 more. Iraqi officials blame suicide bombers for the terrorism. 23 of the casualties are school children. A fourth car bomb explodes in Zubeir, south of Basra, killing three and wounding four. British soldiers assisting the wounded are pelted with stones, injuring four, two seriously. (BBC) (NYT) The Iraqi Governing Council chooses a tribunal of judges and prosecutors to try Saddam Hussein. Salem Chalabi, nephew of Ahmed Chalabi, will chair the tribunal. (Toronto Star)

[edit] April 20, 2004

In Singapore, a Circle MRT Line tunnel being dug under the Nicoll Highway collapses, killing two. Two more are missing and feared dead. (Straits Times) Indian Elections

First phase of the Indian General Elections begin. Almost half the country's constituencies vote.

A spokesman for Saudi Arabia strongly denies John Kerry's assertion that it had made an agreement with United States President George W. Bush to manipulate the price of oil for political purposes as the U.S. election approaches. The assertion stems from material in Bob Woodward's new book, Plan of Attack, detailing the Bush Administration's preparation for the invasion of Iraq. (NYT) (AP) (Democracy Now!) United Kingdom referendum on the European Constitution: P.M. Tony Blair confirms that a referendum will be held on the UK's ratification of the future EU constitution. (BBC). NASA launches Gravity Probe B in an effort to test Einstein's general theory of relativity. (NASA) Iraq Occupation and Insurgency:

12 mortars were fired on Abu Ghraib Prison by insurgents. 22 detainees were killed and 92 wounded. [7] Iraqi security forces who fled the fighting in Fallujah begin to return to the city. (AP)

[edit] April 19, 2004

Ten Iraqi Kurds and North Africans are arrested by UK police on suspicion of violating the Terrorism Act 2000. The arrests are made in dawn raids in Greater Manchester and other parts of the North and Midlands. (BBC) The law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell makes public a 463 page report on accounting and corporate governance issues affecting oil giant Royal Dutch/Shell. The report, prepared at the request of Shell's audit committee, explains how lax standards have allowed the company to vastly overstate the extent of its oil and natural gas reserves. (company website) Boston Marathon: A new world record of 1:18:27 is set in the men's wheelchair division by a South African (Ernst Van Dyk). Kenyans win the women's race and the men's for the 13th time in fourteen years. (Boston Globe) The 10th TV turnoff week starts. Argentine doctors report that soccer superstar Diego Maradona has suffered a major heart attack in Buenos Aires and is in a hospital in intensive care. (news.com.au)

[edit] April 18, 2004

The Iranian Vice Speaker of Parliament, Behzad Nabavi, resigns over "violation of public rights". (Payvand News) (Hi Pakistan) Sheikh Omar Bakri Muhammad says the "life of an unbeliever has no value, it has no sanctity" and states that several Islamic militant groups are planning a terrorist attack on London, making such an attack inevitable. (Reuters) Iraq Occupation and Insurgency:

The new Prime Minister of Spain, JosÃ© Luis RodrÃguez Zapatero, orders that all Spanish troops should be brought home from Iraq "in as short a time as possible", in accordance with "the will of the Spanish people". (BBC) El PaÃs reports Spain's Foreign Minister Miguel Ãngel Moratinos, after being sworn into office, will offer to replace Spanish troops in Iraq with non-military assistance when he visits Washington this week. (Reuters)

In Kosovo, a Jordanian UN police officer opens fire upon a convoy of UN police officers killing two female Americans and injuring eleven others. The attack reportedly stemmed from an argument between American and Jordanian UN police over Iraq policies. (BBC) Fighting breaks out between Pakistani and al-Qaeda fighters near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. (Reuters) Hamas selects a new leader but keeps his identity secret, fearing he will be killed. (AP) 9-11 Commission member Jamie S. Gorelick receives death threats after allegations that her actions to keep law-enforcement from using military intelligence may have contributed to lapses leading to the attacks. Meanwhile, the Washington Times reports allegations by former FBI Director Thomas J. Pickard that Gorelick resisted efforts by the FBI to expand the counterterrorism effort beyond simple law enforcement tactics and agencies. (CNN) (Washington Times)

[edit] April 17, 2004

His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama begins a visit to Canada. (Toronto Star) Burma's National League for Democracy reopens its Rangoon headquarters nearly a year after the government closed it down. (VOA) Israeli-Palestinian conflict:

Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi, leader of Hamas, is killed by an Israeli missile attack. (CNN) (BBC) An Israeli border policeman is killed in a suicide bombing attack at the Erez Crossing in northern Gaza. Hamas and Fatah claim responsibility. (INN)

[edit] April 16, 2004

The People's Republic of China praises the United Nations Commission on Human Rights' decision to block a U.S. motion to condemn Beijing's human rights record. (VOA) 1000 more demonstrators, including former prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, are arrested in Kathmandu. They are calling on the King of Nepal to restore democracy. (Morning Star) 2004 South Korean parliamentary elections: The Uri Party, backed by suspended President Roh Moo-hyun, more than triples its representation, winning 152 of 299 seats. Iraq Occupation and Insurgency:

US Army in Iraq employs a 1000 kg bomb at Falluja, near the Shiite town Najaf. (Spiegel) A new book by Bob Woodward states that U.S. President George W. Bush requested in the autumn of 2001 that plans be prepared for attacking Iraq. (NYT) Arab satellite television network Al Jazeera broadcasts a videotape of a captured US soldier, PFC Keith Maupin, perhaps one of those listed as missing in action since April 9. (NYT)

Mexico - Economy of Mexico: Mexico's Foreign Affairs Secretary, Luis Ernesto Derbez, announces that his country is seeking admission to South America's Mercosur trade bloc, the third largest in the world. (Reuters) Seeking legal recognition as a news organization, the National Rifle Association begins NRANews, a website dedicated to presenting its view of the right to bear arms. (NRANews) Mark Chen replaces Eugene Chien as foreign minister of Taiwan. Chien resigned to take responsibility for American Institute in Taiwan Director Therese Shaheen's resignation. (Japan Today) (Reuters)

[edit] April 15, 2004

A further 2000 pro-democracy demonstrators are arrested in Nepal; all but 22 are later released. War on Terrorism:

An audio tape, purportedly made by Osama bin Laden, is broadcast by Al-Arabiya. In it, a voice offers to cease terrorist operations in European countries which withdraw their troops from Muslim nations. The tape includes a vow of revenge on Israel and the United States for the death of Hamas leader, Ahmed Yassin. (Khaleej Times) (transcript) The CIA claims to have determined that the voice on the tape is likely to be bin Laden. European Commission President Romano Prodi rejects negotiation under a "terrorist threat". Britain, Spain, Italy, and Germany also reject the offer. (Xinhuanet) (Reuters) (Washington Post)

India beats Pakistan 2-1 in the historic friendship Test cricket series. This is India's first away win after 11 years and the first against archrivals Pakistan, in Pakistan. United Nations' nuclear watchdog group and other U.N. diplomats state that nuclear-related equipment, some contaminated, and a number of missile engines have been smuggled out of Iraq for recycling in Jewometaal Stainless Processing B.V. scrap yards. Satellite photos detect "the extensive removal of equipment and, in some instances, removal of entire buildings" from sites that had been subject to U.N. monitoring before the Iraq war. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has also reiterated a call for arms inspectors to return to Iraq. (Washington Post) (Spacewar) (ABC AU) Iraq Occupation and Insurgency:

Khalil Naimi, a senior Iranian diplomat in Iraq, is killed while driving to the Iranian diplomatic mission in Baghdad by three unknown assailants, who drove up and shot him. He died shortly afterwards and the motives for the killing are unknown. The killing could complicate the mission of an Iranian government delegation which is in Iraq trying to mediate in the standoff between Iraq Alliance troops and Muqtada al-Sadr's militia, led by the radical Shiite cleric who is fortified in the town of Najaf. (NYT) (BBC) (VOA) (CommandPost) Iraqi militants execute Fabrizio Quattrocchi, one of four Italian hostages, in the first known murder from among the nearly two dozen foreigners being held in Iraq. (NYT) Three Japanese civilians taken hostage in Iraq are released unharmed after one week in captivity. (Japan Times) (NYT)

Israeli-Palestinian conflict: Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, reacting to the United States President Bush and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon summit, states Palestinian will never give up their struggle for an independent homeland, never abandon the claims of their refugees, nor make more territorial concessions. He states that Jerusalem will be its capital. Sharon, who wants to withdraw Israel from the Gaza Strip, faces opposition to his withdrawal plan. (VOA) LindowsOS changes its name to Linspire, in a move to counter Microsoft's lawsuit strategy against the company. (eWeek) Long-time Canadian NDP member of Parliament Svend Robinson admits that he stole a piece of jewelry at a public sale in what he describes as "a moment of total, utter irrationality." He states he has turned the ring into police, with whom he is cooperating, and that he is putting his career on hold, taking medical leave to obtain psychological help. The auction house later accepted Svend's apology and decided not to press charges, but a special prosecuter was appointed by the government to weigh the decision of whether to prosecute Robinson.(CBC) U.S. and German researchers report the sunset could recalibrate the internal compasses of migrating songbirds. (CBS News) (Reuters) (National Geographic) Three planets are discovered via gravitational microlensing orbiting stars many light years away, including one that is more than three times farther away than the previous record holder. (Space.com) Voting begins in South Korean parliamentary elections. Hong Kong Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa submits a report on the constitutional development to NPC, asking Beijing's permission to reform the way HK's legislature and the top leadership are chosen in 2007 and 2008.

[edit] April 14, 2004

2004 South African legislative election: The African National Congress (ANC) of President Thabo Mbeki, which has been in power since the end of the apartheid system in 1994, is re-elected with an increased majority. (CNN) U.S. presidential election : An advertisement for John Kerry placed in a newspaper in Gulfport, Florida by a local Democratic Party club gets negative national publicity, as it suggests shooting United States Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. The ad was placed by the Saint Petersburg Democratic Club of Florida, and has been condemned by both Republicans and Democrats, including Kerry's campaign.