Portal:Current events/October 2003
Ongoing events: Space Shuttle Columbia disaster - Israeli-Palestinian conflict - U.S. plan to invade Iraq - War on Terrorism - North Korea nuclear weapons program - Loyalist Feud
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- Fred Rogers, the host of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, dies of stomach cancer in his Pittsburgh home at the age of 74.
- Daniel Libeskind's design is announced as the winner and future occupant of the former World Trade Center site. The design includes an office building and a Wedge of Light which will honor the victims of the terrorist attacks by shutting down its lights between 8:46AM and 10:28AM EST every September 11. It will also use the WTC's foundations.[1]
- North Korea nuclear weapons program: Officials from the United States state that North Korea has reactivated a reactor at its main nuclear complex. [2]
- David Ricci, 22, is prosecuted by the United States Department of Justice for "conspiring to import, market and sell circumvention devices known as modification (or 'mod') chips in violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act." In a plea bargain, the DoJ takes control of the Internet news and discussion site Isonews.com, which is used as a database of warez releases (without links to the actual content).
- US plan to invade Iraq: Hans Blix stated that Iraq still has not made a "fundamental decision" to disarm, despite recent signs of increased cooperation. Specifically, Iraq has refused to destroy it's al-Samoud 2 long range missiles - a weapon system that was in violation of the UN Security Council's resolutions and the US treaty with Iraq. These missiles are deployed and mobile. Also, an R-400 aerial bomb was found that could possibly contain biological agents. Given this find, the UN Inspectors have requested access to the Al-Aziziyah weapons range to verify that all 155 R-400 bombs can be accounted for and proven destroyed.
- Gerorge Bush commits publicly to a post-invasion democracy in Iraq, says it will be "an example" to other nations in Arabia
- The UK House of Commons saw the largest rebellion by MPs from any governing party in Britain for at least 100 years. 122 MPs from the ruling Labour party were among 199 from all parties who voted to add the phrase " [This House] finds the case for military action against Iraq as yet unproven" to a government motion. The motion itself endorsed UN Security Council Resolution 1441 and supported " ...the Government's continuing efforts in the UN to disarm Iraq of its weapons of mass destruction".
- Saddam Hussein, in an interview with Dan Rather, rules out exile as an option. He calls for dialogue with United States president George W. Bush, and suggests that the two should engage in a televised debate.
- US plan to invade Iraq: The United States, Britain and Spain present to the UN Security Council a much-anticipated second resolution stating that Iraq "has failed to take the final opportunity" to disarm, but does not include deadlines or an explicit threat of military force. Meanwhile, France, Germany, and Russia offer a counter-proposal calling for peaceful disarmament through further inspections.
- Both major parties of Kurdistan, an autonomous region in Northern Iraq, vow to fight Turkish troops if they enter Kurdistan to capture Mosul or interfere in Kurdish self-rule. Between them the two parties can mobilize up to 80,000 guerillas - most likely no match for the modern Turkish army, but a severe blow to the unity of U.S. allies on the Northern front expected in the U.S. plan to invade Iraq.
- Roh Moo-hyun becomes the new president of South Korea.
- North Korea fires test missiles into the Sea of Japan.
- Toshihiko Fukui, former Bank of Japan Deputy Governor, is named as a new chief of Bank of Japan.
- Four former executives of Qwest Communications International are criminally charged with fradulently booking $33,000,000 in revenue during 2001. The Securities and Exchange Commission also files a civil suit against 7 former (including the 4 criminally charged) and 1 current Qwest executives, alleging fradulent accounting practices in violation of SEC rules. [3]
- NASA reports that the space probe Pioneer 10 has finally ceased its transmissions from deep space, after more than thirty years of a mission which was originally intended to last less than two.
- A magnitude 6.8 earthquake strikes China's remote western region of Xinjiang at 10:03 AM local time (0203 UTC) near the mountainous border with Kyrgyzstan. At least 266 are killed, more than 4,000 are injured, and over 1,000 buildings, including housing and schools, collapse.
- U.S. plan to invade Iraq: General Colin Powell states at a meeting in Beijing that "It is time to take action. The evidence is clear ... We are reaching that point where serious consequences must flow." His speech appears to imply that military action is likely to follow within three weeks, based on previous Pentagon briefings.
- Reports of the results of a study of VaxGen's experimental AIDS vaccine show little effect on the spread of AIDS in the overall experimental group. However, there are possible signs of partial resistance to HIV infection in the subgroup of subjects of African and Asian ethnic origin.
- Jesica Santillan, who was made critically ill after receiving donor organs of the wrong blood type in a medical accident during a heart-lung transplant, is taken off life support after being declared brain dead after a second heart-lung transplant operation.
- In Memphis, Tennessee, Mike Tyson beats fringe contender Clifford Etienne 49 seconds into round one of a boxing match. In an undercard bout, controversial former skater Tonya Harding loses a four round decision in her women's professional boxing debut.
- Michael Jordan makes NBA history when he scores 43 points for the Washington Wizards versus the New Jersey Nets, becoming the first player over 40 years old ever to score 40 or more points in a game, and leading the Wizards to a 89-86 win.
- The Station nightclub fire: A fire started by pyrotechnics set-off by Great White, a rock band playing a nightclub in West Warwick, Kent County, Rhode Island kills at least 96 and injures nearly 200, with 35 in critical condition. Fatalities from burn injuries are expected to increase.[4]
- University of South Florida computer engineering professor Dr. Sami Al-Arian was arrested by the FBI after he and seven others were indicted on 50 terrorism-related charges. US Attorney General John Ashcroft alleged at a news conference that Al-Arian is the North American leader of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
- A military plane carrying 302 members of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards crashed in the mountains of southeastern Iran killing all on board. The government did not go into the possible cause of the crash. The plane was en route from Zahedan, on the Pakistan border, to Kerman, about 500 miles southeast of Tehran.
- An arson attack on an underground train in the Daegu, South Korea claims at least 180 lives with more than 140 injured and dozens missing. Witnesses reportedly saw a man throwing a milk carton filled with a flammable substance into a train.
- The World Health Organization confirms that a new outbreak of the Ebola virus in the Republic of the Congo has killed 64. [5]
- Canadian finance minister John Manley brings down a budget, the last and one of those with the most expenditures in the career of Prime Minister Jean Chretien. It uses money from the federal surplus to replace a portion of the amount the Liberals cut from a variety of programs during their mandate, partially funds the implementation of the Romanow report on health care, and increases military spending.
- Hours before the first ships transporting heavy United States military equipment to Turkey were supposed to reach port, the Turkish government announces that it will withhold approval to dock unless the United States increases a reciprocal $6 billion foreign aid grant to $10 billion. The Bush administration indicated that no substantial changes will be made to the proposed aid package. [6]
- London congestion charging begins: Motorists must pay £5 per day to enter central London. This attempt by the Transport for London group to reduce traffic density and pollution, and encourage use of public transport is being followed closely by cities around the world.
- In Chicago, Illinois, a stampede at a south side nightclub kills at least 20 people.
- Global protests against war on Iraq: People around the world demonstrated against the planning of war against Iraq. In Rome one million people were on the streets, in London one million. In Berlin there were half a million in the largest demonstration for some decades. There were also protest marches all over France as well as in many other smaller European cities. Protests were also held in South Africa, Syria, India, Russia, Canada and in the USA, in around 600 cities in total.
- Four ex-Symbionese Liberation Army members are sentenced to prison for the 1975 murder of Myrna Opsahl during a bank robbery in Carmichael, California.[7]
- A very large demonstration was held in Melbourne to protest against the Australian government's support for the USA's policy on Iraq. Organisers estimated that 200,000 people came out on to the streets, while some news sources put the number at "up to 150,000". [8]
- UNMOVIC chief weapons inspectors Hans Blix and Mohamed ElBaradei presented a report to the United Nations Security Council. They stated that the Iraqis had been co-operating well with the inspectors and that no weapons of mass destruction had been found, but that the Saddam Hussein regime had still to account for many banned weapons believed to have been in his arsenal. Mr Blix also expressed doubts about some of the conclusions in Colin Powell's Security Council presentation of February 5, and specifically questioned the significance of some of the photographic evidence that Mr Powell had presented.
- Dolly the sheep, the world's first cloned mammal, is euthanized well short of her natural lifespan because of a progressive lung disease.
- Austria bars USA military units involved in the attack on Iraq from entering into or flying over its territories without a UN mandate to attack Iraq.
- United States military officials anonymously confirm to the Washington Post that two Special Forces units have been operating on the ground inside Iraq for over a month, making preliminary preparations for a large-scale invasion. [9]
- U.S. Senate Democrats continue to threaten to filibuster the candidacy of Miguel Estrada for the D.C. Circuit Court. The Democrats argue that Estrada is too conservative and not answering all of their questions. Estrada was first nominated for the position in May 2001.
- A UN panel reports that Iraq's al-Samoud 2 missiles, disclosed by Iraq to weapons inspectors in December, have a range of 180 km (above the 150 km limit allowed by the UN), splitting opinion over whether they breach UNSCR 1441.
- Motorola announces that they will release a cell phone running the Linux operating system.
- At London Gatwick Airport, British police arrest a man carrying a hand grenade under the Terrorism Act 2000. Two men have also been arrested at Heathrow airport under the same legislation.
- The British government deploys troops around Heathrow airport after reports that al-Qaeda agents may have smuggled surface-to-air missiles into Britain.
- An audio tape attributed to Osama bin Laden is released by al-Jazeera television. It recounts the battle of Tora Bora and urges Muslims to fight the United States and to overthrow the Iraq regeme of Saddam Hussein.
- The 2002 nominees for the Academy Award (Oscar) were announced to the public.
- France and Belgium broke the NATO procedure of silent approval concerning the timing of protective measures for Turkey in case of a possible war with Iraq. Germany said it supports this veto. The procedure was put into operation on February 6 by secretary general George Robertson. In response Turkey called upon Article 4 of the NATO Treaty, which stipulates that member states must deliberate when asked to do so by another member state if it feels threatened.
- Muslims celebrate the Islamic festival of Eid al-Adha today. See also Hajj.
- Sections of a 'dossier' issued by the UK government, which purported to present the latest British intelligence about Iraq, and which had been cited by Tony Blair and Colin Powell as evidence for the need for war, were criticized as plagiarisms. They had been copied without permission from a number of sources including Jane's Intelligence Review and a 12-year-old doctoral thesis of a Californian student that had been published in the US journal Middle East Review of International Affairs. Some sentences were copied word-for-word, and spelling mistakes had been reproduced from the original articles. Downing Street responded by saying that the government had never claimed exclusive authorship and that the information was accurate.
- The Center for Public Interest, a United States nonprofit watchdog group, obtained a leaked draft version of John Ashcroft's proposed Domestic Security Enhancement Act of 2003, also known as "the Patriot Act II". If enacted, the legislation would grant the United States government unprecedented secret internal surveillance powers and sharply curtail judicial review of such surveillance,
- The chief United Nations arms inspector Hans Blix said Iraq appeared to be making fresh efforts to cooperate with U.N. teams hunting weapons of mass destruction, as Washington said the "momentum is building" for war with Iraq.
- The United States said it was ready for any contingency after North Korea issued threats of pre-emptive attack and suggested it was poised to restart an atomic reactor central to its suspected drive for nuclear arms.
- Israeli police said they had found a suicide bomber's explosives belt hidden in a mosque in Israel, and said it was the first such discovery since the Palestinian uprising began more than two years ago.
- President George W. Bush has ordered the government to draw up guidelines for cyber-attacks against enemy computer networks, according to a Washington Post report. The order is known as National Security Presidential Directive 16.
- An oil tanker carrying 35,000 tons of fuel oil ran aground off Denmark but no immediate spill was reported in the area noted for its wildlife, a Danish Royal Navy spokesman said.
- Pakistan's most feared Islamic militant group, branded by Washington last week a foreign terrorist group, has been severely weakened by a crackdown on extremism, intelligence officials claimed.
- Senior citizens groups began a call for a boycott of British-owned pharmaceuticals company GlaxoSmith Kline, the largest in the world, after the company announced that it would no longer sell drugs to Canadian companies that sell drugs at steep discounts to Americans over the Internet. The boycott would include such brands as Tums antacid, Aquafresh toothpaste, Contac cold remedy, Paxil and Flonase.
- The last game is completed in the FIDE Man vs Machine World Chess Championship, in which Garry Kasparov, the highest rated human chess master, competed against the world champion computer program, Deep Junior. The six game match was played to a 3-3 draw.
- In the United Kingdom, seven more arrests have been made under the Terrorism Act 2000 in raids in the cities of Edinburgh, Glasgow, London and Manchester.
- At the United Nations US Secretary of State Colin Powell presents the US government's case against the Saddam Hussein government of Iraq, as part of the diplomatic side of the U.S. plan to invade Iraq. The presentation includes tape recordings, satellite photographs and other intelligence data, and aims to prove WMD production, evasion of weapons inspections and a link to Al-Qaida.
- The International Court of Justice orders the United States to take "all measures necessary" to prevent the execution of three Mexican nationals, pending its final judgment [10]
- Congressman Howard Coble, of North Carolina, chairman of the House committee overseeing homeland security, said that the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II was justified, and that it had been done for "their own safety." He was roundly criticized by Asian American members of Congress and spokespeople for Asian American organizations.
- Federal Republic of Yugoslavia renamed to Serbia and Montenegro with a new constitution converting the federal republic to a "loose union".
- Sheikh Abu Hamza al-Masri has been removed from his position as an agent of Finsbury Park mosque. BBC News Story
- United Kingdom parliament: MPs in the House of Commons have voted to reject all seven options presented for the reform of the House of Lords.
- Record producer Phil Spector has been arrested in relation to an investigation into the fatal shooting of a 40-year-old woman in Los Angeles. Press reports identify the woman as the actress Lana Clarkson.
- Radical Muslim cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri claims Space Shuttle Columbia disaster is a sign from God. He says "It is a punishment from God. Muslims see it that way. It is a trinity of evil because it carried Americans, an Israeli and a Hindu, a trinity of evil against Islam." al-Masri's remarks are widely denounced by many other Muslim clerics. Reported in a BBC News Article: Muslim cleric's shuttle outburst attacked.
- The term of Czech Republic President Václav Havel ends without an elected successor to fill the position.
- Space Shuttle Columbia disaster: The Space Shuttle Columbia broke apart and disintegrated over Texas as it embarked on its final approach to a landing after its 28th space mission. All seven crew members are lost.
- A crowded passenger train and a freight train collided head on and burst into flames in northwestern Zimbabwe, killing 40 people and injuring about 60. Flames were still burning 14 hours after the collision.
Past events:
- January 2003
- December 2002
- November 2002
- October 2002
- September 2002
- August 2002
- July 2002
- June 2002
- May 2002
- April 2002
News pages
External links to news pages that can be used to gather new topics for the above list:
- News Search Engines: http://www.HavenWorks.com/news/search
- Google News
- Google: News and Resources
- http://dailynews.yahoo.com/headlines/ts/
- http://news.bbc.co.uk - Coverage split in to science/health etc... for UK and international news
- http://www.cnn.com.
- News Sources
- Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC)