Portal:Current events/December 2003

Time: 14:54 UTC | Date: Monday, June 9, 2025

December 5, 2003

Suicide bombers blow up a morning rush-hour commuter train in Russia's Northern Caucasus, on the border with Chechnya; some 40 people are killed. [1] [2]
As part of a spending bill passed by the United States Congress this week, the University of California will have to compete for the management contract of all three of its national laboratories: Lawrence Berkeley, Lawrence Livermore, and Los Alamos. Previously, it was expected that only Los Alamos would be up for bidding. [3]
The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) is opened in Abuja, Nigeria, by Queen Elizabeth II. The future of Zimbabwe's membership is threatening to dominate the gathering. Zimbabwe was suspended last year on charges that President Robert Mugabe had rigged his re-election in 2002. The debate has been marked by bitter personal polemics between Mugabe and Australia's John Howard, whom Mugabe accuses of leading an "Anglo-Saxon conspiracy" against Zimbabwe. [4]
The 22nd SEA Games opens in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. This is the first time Vietnam hosts the regional athletic event and the first time Timor Leste sends a delegation. Indonesia and Vietnam are expected to top the medal tallies. [5] [6]
Members of the Canadian Alliance voted 96% to 4% in favour of forming a union with the Progressive Conservatives, called the Conservative Party of Canada. The Progressive Conservatives will vote tommorow.

December 4, 2003

Polish Prime Minister Leszek Miller is injured in a helicopter crash outside Warsaw. [7]
Facing the threat of a trade war, U.S. President George W. Bush lifts 20-month-old tariffs on foreign steel. Within minutes of the announcement, the European Union announces that it is lifting its threat of sanctions on $2.2 billion of U.S. products that would have taken effect in mid-December based on a ruling from the World Trade Organization that the tariffs were in violation of global trade rules. [8]
Hourly productivity of U.S. employees increased in 3rd quarter 2003 at an annual rate of 9.2%, the highest since the Reagan years (Q2 of 1983). [9]
Interpol issues a red notice for the arrest of former President of Liberia Charles Taylor. [10] [11]

December 3, 2003

Deng Pufang, Sergio Vieira De Mello, and others are named for this year's UN human rights awards. [12] [13]
Up to 50 employees of Australia's national postal service have been caught sending pornographic emails, including some involving children in sex acts, according to an investigation published by the Sydney-based Daily Telegraph. Two have been sacked, at least four have resigned, and dozens have been suspended pending further investigations. [14]
In Kassel, Germany, the trial of Armin Meiwes begins. He is charged with killing and eating Bernd-Jürgen Brandes who was one of 200 people who replied to an internet advertisement for "a well-built male prepared to be slaughtered and then consumed". The whole episode was videotaped. The case is legally difficult as cannibalism is not explicitly prohibited by the German penal code, and the defence argues that as the victim was willing, no murder took place. [15]
The Russian government backtracks on statements made the previous day on the Kyoto Protocol, saying it is still considering ratification. [16]
Two media figures are sentenced to life imprisonment by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda for fueling the 1994 Rwanda genocide; a third receives a 35-year prison term. [17] [18]
Politics of Canada: Natural Resources Minister Herb Dhaliwal, Canada's first Indo-Canadian cabinet minister, announces he is leaving politics. Dhaliwal intends to quit his ministerial post when incoming Prime Minister Paul Martin swears in a new cabinet on December 12 and not seek re-election in the anticipated 2004 Canadian election. [19]
In Abidjan, Ivory Coast, police fire tear gas at hundreds of protesters who want France to withdraw its 3,800 peacekeepers so that the Christian and animist government of President Laurent Gbagbo in the and south can march against Muslim rebel-held areas in the north.[20][21]

December 2, 2003

Venezuelan opposition leaders claim to have gathered enough petition signatures to force a referendum to recall President Hugo Chávez; in response, the government alleges the four-day signature drive was tainted by "massive fraud". [22] [23]
The second trial of DeCSS releaser Jon Johansen begins. [24]
The US dollar continues to decline, hitting a new low of 1.2 against the euro; the dollar is suffering from deteriorating support against the background of a large current account deficit and fears of growing protectionism. [25]
Andrei Illarionov, economic advisor to President Vladimir Putin, indicates Russia will not ratify the Kyoto Protocol in its current form, a decision that would kill the accord. Some observers speculate that this is purely domestic posturing for forthcoming elections. [26]
Mark Latham is elected to succeed Simon Crean as the new leader of the opposition Australian Labor Party, defeating former leader Kim Beazley by 47 votes to 45. In 2004 Latham will face Liberal Prime Minister John Howard at a general election. [27]
The Israeli government has called on U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell not to meet with former ministers of Israel and the Palestinian Authority who have drawn up the unofficial Geneva plan. [28]
US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld wins the annual "Foot in Mouth Prize" awarded by the UK's Plain English Campaign for the most non-sensical remark made by a public figure. Among the runners-up were Arnold Schwarzenegger and Chris Patten. [29]
Hospitals around Paris struggle to cope with an outbreak of influenza and gastro-enteritis. [30]
The European Union threatens retaliatory sanctions unless the United States lifts its threat of restrictions on imports of steel; the US measures have been declared illegal by the WTO. [31]
Pirate copies of a pre-alpha version of Microsoft's Windows Longhorn operating system go on sale in Malaysia more than a year ahead of the official release date. [32]
GIMPS has confirmed that 2^20996011-1 is prime. At 6320430 decimal digits, it is easily the largest known prime number. 2^20996011-1 is the 40th known Mersenne prime and the 6th Mersenne prime discovered by GIMPS. [33]
The Pentagon announces that U.S.-born enemy combatant and Taliban fighter Yaser Esam Hamdi will be allowed access to a lawyer after being denied for two years such counsel. [34]

December 1, 2003

Occupation of Iraq:
- The firefight in which more than 50 Iraqis are reported killed is now thought to have been an attempted currency heist. [35]
- One GI is killed Monday in fighting west of Baghdad. [36]
World AIDS Day:
- US Health Secretary Tommy Thompson warns that the world is losing the war against AIDS. Thompson said, "We need America, the European Union and everybody. Nobody is going to be spared unless we all come together in the fight against this disease." [37]
- UK Secretary of State for International Development Hilary Benn announces that the UK's funding for UNAids will rise to GBP £6 million in 2004; this figure compares to the UK's projected Iraq War-related costs of approximately GBP £3 billion. [38]
- UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan reportedly tells the BBC that the world is losing the war against AIDS because governments remain indifferent to the threat. [39]
- Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao marks World AIDS Day by visiting AIDS victims in a Beijing hospital. [40]
The UN's International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda hands down a life sentence to Juvenal Kajelijeli, a former mayor of Mukingo, for his role in the 1994 genocide in which more than 500,000 Rwandans were killed. [41]
King Harald V of Norway is announced to be suffering from cancer of the bladder; he will be operated on next Monday, December 8. During the King's illness and two to three month convalescence, Crown Prince Haakon will be acting regent. [42]
President Chen Shui-bian says that the hundreds of missiles the People's Republic of China has aimed at Taiwan justifies holding a referendum on independence. The referendum bill recently passed by the Legislative Yuan only allows votes on sovereignty if the country is attacked by a foreign power. [43]
Boeing Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Phil Condit resigns, a week after the aviation giant fires its Chief Financial Officer in an ethics scandal. The move comes as the company faces scrutiny by the Defense Department for a government plan to acquire Boeing 767 planes for use as refueling tankers and answers questions about the ousters of two executives for ethical misconduct during the period it was being negotiated. Former McDonnell Douglas CEO Harry Stonecipher will succed Condit as CEO, while former Hewlett-Packard chairman and CEO Lewis Platt takes over as chairman. [44]
In Flandreau, South Dakota, jury selection begins in the manslaughter trial of former South Dakota Governor and current US Congressman Bill Janklow. [45]

November 30, 2003

Syria hands over 22 suspects to Turkey on Sunday in connection with four deadly suicide bombings in Istanbul, the semi-official Anatolia news agency reported. [46]
According to the Information Center for Human Rights and Democracy, the People's Republic of China has freed three people detained on charges of posting information critical of the government on the Internet. [47]
The Observer newspaper reports that a deal is imminent to repatriate British men being held in Guantanamo Bay. [48]
Israeli army chief Moshe Yaalon and former heads of Shin Bet criticise Prime Minister Ariel Sharon for his unwillingness to consider the Geneva plan. [49] [50] [51]
The Japanese government announces its intention to temporarily nationalize regional bank Ashikaga Bank after inspections show that it is insolvent; the cost may exceed $9 billion. [52]
Iribnews.com reports that Georgia's parliament has elected Tedo Dzhaparidze as the new foreign minister. [53]
Occupation of Iraq: Two South Korean civilians working for a US firm are killed on a highway near Tikrit.
There is evidence that the tuberculosis drug D-cycloserine may be the first effective agent for the treatment of phobias. [54]
Pakistan is to end a ban on Indian flights over its territory, in another sign of improving relations between the neighbours [55]
Nathaniel Jones, a 41-year old, 350-lb unarmed black man dies after being clubbed by police with metal truncheons in Cincinnati, Ohio. [56] Six police officers are suspended from duty afterwards. A video of the beating, captured by the video camera mounted in an officer's cruiser, is released to the public, stoking racial tensions in Cincinnati nearly three years after the city was rocked by riots. Preliminary autopsy results show that Jones had an enlarged heart, and his blood contained cocaine and PCP, Hamilton County Coroner Carl Parrott says.[57][58]
The draw is made for the 2004 European Football Championship. England are drawn with holders France, and hosts Portugal are drawn with neighbours Spain. [59]
In tennis, Australia wins the Davis Cup by three rubbers to one when Mark Philippoussis defeats Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain in the first reverse singles match, played in Melbourne. It is the 28th time Australia has won the trophy, the most prestigious title in men's team tennis. [60]

Past events by month

2003: January February March April May June July August September October November
2002: January February March April May June July August September October November December

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