Portal:Current events/October 2003

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Breaking news--Daily events

Medicine - Europe is declared polio-free by the World Health Organization.

Natural disaster: a major earthquake has hit Iran, with its epicentre at Bou'in-Zahra, with a force at least 6.0 on the Richter scale.

Recent celebrity deaths: Ann Landers dies of myeloma at 83.

Astrophysics - An asteroid barely misses hitting the Earth.

Law - The United States Supreme Court is asked about requiring Internet filters.

Law - Go Daddy Software pursues Verisign for damages.

Technology - Toshiba clones Apple Computer's iPod.

Music - 'O Brother, Where Art Thou' soundtrack maintains topping charts.

A federal forester ignited the massive wildfire that has charred more than 100,000 acres near Denver as she attempted to burn a letter from her estranged husband. Forestry technician Terry Barton, 38, acknowledged that she started the so-called Hayman fire while patrolling the Pike National Forest to enforce the campfire ban. Barton had earlier reported "discovering" a wildfire. See: Hayman fire

Watergate scandal, which led to the resignation of of American President Richard Nixon, started 30 years ago today

Accountants Arthur Andersen convicted of obstruction of justice for shredding documents related to the Enron inquiry.

A new terrorist organisation, Al Qanoon, claimed responsibility for an earlier suicide bomb attack aimed at the US consulate in Karachi in Pakistan. 11 people were killed in the bomb attack, and approximately 45 injured. The US has subsequently closed all diplomatic missions in Pakistan.

Mohammed Zahir Shah opened a loya jirga in Afghanistan.

Technology - Microsoft's .Net service is being examined by the European Union for possible breaking of data privacy laws.

Nanotech - IBM creates punch cards with a diameter of just 10 nanometers.

Movies - A Harry Potter II movie trailer released.

Terrorism: The U.S. government announced that it had prevented an al-Qaida attempt to construct and detonate a radiological weapon (sometimes called a "dirty bomb") in the United States.

Kashmir crisis: Pakistan and India appear to have stepped down their rhetoric over the Kashmir crisis, reducing the threat of nuclear war in the subcontinent slightly.

Recent celebrity deaths: Former mob boss John "Teflon Don" Gotti dies of cancer.


Lennox Lewis knocks out Mike Tyson in an IBF and WBC championship boxing match in Memphis.

Singer and Grammy Award winner Robert Kelly (aka R. Kelly) was arrested and charged with having sex with an underaged girl.

The U.S. State Department issues a travel warning advising all Americans except for essential diplomatic personnel (about 60,000 people) to leave India because "conditions along India's border with Pakistan and in the state of Jammu and Kashmir have deteriorated."

The European Union ratifies the Kyoto Protocol treaty, and Japan stated they would shortly.

Football World Cup 2002: Senegal defeats defending champion France 1-0.

Miller Brewing is acquired from Philip Morris by South African Brewing for $3.6 billion in stock.

September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attack: A wordless ceremony at the World Trade Center site marks the end of the recovery effort. In the ceremony, which started at 10:29 AM with the tolling of a firemen's bell, a stretcher with an American flag, symbolizing the victims whose remains were not recovered or yet identified was carried up the 500-foot ramp to an FDNY ambulance, which slowly left the site, as did the flatbed truck carrying the last steel beam to be removed. The ceremony included the playing of America the Beautiful by the NYPD pipe-and-drum corps, a flyover by five NYPD helicopters, and the playing of taps by a NYPD and FDNY bugler. The ceremony was attended by hundreds of rescue and recovery workers, family members of victimes, and New York politicians.

September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attack: The last steel beam standing at the World Trade Center site is cut down and placed on a flatbed truck (to be carried away Thursday) in a quiet ceremony honoring the construction workers.

Space exploration: The BBC reports that the NASA space probe Mars Odyssey has found signs of huge ice deposits on the planet Mars.

An article in the Journal Science reports that a new naturally-occuring amino acid has been found in a certain type of archaic bacteria. This puts the total number of known amino acids used in living organisms to 22. Scientists are calling this new amino acid Pyrrolysine.

Recent celebrity deaths: Golfer Sam Snead dies at 89.

The Indian-Pakistani conflict intensifies in the Kashmir region. Both powers have nuclear weapons.

Recent (discovery of) celebrity deaths: Police find the remains of missing intern Chandra Levy in a park in Washington, DC.

Recent celebrity deaths: The French artist Niki de Saint Phalle dies in San Diego, California, aged 71.

East Timor becomes an independent state.

Recent celebrity deaths: Stephen Jay Gould dies.

Israeli-Palestinian conflict: A suicide bomber disguised as an Israeli soldier kills at least two Israelis and wounds more than 50 in Netanya.

Israeli-Palestinian conflict: Muhammad al-Madani, governor of Bethlehem, leaves the Church of the Nativity

Israel calls up additional reserve forces and moves tanks into position for an expected incursion into Gaza in retaliation for the most recent suicide bombing.

Israeli-Palestinian conflict: A Palestinian suicide bomber badly injures himself near Megiddo, southeast of Haifa, when the explosives he was carrying go off prematurely.

Israeli-Palestinian conflict: A Palestinian suicide bomber kills 15 and wounds 58 in a billiards and gambling club in Rishon le Zion at approximately 11 pm local time, while Ariel Sharon is meeting with President Bush in Washington D.C.


Recent celebrity deaths: In the Netherlands, controversial right wing politician Pim Fortuyn is shot dead when leaving a radio studio, nine days before the general election for the lower house of parliament.

Jacques Chirac wins the French presidential elections with 82.21% of the vote to 17.79% for Jean-Marie Le Pen, the turnout was 79.71%. Chirac appoints Jean-Pierre Raffarin as his prime minister, replacing Lionel Jospin.


Topics removed from current events

Background for ongoing current events

U.S. "War on Terrorism"

U.S. Domestic Response to Terrorism: Background

September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attack

World Trade Center - Pentagon - New York City - Washington, D.C. - AA Flight 11 - UA Flight 75 - AA Flight 77 - UA Flight 93 - September 11

The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: Background

India and Pakistan

Other Conflicts

Europe

Business news

Celebrity news

Sports news

Holidays


Topics removed from current events

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