:: wikimiki.org ::
| January 2004 |
January 20042004 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December- →
__NOTOC__
- 2004-01
zh-min-nan:2004 nî 1 goe̍h
ja:「最近の出来事」2004年1月
simple:January 2004
February 2004
2004
2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. It was designated the:
- International Year of Rice (by the United Nations)
- International Year to Commemorate the Struggle against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO)
- 2004 World Health Day topic was Road Safety (by World Health Organization)
- Year of the Monkey (by the Chinese calendar)
See the world in 2004 for a description of the state of the world in this year.
See also Wikipedia's almanac of events for this year.
Events
- January 1 - Pervez Musharraf gets a vote of confidence from an electoral college consisting of Parliament and the provincial assemblies, confirming him as President of Pakistan until 2007.
- January 3 - Flash Airlines Flight 604 crashes into the Red Sea off the coast of Egypt, killing all 148 aboard.
- January 4 - Mikhail Saakashvili wins the presidential elections in Georgia.
- January 4 -NASA's MER-A (Spirit) lands on Mars.
- January 8 - Queen Elizabeth II christens the RMS Queen Mary 2 cruise liner, currently the largest ocean liner in the world.
- January 13 - An Uzbekistan Airways plane crashes in Uzbekistan's capital of Tashkent, killing 37.
- January 22 - The European Union bans the import of poultry from Thailand, as bird flu spreads throughout Southeast Asia.
- January 24 - NASA's MER-B (Opportunity) lands on Mars.
- January 27 - The British government narrowly wins a House of Commons vote on the proposed introduction of tuition top-up fees in British universities.
- January 28 - The findings of the Hutton Inquiry are published in London. The British Government is found not to have falsified information in the "sexed up dossier". The report criticises the BBC's role in the death of David Kelly, a weapons expert on Iraq.
- January 28 - At a hearing of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, it is revealed that the September 11, 2001, terrorists used Mace (a brand of tear gas) or pepper spray in overpowering the flight crew of American Airlines Flight 11.
- February 1 - A hajj stampede in Mina, Saudi Arabia, kills 251 pilgrims.
- February 3 - The CIA admits that there was no imminent threat from weapons of mass destruction before the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
- February 6 - A suicide bomber kills 41 people on a metro car in Moscow.
- February 7 - Several leaders of Abnaa el-Balad arrested in Israel.
- February 10 - At least 50 people killed in a car bomb attack on a police recruitment centre south of Baghdad.
- February 10 - The French National Assembly votes to pass a law banning religious items and clothing from schools.
- February 12 - Same sex marriage in the United States: The City and County of San Francisco begins issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples as an act of civil disobedience.
- February 13 - Scientists in South Korea announce the cloning of 30 human embryos.
- February 14 - Riots break out between New South Wales Police and Aboriginal residents of Redfern, a suburb of Sydney, Australia.
- February 18 - A train carrying a convoy of petrol, fertiliser, and sulfur derails and explodes in Iran, killing 320 people.
- February 20 - Conservatives win a majority in the Iranian parliament election.
- February 24 - 6.5 Richter scale earthquake in Northern Morocco hits in the Rif mountains near the city of Al Hoceima - over 400 dead. Ait Kamara is destroyed. 517 dead.
- February 25- Ash Wednesday. Also, the religious docudrama, The Passion of the Christ was released.
- February 26 - The United States lifts a ban on travel to Libya, ending travel restrictions to the nation that had lasted for 23 years.
- February 26 - Macedonian President Boris Trajkovski is killed in a plane crash near Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
- February 29 - 2004 Haiti rebellion: Jean-Bertrand Aristide resigns as president of Haiti. The chief justice of the Haitian Supreme Court, Boniface Alexandre, is sworn in as interim president.
- February 29 - The film The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King directed by Peter Jackson wins 11 Academy Awards in every category it was nominated.
- March 2 - John Kerry effectively clinches the 2004 U.S. Democratic Party presidential nomination by winning nine out of 10 "Super Tuesday" primaries and caucuses.
- March 2 - NASA announces that the Mars rover MER-B (Opportunity), has confirmed that the area of Mars they landed in was once drenched in water.
- March 10 - Five British men released from detention at Camp Delta, Guantanamo Bay land at RAF Brize Norton. Four are immediately arrested for questioning.
- March 11 - Simultaneous explosions on rush hour trains in Madrid kill 190 people.
- March 12 - Following the terrorist attacks in Madrid on March 11, millions of protesters take to the streets of Spanish cities against terrorism.
- March 14 - Two suicide bombers kill eleven Israeli civilians in Ashdod, Israel.
- March 14 - The Spanish parliamentary elections of 2004 take place. The incumbent government led by José María Aznar is defeated by the Socialist José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero.
- March 14 - Presidential elections in Russia are held. Vladimir Putin easily wins a second term.
- March 15 - A trio of astronomers announce they have discovered a large trans-Neptunian object, the largest object found in the solar system since Pluto was discovered in 1930. Initially designated 2003 VB12, it was named 90377 Sedna in late September.
- March 15 - The new Spanish government announces that it will withdraw Spain's 1,300 troops in Iraq.
- March 17 - Organized violence breaks out over two days in Kosovo. Nineteen people are killed, 139 Serbian homes are burned, schools and businesses are vandalized, and over 30 orthodox monasteries and churches are burned and destroyed.
- March 19 - The UN launches a corruption investigation due to the scandal over its Iraqi Oil for Food program.
- March 20 - President Chen Shui-bian wins the Taiwanese presidential election by 0.2% of the vote. The day before, he and Vice President Annette Lu were 'shot'. Lien Chan refuses to concede and demands a recount. A controversial 'peace referendum' opposed by the People's Republic of China is invalidated.
- March 21 - The 2004 Malaysian general election takes place. The incumbent Barisan Nasional party wins 198 out of 219 seats in the Malaysian Parliament.
- March 21 - Tony Saca is elected President of El Salvador (inauguration June 1).
- March 22 - Palestinians protest in the streets after an Israeli helicopter gunship fires a missile at the entourage of Ahmed Yassin in Gaza City, killing Yassin and 7 others.
- March 25 - British Prime Minister Tony Blair visits Libyan leader Colonel Muammar al-Qaddafi, in return for the dismantling of Libya's WMD programme in December 2003 - the first time a major western leader has visited the nation in several decades.
- March 28 - In France, the government of Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin suffers a stunning and unprecedented defeat in regional elections. The first ever South Atlantic Hurricane makes landfall in South Brazil on the state of Santa Catarina, the Hurricane is dubbed Hurricane Catarina.
- March 29 - The Republic of Ireland bans smoking in all enclosed work places including: restaurants, pubs and bars.
- March 29 - Largest expansion of NATO to date, allowing Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia into the organization.
- March 31 - Four American private military contractors working for Blackwater USA, are killed and their bodies mutilated after being ambushed in Fallujah, Iraq.
- April 1 - Faroese Prime Minister's Office announces that from then on the Prime Minister and the Prime Minister's Office would use a new version of the Faroese Coat of Arms. The colours were inspired from the Merkið (flag) and yellow/gold was added. The new Coat of Arms depicts a Ram on a blue shield ready to defend. It can be used by the Government Ministries and by Faroese embassies, but some still use older versions of the Coat of Arms. Coat of Arms
- April 3 - A bomb explosion in a Madrid flat kills a Spanish policeman and five terrorists suspected of responsibility for the Madrid train bombings on March 11.
- April 4 - Serious fighting breaks out in Najaf, Sadr City, and Basra in Iraq as Shia insurgents supporting Muqtada al-Sadr rise against coalition forces.
- April 5 - Queen Elizabeth II begins a state visit to France to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Entente Cordiale.
- April 8 - Darfur conflict: The Humanitarian Ceasefire Agreement is signed by the Sudanese government and two rebel groups.
- April 8 - Three Japanese citizens are taken hostage in Iraq.
- April 8 - Former Japanese famous economist, professor at Waseda University graduate school Kazuhide Uekusa was arrested on the escalator of JR Shinagawa Station because of trying to peep under high school girl's skirt with his hand mirror.
- April 16 - India defeats Pakistan in their first cricket tour in 14 years.
- April 17 - Israeli helicopters fire missiles at a convoy of vehicles in the Gaza Strip, killing the Gaza leader of Hamas, Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi.
- April 20 - In Iraq, 12 mortars were fired on Abu Ghraib Prison by insurgents. Twenty two detainees were killed and 92 wounded. [http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2004-04-20-iraq_x.htm]
- April 21 - Mordechai Vanunu, who revealed an Israeli nuclear weapons programme in the 1980s, is released from prison in Israel after an 18 year term for treason.
- April 22 - Two trains carrying explosives and fuel collide in the North Korean town of Ryongchon, killing 161 people, injuring 1,300 and destroying thousands of homes.
- April 22 - The last coal mine in France closes, ending nearly 300 years of coal mining.
- April 25 - Referenda on a United Nations plan, which proposes to re-unite the island of Cyprus, take place in both the Greek and Turkish parts. Although the Turks vote in favour, the Greeks reject the proposal.
- April 28 - Abuse of prisoners at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq is revealed on the television show 60 Minutes II.
- May 1 - the largest expansion to date of the European Union takes place, extending the Union by 10 member-states: Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Hungary, Malta and Cyprus.
- May 6 - The final episode of Friends airs on NBC, drawing an estimated 52 million viewers in North America.
- May 8 - Would-be "Saudi Princess" "Antoinette Millard" surfaces in New York City and claims that muggers had stolen jewels worth of $262.000 from her (she later proves to be an impostor).
- May 9 - Chechen president Akhmad Kadyrov is killed by landmine placed under a VIP stage during a World War II memorial parade in Grozny.
- May 9 - Team of Canada won the World Ice Hockey Championship in Prague.
- May 10 - The 2004 Philippine presidential and legislative elections take place. Incumbent president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo wins the presidency.
- May 11 - An explosion destroys a plastics factory in Glasgow, UK, killing nine people and injuring over a hundred.
- May 12 - An American civilian contractor in Iraq, Nick Berg, is shown being decapitated by a group allegedly linked to al-Qaida on a web-distributed video.
- May 13 - In India, the Congress Party wins a surprise victory in the elections to the Lok Sabha.
- May 14 - Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark, marries Australian Mary Donaldson in Copenhagen.
- May 17 - Ezzedine Salim, holder of the rotating leadership of the Iraqi Governing Council, is killed in a bomb blast in Baghdad.
- May 17 - Massachusetts legalizes same-sex marriage in compliance with a ruling from the state's Supreme Judicial Court (Goodridge v. Department of Public Health).
- May 19 - Tony Blair is hit with a purple flour bomb in the chamber of the House of Commons during a session of Prime Minister's Questions.
- May 19 - Jeremy Sivits pleads guilty in a court-martial in connection with alleged abuse of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad.
- May 23 - A section of the ceiling in Terminal 2E at Paris's Charles de Gaulle International Airport collapses, claiming at least six lives.
- May 23 - Japanese prime minister Junichiro Koizumi visits North Korea to secure the release of the families of the nine abducted Japanese citizens returned earlier.
- May 26 - Terry Nichols is convicted by an Oklahoma state court on murder charges stemming from the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.
- May 29 - Dedication of the National World War II Memorial takes place in Washington, DC.
- May 30 - Thousands of people in Hong Kong take to the streets to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre.
- June 1 - Twelve-year-old Satomi Mitarai, a Japanese schoolgirl attending Okubo Elementary School in Sasebo, Japan is murdered. Her killer, an 11-year-old classmate identified by Japanese authorities as "Girl A", becomes the basis for the Nevada-tan Internet meme.
- June 4 - Marvin Heemeyer destroys many local buildings with a home-made tank in Grancby, Colorado
- June 5 - Former President of the United States, Ronald Reagan, dies at age 93.
- June 6 - The 60th anniversary of D-Day is remembered by world leaders.
- June 7 - Tampa Bay Lightning defeat Calgary Flames in 2004 Stanley Cup Finals.
- June 8 - The first transit of Venus since 1882 occurs; the next one will occur in 2012.
- June 8 - The G8 Summit takes place over the next 2 days on Sea Island, in Georgia, USA.
- June 8 - The pickled heart of Louis XVII of France is buried in the royal crypt at Saint-Denis.
- June 11 - Terry Nichols is spared the death penalty by an Oklahoma state court on murder charges stemming from the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. The decision came on the third anniversary of the execution of his co-defendant, Timothy James McVeigh, in Terre Haute, Indiana.
- June 11 - After the first presidential state funeral since 1973, President Ronald Wilson Reagan is laid to rest at Simi Valley, California, at the site of the Reagan Presidential Library.
- June 12 - A 1.3 kg chondrite type meteorite struck a house in Ellerslie, New Zealand causing serious damage but no injuries.Ellerslie, New Zealand
- June 15 - The Detroit Pistons upset the heavily favored Los Angeles Lakers to win the 2004 NBA Finals, four games to one.
- June 16 - The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (or "9/11 Commission") issues an initial report of its findings.
- June 21 - SpaceShipOne becomes the first privately-funded spaceplane to achieve spaceflight.
- June 28 - Union Pacific and Burlington Northern Santa Fe trains collided in a rural area outside of San Antonio, Texas. Forty cars were derailed, including one chlorine car, and three people died, another 50 people were hospitalized because of exposure to the gas.
- June 28 - The U.S.-led coalition occupying Iraq transfers sovereignty to an interim Iraqi government.
- June 28 - Canadian election: The Liberal Party, led by Paul Martin, is reduced to a minority government, after holding a majority since November 1993.
- June 30 - The preliminary hearings begin in Iraq in the trial of former president Saddam Hussein, for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
- July 1 - The Cassini-Huygens spacecraft arrives at Saturn.
- July 4 - Groundbreaking of Freedom Tower at Ground Zero in New York City.
- July 4 - The Euro 2004 final between Portugal and Greece takes place in Lisbon, Portugal. Greece wins the match 1:0.
- July 22 - The Old Bridge of Mostar in Bosnia-Herzegovina is reconstructed and reopened after being destroyed by Bosnian Croat forces on November 9, 1993.
- July 25 - Over 100,000 opponents to Israel's unilateral disengagement plan of 2004 participate in a human chain from Gush Katif, to the Western Wall, Jerusalem (90 kilometers).
- July 25 - Lance Armstrong of Austin, Texas wins an unprecedented 6th consecutive Tour de France cycling title.
- August 1 - Supermarket fire in Asunción, Paraguay, kills about 400 people and leaves over 100 missing.
- August 3 - Statue of Liberty reopens after security improvements.
- August 6 - A United Nations report that blames the government of Sudan for crimes against humanity in Darfur is released.
- August 12 - Singapore's prime minister Goh Chok Tong hands over his position to Lee Hsien Loong.
- August 13 - The 2004 Summer Olympics begin in Athens. They end on August 29.
- August 13 - Hurricane Charley kills 27 people in Florida after killing four in Cuba and one in Jamaica. Charley made landfall near Cayo Costa, FL as a Category 4 hurricane. Charley was the most intense hurricane to strike the United States since Hurricane Andrew in 1992.
- August 16 - Severe flooding in the village of Boscastle in Cornwall.
- August 18 - In Dublin, Ireland the Dublin Port Tunnel excavation works were completed and the final tunnel boring machine breakthrough ceremony took place.
- August 21 - A series of blasts rocks a rally of an opposition party in Dhaka, Bangladesh, killing at least 13 people.
- August 22 - Armed robbers steal Edvard Munch's The Scream, Madonna and other paintings from the Munch Museum in Oslo, Norway.
- August 24 - Two airliners in Russia, carrying a total of 89 passengers, crash within minutes of each other after flying out of Domodedovo International Airport, leaving no survivors. Authorities suspect suicide attacks by rebels from Chechnya to be the cause of the crashes.
- August 29 - Around 200,000 protesters demonstrate in New York City against President George W. Bush and his government, ahead of the 2004 Republican National Convention.
- August 31 - Two suicide attacks on buses in Beer Sheva, Israel, kill at least 16 people and injure at least 60. Hamas claims responsibility for the attacks.
- August 31 - A woman commits a suicide attack near a subway station in northern Moscow, Russia, killing at least 10 people and injuring at least 50. Authorities hold Chechen rebels responsible.
- September 1 - Chechen rebels take between 1,000 and 1,500 people hostage, mostly children, in a school in Beslan, Northern Ossetia. The hostage-takers demand the release of Chechen rebels imprisoned in neighbouring Ingushetia and the independence of Chechnya from Russia.
- September 2 - The United Nations Security Council adopts Resolution 1559 calling for the removal of all foreign troops from Lebanon. This measure is largely aimed at Syrian troops.
- September 3 - Russian forces end the siege at a school in Beslan, Northern Ossetia. At least 335 people (among which at least 32 of the approximately 40 hostage-takers) have been killed and at least 700 people have been injured.
- September 3 - Hurricane Frances makes landfall in Florida. After killing two people in the Bahamas, Hurricane Frances killed ten people in Florida, two in Georgia and one in South Carolina.
- September 7 - The Scottish Parliament meets in the new Scottish Parliament Building for the first time.
- September 7 - Hurricane Ivan passes directly over Grenada, killing 37 people. It passes over other Caribbean islands over the next two days, killing 5 people in Venezuela, 4 in the Dominican Republic, 1 in Tobago and 20 in Jamaica.
- September 8 - In the "Rathergate" affair, the first Internet posts appear pointing out that documents claimed by CBS News to be typewritten memos from the early 1970s appear instead to have been produced using modern word processing systems.
- September 9 - A bomb blast outside the Australian embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia, kills eleven people and injures up to 100 people.
- September 13 - The Assault Weapons Ban expires.
- September 15 - Davíð Oddsson prime minister of Iceland steps down after serving as prime minister since April 30 1991. Oddson becomes foreign minister as his foreign minister Halldór Ásgrímsson becomes prime minister.
- September 15 - Security at the Palace of Westminster is compromised when the House of Commons is stormed by a small group of protestors during a debate about fox hunting.
- September 15 - "Girl A" is sentenced to be institutionalized due to the murder of classmate Satomi Mitarai.
- September 16 - Hurricane Ivan strikes Gulf Shores, Alabama, as a Category 3 storm, killing 25 in Alabama and Florida.
- September 17 - 2004 Summer Paralympics commences in Athens, Greece.
- September 17 - Mexico and Japan finish the two year long negotiations and sign a Free Trade Agreement in Mexico City.
- September 23 - Mount St. Helens becomes active again.
- September 23 - Tropical Storm Ivan, having come around and reformed in the Gulf of Mexico, makes its final landfall near Cameron, Louisiana, to little effect. In total, the storm killed 92 people.
- September 25 - Hurricane Jeanne makes landfall near Hutchinson Island, FL. In all, Jeanne killed over 3,000, most in Haiti.
- September 29 - First Ansari X-Prize flight of SpaceShipOne.
- October 4 - Two car bombs kill at least 16 people and injure dozens more in Baghdad.
- October 5 - A fire breaks out on the Canadian submarine HMCS Chicoutimi leaving it stranded without power in the North Atlantic ocean, off the north coast of Ireland. One crewmember is killed.
- October 8 - Kenneth Bigley, the British hostage held by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, an Iraqi insurgent, is killed after a failed escape attempt.
- October 8 - Suicide bombers detonate two bombs at the Red Sea resort of Taba, Egypt, killing 34 people, mainly Israeli tourists and Egyptian workers.
- October 9 - Queen Elizabeth II opens the new Scottish Parliament Building in a ceremony in Edinburgh
- October 9 - Incumbent Prime Minister of Australia John Howard leads the Liberal-National coalition to victory over the Labor Party led by Mark Latham in federal elections.
- October 9 - Direct elections for president held for the first time in Afghanistan. Interim president Hamid Karzai is eventually declared the winner.
- October 10 - Abdullahi Yusuf is chosen as the new transitional president of Somalia.
- October 14 - Prince Norodom Sihamoni is chosen as the new king of Cambodia.
- October 16 - The New York Yankees defeat the Boston Red Sox, 19-8 in Game 3 of Major League Baseball's American League Championship Series. The game, which pushed the Yankees to a 3 games to none series lead, sets a record for longest nine inning baseball game.
- October 17 - A referendum in Belarus approves the lifting of constitutional term limits for the presidency.
- October 18 - Three men attack Greek journalist Philippos Syrigos in Athens and seriously wound him
- October 19 - General Khin Nyunt is replaced by Lieutenant-General Soe Win as Prime Minister of Myanmar.
- October 20 - The Boston Red Sox defeat the New York Yankees in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series, completing an unprecedented comeback from three games to none down.
- October 20 - Corporate Airlines Flight 5966 crashes in Missouri, killing 13 people, and injuring 2.
- October 20 - Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono becomes the first directly-elected President of Indonesia.
- October 21 - The Ministry of Defence approves the deployment of the Black Watch regiment of the British Army to Baghdad, Iraq after a request for assistance by the U.S. government.
- October 24 - The bodies of 49 Iraqi soldiers discovered after being ambushed by insurgents.
- October 24 - Brazil successfully launches its first rocket into space.
- October 25 - Reverand Dr Martin Luther King, Jr and Coretta Scott King receive Congressional Gold Medal.
- October 26 - October 26The Cassini probe passes within 1,200km of Titan
- October 27 - Details of the discovery of a new, recent, species of fossil hominid, Homo floresiensis, from the island of Flores, Indonesia are published.
- October 27 - The Boston Red Sox sweep the St. Louis Cardinals to win the World Series championship for the first time since 1918.
- October 29 - A videotape of Osama Bin Laden speaking airs on Arabic TV, in which he threatens terrorist attacks on the United States, and taunts the president, George W. Bush, over the September 11 Terrorist attacks.
- October 29 - European heads of state signed in Rome the Treaty and Final Act establishing the first European Constitution.
- October 30 - A 163 metre high radio mast in Peterborough, UK collapsed at a fire
- October 31 - Leftist candidate Tabaré Vázquez is elected President of Uruguay.
- November 1 - a 16 year old Palestinian, a muslim, blew himself up in an outdoor market in Tel Aviv, killing three Israelis.
- November 2 - U.S. presidential election: President George W. Bush defeats Senator John Kerry. Republicans make gains in the 2004 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December- →
e
- 2004-02
ja:「最近の出来事」2004年2月
April 2004__NOTOC__
2004 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December
- April 1, 2004 - Faroese Prime Minister's Office announces that from then on the Prime Minister and the Prime Minister's Office would use a new version of the Faroese Coat of Arms. The colours were inspired from the Merkið (flag) and yellow/gold was added. The new Coat of Arms depicts a Ram on a blue shield ready to defend. It can be used by the Government Ministries and by Faroese embassies, but some still use older versions of the Coat of Arms.
- April 3, 2004 - A bomb explosion in a Madrid flat kills a Spanish policeman and five terrorists suspected of responsibility for the Madrid train bombings on March 11.
- April 4, 2004 - Serious fighting breaks out in Najaf, Sadr City, and Basra in Iraq as Shia insurgents supporting Muqtada al-Sadr rise against coalition forces.
- April 5, 2004 - Queen Elizabeth II begins a state visit to France to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Entente Cordiale.
- April 8, 2004 - Darfur conflict: The Humanitarian Ceasefire Agreement is signed by the Sudanese government and two rebel groups.
- April 8, 2004 - Three Japanese citizens are taken hostage in Iraq.
- April 8, 2004 - Former Japanese famous economist, professor at Waseda University graduate school Kazuhide Uekusa was arrested on the escalator of JR Shinagawa Station because of trying to peep under high school girl's skirt with his hand mirror.
- April 16, 2004 - India defeats Pakistan in their first cricket tour in 14 years.
- April 17, 2004 - Israeli helicopters fire missiles at a convoy of vehicles in the Gaza Strip, killing the Gaza leader of Hamas, Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi.
- April 20, 2004 - In Iraq, 12 mortars were fired on Abu Ghraib Prison by insurgents. Twenty two detainees were killed and 92 wounded. [http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2004-04-20-iraq_x.htm]
- April 21, 2004 - Mordechai Vanunu, who revealed an Israeli nuclear weapons programme in the 1980s, is released from prison in Israel after an 18 year term for treason.
- April 22, 2004 - Two trains carrying explosives and fuel collide in the North Korean town of Ryongchon, killing 161 people, injuring 1,300 and destroying thousands of homes.
- April 22, 2004 - The last coal mine in France closes, ending nearly 300 years of coal mining.
- April 25, 2004 - Referenda on a United Nations plan, which proposes to re-unite the island of Cyprus, take place in both the Greek and Turkish parts. Although the Turks vote in favour, the Greeks reject the proposal.
- April 28, 2004 - Abuse of prisoners at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq is revealed on the television show 60 Minutes II.
Arts and culture
- April 2, 2004 to 8 - TV Tokyo in Japan premieres eight shows during the first week of the month.
- April 6, 2004 - A previously unreleased Johnny Cash album called My Mother's Hymn Book is released less than a year after his death on September 12, 2003.
- April 17, 2004 - Cartoon Network's Toonami moves from 5 PM to 7 PM (primetime) and extends by four hours (from two to six).
- April 20, 2004 - Fear Factory returns after their 2002 breakup with the new album Archetype.
- April 26, 2004 - Deborah Voigt, sacked by Covent Garden for being too fat for an opera role, makes her recital debut to a rapturous reception at Carnegie Hall.
- April 28, 2004 - 30 St Mary Axe, London (the Swiss Re building), designed by Norman Foster is completed.
Transportation
- April - The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals in Pierre, South Dakota, rules that the Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad may use eminent domain to purchase land in South Dakota in order to build the railroad's extension into Wyoming's Powder River Basin.
- April - Great North Eastern Railways, operators of services on the East Coast Main Line in England and Scotland, introduce 802.11b wireless LAN access to the Internet on their Mallard Intercity 225 trains.
- April 1, 2004 - High speed train service is inaugurated in Korea between Seoul and Pusan; the trains make the trip in 2 hours and 40 minutes.
- April 4, 2004 - Alaska Airlines discontinues service between San Francisco and Tucson.
- April 18, 2004 - Connex takes over the half of the Melbourne suburban rail network formerly operated by M>Train.
- April 22, 2004 - In the Ryongchon disaster, a flammable cargo explodes at the railway station in the town of Ryongchŏn, North Korea, near the border with China; the explosion occurs only a few hours after North Korean leader Kim Jong-il passed through the station en route back to the capital from a secret meeting in China.
- April 29, 2004 - The European Railway Agency [http://www.era.eu.int/default.aspx], headquartered in Valenciennes/Lille, France, is formed [http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/en/archive/2004/l_22020040621en.html].
- 2004-04
ko:2004년 4월
ja:「最近の出来事」2004年4月
simple:April 2004
May 2004__NOTOC__
2004 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December
- 2004-05
ko:2004년 5월
ja:「最近の出来事」2004年5月
simple:May 2004
June 2004__NOTOC__
2004 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December
See also: June 2004 in sports
News collections and sources
See: Wikipedia:News collections and sources.
- 2004-06
ko:2004년 6월
ja:「最近の出来事」2004年6月
simple:June 2004
July 2004__NOTOC__
2004 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December
See also: July 2004 in sports
- A plea bargain in a US court reveals details of an alleged Libyan plot to assassinate Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Abdullah. Leading US Muslim activist Abdurahman Alamoudi, founder of the American Muslim Council, admits taking part in the plot, as he pleads guilty to three charges of illegal dealings with Libya. US Attorney General John Ashcroft says the case has provided "critical intelligence" in the war on terror. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3941475.stm (BBC)]
- The Olympic Stadium in Berlin is given a new lease of life after a four-year renovation. The stadium is to stage the Football World Cup 2006 final, Germany's biggest sporting spectacle since reunification, exactly 70 years after the infamous Nazi Olympics. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3942661.stm (BBC)]
- The Vatican denounces feminism, claiming that it blurs differences between men and women and threatens the institution of the traditional family of one man and one woman, stating that the drive for equality makes "homosexuality and heterosexuality virtually equivalent, in a new model of polymorphous sexuality". [http://ap.washingtontimes.com/dynamic/stories/V/VATICAN_WOMEN?SITE=DCTMS&SECTION=HOME (AP)]
- Iran states that it has resumed building nuclear centrifuges to enrich uranium, reversing an October 2003 pledge to Britain, France and Germany to suspend all uranium enrichment-related activities. The United States contends that the purpose is to produce weapons grade uranium. [http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=5835448 (Reuters)]
- The United Nations Security Council passes a US-drafted resolution [http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2004/sc8160.doc.htm 1556] demanding the Sudanese government end atrocities in the Darfur conflict; however, aid groups criticize the weakening of the resolution at the insistence of China, Pakistan, and Russia. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3940547.stm (BBC)]
- Three people are killed and eight wounded in three suicide bomber attacks outside the U.S. and Israeli embassies and the Uzbek chief prosecutor's office in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. The Islamist group Hizb ut-Tahrir is blamed by Uzbek President Islam Karimov. Other unnamed sources point to al-Qaeda. [http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,127544,00.html (FOXNews)] [http://ap.washingtontimes.com/dynamic/stories/U/UZBEKISTAN_ATTACKS?SITE=DCTMS&SECTION=HOME (AP)]
- A natural gas pipeline explodes in Ghislenghien, near Ath (thirty kilometres southeast of Brussels), killing 18 people and leaving over 120 wounded, some critically. [http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=HXJX3BKM0LDU0CRBAE0CFFA?type=worldNews&storyID=5832363 (Reuters)] [http://edition.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/europe/07/30/belgium.gas.blast/index.html (CNN)]
- United States Senator John Kerry formally accepts the 2004 Democratic Presidential candidate nomination. In his acceptance speech he undertakes to "restore trust and credibility to the White House". [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5344731/ (MSNBC)]
- Pakistan announces the capture of Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani, only the second person on the FBI Most Wanted Terrorists list to be detained. He is wanted in connection with the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings. The US Government had offered a reward of up to $25m for information leading to the arrest of Ghailani. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/3938133.stm (BBC)] [http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/asiapcf/07/29/pakistan.alqaeda.capture/index.html CNN]
- The Bank of England says that consumer debt in the United Kingdom has passed one trillion pounds for the first time. Coupled with increasing interest rates, this increased amount of debt has caused a sharp rise in the number of people seeking help with money problems – up 44% on five years ago. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/3935671.stm (BBC)]
- Two Australian anti-war protestors who daubed "No War" in red paint on the top sail of the Sydney Opera House on March 18, 2003 take their case to the New South Wales Court of Appeal. David Burgess, 33, and Will Saunders, 42, claim their defence of self-defence was not heard by their original trial judge. [http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/07/29/1091080369482.html?oneclick=true (Sydney Morning Herald)]
- The International Criminal Court says it will launch an investigation into ongoing atrocities at the Barlonyo refugee camp in northern Uganda. Reports say that more than 200 people have killed by rebels from the Lord's Resistance Army since the beginning of the year. [http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?ao=119498 (Mail & Guardian)]
- In Vietnam, dissident pro-democracy activist Dr Nguyen Dan Que is sentenced by the Ho Chi Minh People's Court for "abusing democratic rights to jeopardise the interests of the state, and the legitimate rights and interests of social organisations and citizens". Que is the third dissident this month to be jailed after using the Internet to criticise the ruling Communist government. [http://www.vnagency.com.vn/newsA.asp?LANGUAGE_ID=2&CATEGORY_ID=29&NEWS_ID=111191 (Vietnam News Agency)] (note the Agency is state-controlled), [http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/world/9271340.htm?1c (Miami Herald)].
- Doughnut maker Krispy Kreme announces that its accounting practices are the subject of an informal inquiry by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The inquiry is concerned with the company's repurchase of franchises as well as a recent earnings warning. [http://news.findlaw.com/ap/f/1310/7-29-2004/20040729073007-13.html (AP)]
- Scientists at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute announce the discovery of a new genus of deep sea worms, Osedax (meaning bone devourer). The worms feed on lipids found in the bones of whale carcasses. [http://www.mbari.org/news/news_releases/2004/whalefall.html (MBARI)]
- The Catholic Church says a "weeping statue" at a Vietnamese Catholic centre near Brisbane is not a miracle. [http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200407/s1164463.htm (ABC)]
- Violence in Iraq:
- A massive suicide car-bomb kills 70 Iraqi civilians in an attack near a police station in the city of Baquba, north of Baghdad.
- Insurgents launch simultaneous attacks on U.S bases around Ramadi, killing two U.S soldiers and wounding eight. One guerilla and an Iraqi civilian are killed in the Ramadi fighting. Clashes between Marines and guerillas are reported elsewhere in Al Anbar province, west of Baghdad.
- A U.S soldier is killed and three wounded in a roadside bomb attack on a convoy in the town of Balad Ruz, north of Baghdad.
- A U.S soldier is killed and another three wounded in a roadside bomb attack in Baghdad. An Iraqi civilian was also injured in the blast.
- Seven Iraqi policemen and 35 guerillas are killed in a battle in the town of Suwariyah, southeast of Baghdad, that was started by a raid by Iraqi security forces backed by U.S and Ukrainian troops. [http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040728/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq&cid=540&ncid=2100(AP)]
- About 220 North Koreans fly to South Korea from an unnamed third country, following 247 who arrived the day before. They arrive at Incheon International Airport on a plane chartered by the South Korean government. The North Korean government describes their apparent defection as "kidnapping". [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3931873.stm (BBC)]
- A United Airlines flight carrying 246 passengers to Los Angeles, USA is forced to return to Sydney, Australia, after a bomb threat. Police later describe a hoax warning, found written on an air sickness bag. [http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/asiapcf/07/27/australia.plane/index.html (CNN)]
- The Organization of the Islamic Conference and the Muslims World League, two Saudi-based international Islamic organizations, warn of Muslim anger in the event of an attack on the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem and say Israel would be held responsible for any aggression against the mosque. [http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1§ion=0&article=48997&d=28&m=7&y=2004&pix=kingdom.jpg&category=Kingdom (ArabNews)]
- Roman Catholic Bishop Misael Vacca Ramírez, abducted by the left-wing rebel group National Liberation Army (ELN) in Colombia, tells local television he has been set free. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3931769.stm (BBC)]
- Traces of ricin are found in jars of baby food in a supermarket in Irvine, California. ([http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=ambnYuz6DXzM&refer=us Bloomberg])
- South African authorities announce that Al-Qaeda militants have illegally obtained a large number of South African passports, enabling operatives to travel to many African countries and Britain without visas. It is believed that the passports came from crime syndicates operating within the passport office. [http://ap.washingtontimes.com/dynamic/stories/T/TERROR_SOUTH_AFRICA_LINK?SITE=DCTMS&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT (AP)]
- The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court orders the unsealing of investigative files related to the unsolved 1972 murder of 13-year-old altar boy Danny Croteau. Richard Lavigne, a defrocked priest convicted of child molestation, is the only suspect in the case. [http://abcnews.go.com/wire/US/ap20040727_863.html (ABC)]
- A lower French court annuls the same-sex union of Stephane Chapin and Bertrand Charpentier, stating that the Civil Code does not allow same-sex unions and that allowing them is for the legislature. The couple say they will appeal against the court's ruling, even to the European Court of Human Rights. The mayor who officated at the ceremony, Noel Mamere of the left-wing Greens Party, had been suspended from duties for one month by the national executive. [http://ap.washingtontimes.com/dynamic/stories/F/FRANCE_GAY_MARRIAGE?SITE=DCTMS&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT (AP)]
- Iran is alleged to have broken seals placed upon uranium centrifuges by the International Atomic Energy Agency and resumed their construction. [http://ap.washingtontimes.com/dynamic/stories/N/NUCLEAR_AGENCY_IRAN?SITE=DCTMS&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT (AP)]
- Violence in Iraq:
- Guerilla mortar fire, directed at the Green Zone in Baghdad, strikes the nearby neighborhood of Salhiya, killing an Iraqi garbage collector, wounding another, and injuring 15 U.S. soldiers.
- Dr. Qassem el-Obaidi, assistant director of Mahmudiya hospital, is assassinated in Mahmudiya, 25 miles south of Baghdad.
- A suicide bomber launches a failed attack in Baquba, north of Baghdad, killing himself but inflicting no other casualties.
- The Jordanian company Daoud and Partners decides to withdraw from Iraq, so as to secure the release of two Jordanian hostages. [http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040727/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq&cid=540&ncid=2100(AP)]
- The United Nations warns that Bangladesh is on the verge of an humanitarian crisis, as severe flooding causes more than 350 deaths. Forty-one of the country's sixty-four districts are affected by the floods, and officials say 14 million people are either marooned or homeless; other estimates reach as high as 30 million. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3928463.stm (BBC)]
- The European Union's 25 foreign ministers jointly call on the United Nations to pass a resolution threatening sanctions if the Sudanese government does not rein in the Arab militias blamed for atrocities in Darfur. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3926873.stm (BBC)]
- The 2004 Democratic National Convention opens in Boston, Massachusetts. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/3925421.stm (BBC)] [http://www.guardian.co.uk/uselections2004/story/0,13918,1269340,00.html (Guardian)]
- Violence in Iraq:
- A suicide bomber attacks near a U.S base in the northern city of Mosul, killing two civilians and an Iraqi security guard. Three U.S soldiers and an Iraqi security guard were wounded.
- The Iraqi interim Interior Ministry's Deputy Chief of Tribal Affairs, Col. Musab al-Awadi, is assassinated in Baghdad, along with two of his bodyguards.
- Insurgents kill two Iraqi women working as cleaners for British forces in Basra in southern Iraq.
- Militants threaten to kill two Jordanian truck drivers they captured within 72 hours if their Jordanian employer does not stop doing business with the U.S. military. [http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040726/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq&cid=540&ncid=1480 (AP)]
- The International Maritime Bureau says that deaths due to piracy doubled in the first month of 2004 compared with the same period in 2003, to 30 people. Half of the killings were in Nigerian waters. Despite the increased violence, the total number of piracy attacks fell. In the economically critical Straits of Malacca however, attacks rose by a third. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/3925277.stm (BBC)]
- Israeli-Palestinian conflict:
- The Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades seizes the governor's office in the Gaza Strip town of Khan Yunis, demanding that Yasser Arafat's cousin Moussa Arafat be dismissed from his post as Gaza's security chief. In a separate attack, unidentified people storm a police station and burn the structure. [http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=540&e=3&u=/ap/20040725/ap_on_re_mi_ea/israel_palestinians (AP)]
- The "Human Chain" rally of 130,000 Israelis protesting against Israel's plan to unilaterally disengage from the Gaza Strip ends peacefully. About 130,000 people formed a 90 km human chain from the Gaza Strip to Jerusalem. [http://www.maarivintl.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=article&articleID=10128 (Maariv)]
- Violence in Iraq:
- Fifteen insurgents are killed in a five-hour battle near the guerilla stronghold of Buhriz near Baquba in which small-arms, artillery, and mortars are used.
- A U.S soldier is killed in a roadside bomb attack near Baiji, 90 miles south of Mosul.
- A former government official is killed in Baghdad.
- Guerillas kill two police officers in Mahumudiya, 25 miles south of Baghdad.
- A police officer, a Kurdish Patriotic Union of Kurdistan fighter, and a Kurdish woman and her two sons are killed in Kirkuk. [http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040725/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_040725191245 (AP)]
- An Iranian court clears Mohammad Reza Aghdam-Ahmadi, the intelligence agent accused of killing the Iranian-Canadian journalist Zahra Kazemi, of charges of "semi-intentional murder", stating that the blood money should be paid from the state's treasury. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3923511.stm (BBC)]
- A militant group kidnaps an Egyptian diplomat, Mohamed Mamdouh Qutb, in Baghdad, Iraq. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3921803.stm (BBC)]
- A roadside bomb explodes in Karachi, Pakistan, killing an electrician and wounding six others. The victims were all students and staff at an Islamic seminary, and appear to be the targets of the attack. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3922379.stm (BBC)]
- In Mexico Judge César Flores refuses to authorize an arrest warrant for former president Luis Echeverría Álvarez and other officials under the accusations of genocide for the killing of students during the "dirty war". Prosecutors are expected to appeal the decision. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3923567.stm (BBC)]
- The United States Senate and House of Representatives pass a joint resolution declaring the armed conflict in the Sudanese region of Darfur to be genocide. [http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/africa/07/23/un.sudan.ap/ (CNN)]
- An 18-year-old Palestinian, Hassan Zaanin, is shot dead in Beit Hanoun in the Gaza Strip when he and his familiy attempt to stop Palestinian gunmen from planting an anti-tank explosive outside their house. [http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/455715.html (Haaretz)] [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3920181.stm (BBC)]
- An arrest is made in Toronto in the Cecilia Zhang murder case, nine months after she was abducted. [http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1090534213252&call_pageid=968332188492&col=968793972154 (Toronto Star)]
- The bridge in Mostar dividing Croatian and Bosniak communities is opened 11 years after it was destroyed in the Bosnian war. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3919047.stm (BBC)]
- A special prosecutor files genocide charges against former President of Mexico Luis Echeverría for actions taken by the Mexican military during a student protest in 1971.
- Police seal off the Washington, DC, office building housing John Kerry's presidential campaign headquarters after an envelope contaning a suspicious white powder is opened by a Kerry staff member. [http://abcnews.go.com/wire/Politics/ap20040722_1880.html (ABC News)]
- Major North American brewers Coors and Molson announce they will go ahead with a proposed merger, creating the world's fifth-biggest brewing company. [http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1090491305747&call_pageid=968332188492&col=968793972154 (Toronto Star)]
- In the United States, the 9/11 Commission releases [http://www.9-11commission.gov/report/911Report.pdf its unanimous final report]. The report harshly criticizes American intelligence agencies. [http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=04/07/23/1336253 (Democracy Now!)]
- The 9/11 Commission releases a transcript of the hijackers' conversation in the final moments of United Airlines Flight 93, which details how the hijackers forced the plane into the ground in Pennsylvania. [http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=5750011 (Reuters)]
- United States and Afghan forces kill 10 suspected Islamic militants and arrest five others. [http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=5745077 (Reuters)]
- The United Nations raises its threat warning level for the Gaza Strip to "Phase Four" (the maximum is five) and plans to evacuate non-essential foreign staff from the Gaza Strip. [http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=5743863 (Reuters)]
- Kenya calls on its citizens to leave Iraq, after the recent abductions of three Kenyan citizens [http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=540&ncid=721&e=7&u=/ap/20040722/ap_on_re_mi_ea/kenya_iraq_hostages (AP)]
- In Canada, one person is reported to have died and five others hospitalized due to an E. coli contamination [http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1527&e=6&u=/afp/canada_health (AFP)]
- In Turkey a passenger train travelling between Istanbul and Ankara derails at about 18:45 local time (16:45 UTC) near Pamukova in Sakarya province. Initial fatality reports from the government suggested that 139 people were killed; this was reduced to approximately 30, without explanation, a few hours later, and the actual number is unclear. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3918473.stm (BBC)]
- Following Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin's cabinet shuffle two days earlier, Leader of the Opposition Stephen Harper announces a reshuffled Conservative Shadow Cabinet. [http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2004/07/22/tory_shadow040722.html (CBC)]
- Ignacio Carrillo, the Special Prosecutor for Past Social and Political Movements in Mexico, presents the findings of the investigation into the "dirty war", where it classifies the killings by government forces as genocide, and requests warrants be issued for the arrest of former president Luis Echeverría Álvarez and 11 other ex-government figures. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3922119.stm (BBC)] [http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2004/jul04/040723/003n2pol.php?origen=index.html&fly=1 (La Jornada in Spanish)]
- Same-sex marriage in the United States: the House of Representatives today passes legislation preventing federal courts from ordering courts in other states recognize same-sex marriage granted elsewhere. [http://newstandardnews.net/content/?action=show_item&itemid=729 (The NewStandard)]
- Palestinian Legislative Council member Nabil Amr, a leading voice for anti-corruption reform of the Palestinian Authority, is shot twice in his right leg after returning from a television interview in which he criticized Yasser Arafat. [http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=F4H0PFAVFUI1MCRBAEZSFFA?type=worldNews&storyID=5729689 (Reuters)]
- The United Nations General Assembly passes a [http://ods-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/LTD/N03/638/96/PDF/N0363896.pdf?OpenElement resolution] demanding that Israel obey the International Court of Justice ruling that the West Bank barrier should be dismantled. Israel condemns the resolution and announces that it will not stop building the barrier.
- Saudi security officials find the head of American hostage Paul Johnson in a refrigerator in a villa in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. [http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=5730301 (Reuters)]
- Despite threats, Japan rebuffs demands that Japanese troops be withdrawn from Iraq. Deputy Cabinet Secretary Masaaki Yamazaki states: "For the rebuilding of Iraq, we must continue our support and not give in to terrorism". [http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=5725053§ion=news (Reuters)]
- Following the decision of the Philippines to accede to hostage-takers' demands that it withdraw all 51 soldiers from Iraq, militants in Iraq abduct three Indians, two Kenyans and an Egyptian, announcing that the hostages would be beheaded unless their countries immediately announce the withdrawal of troops from Iraq.
- PETA releases a video of gross cruelty to chickens taken at Pilgrim's Pride, one of KFC's suppliers in | | |
