December 2004

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Deaths in December • 30 Artie Shaw • 29 Julius Axelrod • 28 Jacques Dupuis • 28 Jerry Orbach • 28 Susan Sontag • 26 Reggie White • 26 Sir Angus Ogilvy • 23 P. V. Narasimha Rao • 23 Doug Ault • 19 Renata Tebaldi • 16 Bobby Mattick • 15 Chiang Fang-liang • 14 Fernando Poe, Jr. • 10 M.S. Subbulakshmi • 8 Leslie Scarman • 8 "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott • 3 Shiing-shen Chern • 2 Alicia Markova • 1 Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands Other recent deaths Ongoing events Indian Ocean earthquake – in India Ukrainian presidential election U.S. presidential election controversy Ongoing armed conflicts Arab-Israeli conflict Conflict in Chechnya Second Congo War Conflict in Iraq (Occupation of Iraq) Darfur conflict in Sudan Civil war in Côte d'Ivoire Second Sudanese Civil War Ongoing wars Election results in December December 26: Ukraine presidential rerun December 12: Romania presidential run-off December 11: Taiwan legislative December 8: Ghanaian presidential December 1–2: Mozambique presidential Ongoing trials Chile: Augusto Pinochet ICTY: Slobodan Milošević Iraq: Iraqi Special Tribunal — Saddam Hussein, among others India: Jayendra Saraswathi United States: Robert Blake United States: Zacarias Moussaoui Related pages About this page Year in... Wikipedia Announcements

Wikipedians look back on the year 2004. We welcome you to take part!

December 31 2004

• Indonesia's ambassador to Malaysia, Rusdihardjo, claims that the death toll from the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake may eventually exceed 400,000 in Indonesia alone. (Malaysia Star) (Washington Times)
• Colombia extradites FARC leader Simón Trinidad to the USA to face conspiracy, kidnapping, and drug trafficking charges. (BBC)
• Ukraine's Viktor Yanukovych resigns from his post as Prime Minister. (Reuters)
• Taipei 101, the world's tallest skyscraper, is officially opened by Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian. (CNN) (Washington Times)
• 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
  • The Canadian government pledges to match dollar-for-dollar the donations of private Canadian citizens, in addition to the $40m in federal funds already committed; so far, Canadians have donated CAD 20m, mostly on-line. The government also announces plans to forgive the debt of the tsunami ravaged nations. (GM) (CTV) (Ottawa Citizen)
  • The US government pledges $350m for relief. (BBC)
  • In 48 hours British charities have raised £45m from public donations; the UK government increases its donation from £15m to £50m. (BBC)
• Israeli-Palestinian Conflict:
  • At least two Palestinians are killed when an Israeli aircraft fires a missile at the Khan Younis refugee camp in the Gaza Strip. (BBC)
  • A 16-year-old Palestinian boy dies after being shot in Rafah, near the border with Egypt. (BBC)
• In Pakistan, president Pervez Musharraf announces that he will keep his additional role as an army chief. He had previously stated that he would give it up. (Reuters) (Pakistan Dawn) (Times of India)
• North Korea announces that it may break off talks about the fate of the eight Japanese citizens it kidnapped in the 1980s. (Channel News Asia) (Mainichi Shimbun) (Reuters)
• The cabinet of Spain approves the Zapatero administration's bill to legalize same-sex marriage. It will now go to the Cortes. [1]

December 30 2004

• Israeli-Palestinian Conflict:
  • Nine Palestinians, including civilians, are killed in an Israeli army incursion into the Khan Younis refugee camp in the Gaza Strip. During the raid the local Hamas commander is killed and two Israeli soldiers are slightly wounded. (BBC) (Haaretz)
  • Israel declares that a deal has been struck between Ariel Sharon and Shimon Peres to form a coalition government. (BBC)
• In Sudan, the government and the rebel group SPLA have agreed to sign a ceasefire in Naiwasha on the road to a peace deal. The treaty would end the civil war that began in 1983. (IAfrica) (News24) (BBC)
• The Ukrainian Central Election Commission rejects complaints of prime minister Viktor Yanukovych, who lost the presidential election. (Reuters) (BBC)
• In Spain, parliament of the Basque regions favors increasing autonomy and eventual negotiated independence (Independent Online) (BBC)
• A Dutch court hands down the country's first fines to spammers. (PCWorld) (DV Hardware)
• In Senegal, President Abdoulaye Wade signs a peace deal with separatist rebels in the Casamance region. The war has lasted 22 years. (BBC) (News24)
• In Zimbabwe, four people are charged for selling secrets to unspecified foreign agents. They include former political allies to President Robert Mugabe. (Iafrica) (Reuters)
• The death toll from the Indian Ocean Earthquake and subsequent tsunamis on December 26 reaches more than 120,000 in 12 countries from Malaysia to Somalia; the Norwegian newspaper Verdens Gang reports a current total of 115,982 deaths. The Malaysian News Agency reports the death toll in Sumatra may exceed 400,000. According to the WHO, as many as five million people are at risk, with little water, food or shelter.
• The Canadian Food Inspection Agency reported what may be a second case of mad cow disease in a ten-year old dairy cow at the same time as the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced an end to their ban on imports of live Canadian cattle. (International Herald Tribune) (Bloomberg)
• A fire in República Cromagnon, a nightclub in Buenos Aires, Argentina, kills 175 and injures 714. (Reuters) (CNN) (BBC)

December 29 2004

• The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) announces its support for Mustafa Al-Barghouti in the 2005 Palestinian presidential election. (Al Jazeera) (BBC)
• For the fifth straight business day, the U.S. dollar hits a new low against the euro: 1.3646 USD to 1 EUR. (AP)
• 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
  • The death toll from the Indian Ocean Earthquake and subsequent tsunamis on December 26 reaches more than 80,000. (washingtonpost.com)
  • The Red Cross issues a statement saying that the number of dead is likely to rise above 100,000. (BBC)
  • The United States, Australia, Japan and India have formed an international coalition to lead aid efforts after the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. (BBC)
• Arab-Israeli Conflict: The Knesset passes a law against terrorism and against support of terrorism. The controversial law prohibits funding terrorists. It also prohibits aiding the families of perceived terrorists and institutes inciting for terrorism. The law will give Israel the right to confiscate property and funds of any perceived terrorist organization, even though if they do not target Israel or Israelis. The law is part of the state's legal war against terrorism and was approved 62-6. (Haaretz)
• The Russian parliament passes a law abolishing several state holidays, including November 7, the anniversary of the 1917 October Revolution. (CNN)
• In Uganda, tribal leaders are trying to set up a meeting between the government and the Lord's Resistance Army. (BBC)
• Colombian police announce that they have apprehended Dagoberto Flores Rios, a member of the Norte del Valle drug cartel. The United States government had offered a $5 million reward for his capture. (Jamaica Observer) (BBC)
• The Russian Aviation and Space Agency says that as of 2006, it will charge the U.S. for transporting astronauts to the International Space Station. (BBC)

December 28 2004

• The Shiveluch volcano on Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula erupts, causing a large earthquake and producing a 6,500 foot plume of hot ash. (Russian Information Agency) (Washington Times) (KVERT) (webcam)
• Israeli-Palestinian conflict
  • An Israeli unmanned drone attempts to kill two suspected Hamas militants in Khan Yunis allegedly on their way to launch an attack on Israelis in Gush Katif with mortar weapons.
  • An Israeli tank fires a shell in Khan Yunis wounding at least nine Palestinians, including a 13-year-old boy. IDF officials say they were opening fire at the source of Qassam rockets fired by Palestinians that landed in Neve Dekalim. No injuries are reported from the Qassam rocket attacks. (BBC) (Haaretz)
• Conflict in Iraq: In an apparent coordinated attack, insurgents raid a police station in Dijla and execute 12 police officers. Three Iraqi policemen are shot at a checkpoint outside of Tikrit. Four policemen and one national guardsman are gunned down at a police station in Ishaki . A local police commander is assassinated in Baquba. A car bomb detonated near a US-Iraqi military convoy in Samarra kills three national guardsmen and three civilians. All these attacks occurred in the Sunni Triangle. (BBC)
• The death toll from tsunamis resulting from the Indian Ocean Earthquake is known to be at least 59,000 and still rising. (BBC)
• In Colombia, government soldiers search for at least seven people taken hostage by FARC rebels last Friday. Kidnappers have not made any demands as of yet. (BBC)
• Ukrainian presidential election: Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych challenges the result of the re-run of the presidential election and threatens to take the case to the Supreme Court. (Guardian) (BBC)
• A scrap metal plant, located in Muskogee, Oklahoma, USA, explodes. The blast is felt about 50 km away. The cause of the explosion, which occurred at the Yaffe Iron and Metals plant, is unknown. [2]

December 27 2004

• In Mulhouse, France, a suspected gas explosion kills 17 people (BBC) (Scotsman)
• Newly discovered observations from March 2004 rule out the possibility that asteroid 2004 MN₄ will hit Earth in 2029. (Space.com)
• The U.S. dollar hits a new low against the euro: USD 1.3640 to EUR 1.00. (AP)
• Ukrainian Transport Minister Heorhiy Kyrpa, a staunch supporter of Viktor Yanukovych, is found shot dead at his home just outside of Kiev. It is unclear whether he was murdered or committed suicide. (BBC) (Reuters)
• Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: Israeli police arrest Palestinian presidential candidate Mustafa Barghouti. A Jerusalem police spokesman says Mr Barghouti was "detained for questioning because he has the right to transit through Jerusalem but not be in Jerusalem itself". (BBC)
• The death toll from tsunamis resulting from the Indian Ocean earthquake is known to be at least 20,000 and possibly as high as 45,000. (BBC) London Free Press Independent Online
• Ukrainian opposition presidential candidate Viktor Yushchenko claims victory. Official results may not come out for days. (Reuters) (BBC)
• Conflict in Iraq:
  • Iraq's main Sunni political movement, the Iraqi Islamic Party, withdraws from next month's general elections, citing the refusal to delay elections until all parts of Iraq could participate. (BBC)
  • 15 people are killed and dozens injured as a suicide bomber detonates his car in front of the home of Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, head of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, the country's most powerful Shia political group. (BBC)

December 26 2004

• The first survey of language use in the People's Republic of China reveals that 53% of its population can communicate in Standard Mandarin, the official spoken language of the country. (China Daily)
• An earthquake of magnitude 9.0, the strongest earthquake in 40 years, strikes in the Indian Ocean off the western coast of Sumatra. While initial reports state that the resulting tsunamis killed approximately 100 people, by the end of the day this estimate has increased to over 14,000 people in coastal areas of Thailand, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, India, Bangladesh, Burma, Indonesia and Malaysia. Tremors are also felt as far as Singapore, eastern countries of Africa, and north-western Australia. A state of emergency is declared in Sri Lanka, where over 11,000 people are feared dead. (USGS) (CNN) (BBC) (The Star) (Wikinews) (Channel News Asia) (The Times of India)
• Ukrainians go to the polls in a rerun of the presidential runoff vote, supervised by about 12,000 international observers. Turnout is reported to be comparable to the two previous votes, just short of 55 percent at 1300 GMT. Early exit polls suggest opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko has won by a wide margin (Reuters) (Guardian) (BBC)

December 25 2004

• Colombia's FARC guerrillas kidnap a group of between seven and ten holidaymakers from a spa resort near San Rafael , Antioquia. (BBC)
• The ESA's Huygens probe separates from NASA's Cassini spacecraft at approximately 02:00 UTC, with deployment confirmed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The probe will reach Saturn's moon Titan in 22 days, where it will make an atmospheric descent to the surface and relay scientific information. (Spaceflightnow)
• Queen Elizabeth II sends her annual Christmas Message to the UK and the Commonwealth. Her theme is religious and cultural diversity and the benefits of a tolerant society. In a break from tradition, the Queen also sends a special radio Christmas Message to the UK armed forces – the first time she has made a separate radio broadcast. (BBC) (BBC)

December 24 2004

• 400 m asteroid 2004 MN₄ is estimated to have a roughly one-in-forty chance of colliding with Earth in 2029. Its Torino scale rating is 4. (Space.com) (SpaceRef.com)
• The government of Indonesia announces a criminal investigation of five executives from Newmont Mining Corp., the world's largest gold mining company, based in Denver, Colorado, USA, on charges related to heavy-metal pollution. (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)

December 23 2004

• An earthquake of moment magnitude 8.1 occurs at 14:59 UTC, 305 miles north of Macquarie Island. (USGS)
• An intercity bus is intercepted and sprayed with automatic gunfire in Chamelecón, Cortés department, Honduras, killing some 28 passengers. A note left at the crime scene claims the attack for a defunct guerrilla group, but suspicion immediately falls on Mara Salvatrucha gang members. (BBC)
• A French United Nations worker in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is arrested for creating pornographic videos of young girls. (Washington Times) (The Times)
• United Nations troops from South Africa deploy in Democratic Republic of Congo to create a buffer zone between fighting factions. (Reuters)

December 22 2004

• Gambian journalists march in protest of the murder of Deyda Hydara, newspaper editor who had criticised new strict press legislation. UNESCO also condemns the killing. (BBC) (UNESCO portal)
• Switzerland increases its financial support for the forthcoming re-run of election in Ukraine. (NZZ)
• The Police Service of Northern Ireland confirm that the haul in last Monday's Northern Bank Belfast bank heist was £22 million, comprising £1.15 million in new Northern Bank £100 and £50 notes, £12 million in new Northern Bank £20 and £10 notes, £5 million in used Northern Ireland notes issued by various banks, and the remainder in other sterling banknotes. Since Northern Irish notes are rarely seen outside Northern Ireland, the gang may have difficulty in laundering most of their haul. (Scotsman)
• Israeli-Palestinian conflict:
  • The Israeli Army denies a claim by Physicians for Human Rights that they were firing at a Khan Yunis hospital. (Ha'Aretz)
  • British prime minister Tony Blair visits Israel for discussions with Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon about reviving the peace process. The two discuss the Road Map for Peace and Israel's disengagement plan. Blair said that Palestinians must stop terror as a condition to return for the Road Map. (Yahoo/Reuters), (BBC)
  • An Israeli civil security guard who guarded bulldozers used for building the Israeli West Bank barrier is killed in a shooting attack by two Palestinians. (Haaretz)
  • IDF forces re-enter Khan Yunis after at least 15 rockets and mortar shells hit Israeli settlements. Israeli forces kill either one or three armed Palestinians in Khan Yunis, and according to Palestinians, demolish seven houses. (Haaretz) (Reuters)
  • Israeli politician Shimon Peres warns against trusting Hamas to honor a future ceasefire. (Yahoo\AFP)
  • Gush Katif residents hold protests against the disengagement plan and the lack of action against mortar shellings on the settlement in the last week. Some of them wear an orange Star of David, similar to the yellow badge which Jews were forced to wear during the Holocaust. Many politicians and heads of Jewish organizations, including the Simon Wiesenthal Centre, ask them to stop wearing the star as they believe it trivializes the Nazi genocide. (BBC)
• The British charity organization Save the Children withdraws from Darfur after rebels kill their aid workers. (BBC) (IAfrica) (AllAfrica)
• The Indian election commission investigates railways minister Laloo Prasad for allegations of electoral bribery. He has given money to dalit women in public. (ExpressIndia) (BBC)
• A Pakistani court restores bail for Asif Ali Zardari. (BBC) (GEO)
• In Mozambique, the national election commission declares Armando Guebuza, presidential candidate of ruling party Frelimo, the winner of the election. He received 64% of the vote despite alleged irregularities. (AllAfrica) (Afrol) (BBC)
• In the Philippines, the funeral of Fernando Poe, Jr, movie star and presidential candidate, attracts large numbers of supporters. Security is high due to rumors of potential anti-government revolt. The detained ex-president Joseph Estrada condemns incumbent president Gloria Arroyo in his eulogy. (Reuters) (Philippine Daily Inquirer)

December 21 2004

• European Union ministers postpone a controversial vote on the proposed Directive on the Patentability of Computer-Implemented Inventions in the EU after Poland asks for more time to think about it. (Reuters)(BBC)
• The Boeing Delta 4 Heavy rocket launches successfully for the first time. (MSNBC)
• Conflict in Iraq:
  • US forces say twenty-two people have been killed and at least 67 injured in an attack at a US military base in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul. The dead include 13 US Soliders, making the attack one of the deadliest attacks on US forces since the start of the war. (BBC) (CNN)
  • Christian Chesnot and Georges Malbrunot, the two French hostages held in Iraq since August, are freed. Their captors claim they were freed because of France's anti-war stance. (BBC)
• Former British Home Secretary David Blunkett's office is found to have assisted in the fast-tracking of his lover's nanny's visa-application, thereby confirming the allegation that led to his dismissal. (BBC)
• The White House announces that allegations of abuse of prisoners in Iraq and Guantanamo Bay by US military personnel will be "fully investigated". The allegations were prompted by a memo, obtained by ACLU FOIA requests, dated two months after the Abu Ghraib scandal broke which reference an executive order that authorized questionable interrogation techniques. The White House spokesman flat out denied this in saying "there is no executive order on interrogation techniques". (BBC) (White House) (ACLU)
• Japan issues a tourist visa to former Taiwanese leader Lee Teng-hui despite protests from the People's Republic of China that such a move would harm bilateral relations. The PRC considers Lee a Taiwan independence agitator. (BBC)
• Same-sex marriage in Canada: The Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador finds the banning of same-sex marriage unconstitutional, making that province the eighth of Canada's provinces and territories to legalize same-sex marriage. (CBC)
• Arab-Israeli Conflict: The leaders of the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) urge US President George W. Bush to make the creation of an independent Palestinian state an absolute priority at their annual meeting, which is being held in Bahrain. (BBC)
• UK Prime Minister Tony Blair makes a surprise visit to Baghdad. (BBC) (Guardian) (Number 10)
• Author J.K. Rowling announces that the sixth book in her Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, will be published on 16 July 2005. The share price of her British publisher, Bloomsbury, rises 7.5% on the news. (Reuters)
• Up to £30 million are reported stolen from the headquarters of the Northern Bank in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Two members of the bank's senior staff and their families are reported to have been held hostage before the robbery. This is likely to be the second biggest bank robbery in British history, and the fourth largest in the world. (BBC) (Reuters) (Glasgow Evening Times)
• Pakistan's Anti Terrorism Court cancels the bail of Asif Ali Zardari, leader of the Pakistan People's Party and husband of Benazir Bhutto. Zardari was released last month after eight years in prison. He was charged with corruption and conspiracy to murder. (GEO) (BBC)
• A court in Chile upholds the indictment and house arrest of Augusto Pinochet. Prosecution lawyers claim that his hospitalization for a heart condition was a political ploy. Pinochet's lawyers intend to appeal. (BBC) (Bloomberg)
• A court in Nigeria upholds the election of Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo. Opposition parties, led by Muhammadu Buhari, have challenged the result, and the EU and US question the election's validity. (AllAfrica) (BBC) (Vanguard, Nigeria)
• A bus accident in Peru claims 49 lives and injures 15. (Reuters)
• Archaeologists in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, find the remains of a 7,500-year-old man on the island of Marawah. (Khaleej Times) (Reuters)
• French President Jacques Chirac demands improved hospital security after two nurses are killed. A suspected mental patient was released. (Reuters Alertnet)
• The US government decides to settle a suit in which Hungarian Jews have demanded compensation for a train full of valuables the US Army took at the end of World War II. (Wired News) (New York Post)
• The USA pressures Iceland not to grant Bobby Fischer sanctuary. (Reuters)
• Zahira Sheikh , a key witness in the Best Bakery case, is declared hostile by the prosecution after she goes back on her police statement during retrial of the case. (Times of India) (Indian Express)

December 20, 2004

• Analysts attribute a sharp drop in the price of crude oil to the unexpected outcome of the auction of Yukos' Siberian production unit yesterday. The value of the January futures contract fell 64 cents to $45.64 on the Nymex .
• China announces reforms to its legal system effective in 2005, including the introduction of jury trials and a 10% increase in the number of judges. Jurors will be elected to a five-year term, and must have at least two years' university education. (BBC) (Xinhua)
• The Head of the Egyptian Coptic Christian Church, Pope Shenouda III, has gone into seclusion in a desert monastery to draw attention to grievances among Egyptian Christians. (BBC)
• U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has admitted that he had used a machine to sign letters of condolence to relatives of more than 1,000 troops killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, but pledged to sign the letters personally in future. (BBC)
• In Sudan, fighting has not stopped after a ceasefire between government troops and rebels. Although the government of Sudan has said that they have stopped the Darfur offensive, there are still reports of battles. Foreign Minister Mustafa Osman Ismail rules out any withdrawal from the positions government troops have taken. An observing African Union helicopter was shot at. (BBC)(Iafrica)
• Prachanda, leader of the Maoist guerillas in Nepal, announces his intention to disrupt elections if the government refuses to abolish the monarchy. Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has given them until January 13, 2005 to begin peace talks. (Reuters)
• An explosion in a Chinese coal mine kills 14. (Reuters)(BBC)
• Rice University computer scientists find a security hole in Google's desktop search program. (New York Times)
• African National Congress of South Africa accuses U.S. officials covering up adverse side effects of AIDS medications. (Iafrica) (Reuters)
• Police arrest former Miss World Yukta Mookhey's uncle, aunt and two cousins in a case of harassment for dowry. (Hindustan Times) (Indian Express) (Times of India)
• Rumaisa Rahman, the smallest baby ever to be born according to medical records, and her twin sister Hiba, are announced to have been born in a Chicago hospital.(AOL)

December 19, 2004

• Conflict in Iraq: Bomb blasts in the Iraqi Shia cities of Karbala and Najaf kill up to 60 people and injure a further 120. (BBC)
• Russia auctions off the main production unit of oil giant YUKOS to the small Baikalfinansgroup for 260.75bn roubles (US$9.37bn). Before the sale, YUKOS was said to owe US$27bn in unpaid taxes, specifically an average of 90% of its revenue. Former CEO jailed Mikhail Khodorkovsky and other YUKOS officials maintain it is politically motivated. (BBC)
• The people of Turkmenistan go to the polls to elect a new parliament. Voters will choose between candidates, all of whom have pledged support to President Niyazov, the Turkmenbashi (or leader of Turkmens). (BBC)
• US president George W Bush is named "Person of the Year" by TIME magazine. (CNN)
• Suprnova.org, the largest BitTorrent community on the Internet, voluntarily shuts down its service permanently after two years of operation.

December 18, 2004

• Hundreds of Sikh demonstrators protest outside a Birmingham, England theatre against a play (Behzti) depicting sex abuse and murder in a Sikh temple. Theatre stormed by a few demonstrators. (BBC)
• 2004 U.S. presidential election controversy:
  • Voting machine manufacturer Diebold will pay a $2.6 million settlement to the State of California over the lawsuit filed by the state in September alleging that Diebold was not truthful about the security and reliability of its electronic voting machines. (internetnews.com)
  • In a sharp change from their traditional role, several members of the U.S. Electoral College have filed a protest of the official election results, one even casting his electoral vote "provisionally" upon a revote. These electors have called for a member of the U.S. Senate to protest the election results on January 6th. (AP) (Sacramento Bee) (Burlington Union)
• In Topeka, Kansas, USA, infant Victoria Jo Stinnett is returned to her father three days after her mother was allegedly strangled to death and she was cut from her mother's uterus and abducted. The AMBER Alert system is credited with helping to safely recover the child. (CNN)
• Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
  • Palestinians fire several Qassam rockets at the civilian town Sderot and the northern Negev, causing damage but no casualties. (Haaretz)
  • Another three Palestinians were killed by Israeli soldiers on Saturday during an Israeli incursion into the Khan Younis refugee camp in the Gaza Strip, raising the death toll to 11. According to Palestinian sources, three of those killed were civilians, the rest were militants from Hamas and Fatah's Abu Reish Brigades . The IDF has officially ended Khan Yunis raid, dubbed "Operation Orange Iron", and threatened to return if mortar shelling will be renewed by militants. (BBC), (Haaretz)
  • Palestinians have been unable to bury the dead because Israeli forces were in control at the local cemetery, medics told the Reuters news agency. (BBC)
  • Six Palestinians were rescued from a collapsed tunnel under an Israel-controlled corridor in the Egypt-Gaza border area. (BBC)
• Former Chilean President Augusto Pinochet has been taken to hospital after suffering a stroke. (BBC)
• Darfur conflict: The African Union has given both sides involved in the Darfur conflict a deadline of 1700 GMT to halt the fighting in the region which currently violates the ceasefire agreement. If this condition is not met, talks in Nigeria to find a solution to the conflict would end. (BBC)
• Conflict in Iraq:
  • Former senior Iraqi official Ali Hassan al-Majid (aka "Chemical Ali") is questioned by Iraqi judges in a pre-trial hearing. He is accused of crimes committed by the regime, such as the gassing of Iraqi Kurds in 1988. (BBC) (Reuters)
  • Iraqi insurgents attack election offices in northern Iraq, killing two people and wounding nine, six weeks before the country is due to go to the polls. (Reuters)

December 17, 2004

• United States Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld faces criticism from both Democrats and Republicans following a dismissive reply to a soldier in Iraq when questioned about vehicle armor. (CNN)
• Cuban authorities put up photos of abused Iraqi prisoners in front of the US interests section in Havana after the US displayed Christmas decorations in a protest against Cuba's human rights record. (BBC)
• The United States declares Hizbullah's al-Manar TV channel to be a terrorist organization. (White House Official Statement) (Al-Jazeera)
• A public inquiry into the deaths of 85 Muslim protesters in southern Thailand claims the killings were "not deliberate". 78 people suffocated to death after being piled into army trucks by Thai security forces; 7 were shot at the separatist protests on October 25. (BBC)
• U.S. President George W. Bush signs the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act, creating the office of the Director of National Intelligence to oversee the country's fifteen spy agencies. (ABC News)
• Israeli-Palestinian Conflict:
  • The Israeli Labor party and Ariel Sharon's Likud Party reach an agreement, forming a unity government in order to implement Israel's unilateral disengagement plan of 2004. In return, the Labor will receive eight cabinet portfolios, including "peace/disengagement minister" specially suited for Shimon Peres and Internal Affairs. (Yahoo/Reuters) (BBC)
  • Israeli forces, accompanied by armored bulldozers and helicopter gunships, raid the Gaza Strip town of Khan Yunis, killing 8 Palestinians, including 2 civilians, and wounding 24, after 50 mortar shells were fired on the Gush Katif settlements and caused injuries to some Israeli Soldiers and killed a Thai worker. (BBC) (Maariv) (Haaretz)
  • In retaliation for the Israeli raid, Palestinians from Hamas and the Abu-Reish faction shoot at least five anti-tank missiles, wounding two Israeli soldiers. (BBC) (Haaretz) (Maariv) (CTV Canada)
  • Hundreds of Palestinians flee homes in the area, fearful that Israeli troops will destroy their homes. They take refuge in nearby hospital and a stadium, while others have moved to relatives who live further to the centre of the Gaza Strip. (BBC) (Haaretz)
  • In Rafah, five Palestinians are trapped when the tunnel they were digging collapsed. Rescue efforts, with the assist of Israeli bulldozers, are in progress though estimations are that the five are dead. (Haaretz) (Yahoo\Reuters)
• U.S. President George W. Bush, speaking to business executives and economists at the White House, vows to push through big reforms to the Social Security program, including partial privatization of the state pension fund, during his second term. (BBC)
• The E.U. states that Turkey must recognize the ethnic-Greek government of E.U. member state Cyprus before it can begin negotiations for E.U. membership. Currently Turkey is the only country that recognizes the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. (ITV) (Turkish Press)
• Police in West Java, Indonesia, say that they have found nine home-made bombs on a bus during a security operation. (Channel News Asia)(Jakarta Post)
• Three suspected IRA members who were accused of training rebels in Colombia flee while on bail. An appellate court overturned their earlier acquittals yesterday. They had been sentenced to prison for 17 years. (BBC) (Ireland Online)
• Bhutan's ban on the sale of all tobacco products comes into effect. (Hindustan Times) (BBC)
• Russia intends to allow Polish officials to see files related to the Katyn massacre. (BBC)
• The United Nations finds a surveillance bug in its European headquarters in Geneva in a room used by ministers from major powers last year during private talks on Iraq. (BBC) (NZZ)

December 16, 2004

• Belgian child killer Marc Dutroux loses an appeal against his life sentence . (Expatica)(News.Com)
• Leaders of the European Union, meeting in Brussels, agree to invite Turkey to begin negotiations to join the EU from 3 October 2005, about 36 years after they first applied to join. (BBC)
• In the Western Districts of Nepal, nearly 50 people are killed in clashes between Nepalese troops and Maoist rebels. (BBC)
• A commuter in Zimbabwe who allegedly insulted President Robert Mugabe could face up to five years in prison for undermining the president's authority. (BBC)
• Inuit leaders want to sue the U.S. government at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights for causing global warming. They view the melting of the polar icecap in the Arctic as a threat to their existence as a people, an assault on their basic human rights. The announcement is expected today in Buenos Aires at the 10th round of international talks on climate change. (NYT) (Democracy Now!)
• The British final court of appeal, the Law Lords, rule that the suspension of habeas corpus for foreign nationals detained under the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 is illegal, being incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights. (BBC) (judgment)
• Cambodian soldiers discover a cache of Angkor Wat-era carvings that were to be smuggled out of the country. (Reuters)
• Thai security forces pursue 100 people connected to the unrest in the south of the country. Four Islamic teachers have been arrested on suspicion of inciting terrorism. (Channel News Asia) (Reuters)
• Former chess champion Bobby Fischer has been offered residency in Iceland. He is currently detained in Japan, and is wanted by the United States. (BBC)(Reuters)
• Researchers at the University of Tübingen report the discovery of a 30,000 to 37,000-year-old flute, the earliest musical instrument ever found. [3]

December 15, 2004

• CNN's business news network CNNfn ends transmissions. (CNN)
• U.K. Home Secretary David Blunkett resigns from his post in the wake of numerous controversies. He is replaced by Charles Clarke, the Secretary of State for Education and Skills. Ruth Kelly takes over from Clarke as Education Secretary and becomes the sixth woman in prime minister Tony Blair's Cabinet. Kelly is replaced as Cabinet Office minister by David Miliband. (Sky) (BBC)
• In Athens, Greece, two gunmen, possibly Albanian, seize a bus at 7:00 local time and take 25 hostages on board. The hijackers threaten to blow up the bus at 08:00 Greek time (06:00 GMT, Thursday) if their demands for €1 million and a flight to Russia are not met. The hostage crisis ends peacefully after 18 hours when the two gunmen surrender. All the hostages are released unharmed. (Sky)(News24) (OfficialWire)(Reuters)
• An armed group of young ethnic Albanians, allegedly former NLA guerrilla members, seal off the village of Kondovo , Macedonia, a suburb of the capital Skopje, citing poor conditions and repression by state authorities. The fledgling multi-ethnic governing coalition plays down the incident stating it is a local problem stemming from the slow implementation of the peace agreement after the 2001 civil war, while some opposition parties call for "strong action". (RealityMK) (TOL)
• Democratic Party members of the U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary request an FBI investigation into alleged Ohio voting problems, (NYT) (pdf) prompted by affidavits and sworn testimony taken at a congressional forum held on December 13. [4]
• A US$85 million test of the U.S. National Missile Defense system by the Missile Defense Agency is aborted when an unknown anomaly is detected before the launch of an interceptor missile in the Marshall Islands, 16 minutes after the launch of the target from Kodiak Island, Alaska. It is the first test since a previous failed test in 2002. As in 2002, the Bush administration abandons plans to activate the system by the end of the year, and projects its activation in early 2005. (Reuters) (Associated Press)
• Sprint Corporation announces a US$35 billion deal to acquire Nextel Communications. With about $40 billion in combined yearly revenue the resulting company (called Sprint Nextel) will be the third largest wireless telephone service provider in the US. (MSNBC)
• Human rights in Iraq: The US is forced to release evidence which shows prisoners in Iraq were subject to mock executions, electric shocks, and burns by US Marines. (BBC)
• Iraqi transitional parliamentary election: Iraq's defense minister accuses Iran and Syria of supporting terrorists and charges that a senior Iraqi Shiite was leading a "pro-Iranian" coalition into next month's national elections. (AP via Yahoo)
• North Korea announces that if Japan is to impose any sanctions over the ashes of kidnap victim Yokota Megumi , it will be regarded as a declaration of war. (Japan Today) The Japanese government downplays the criticism. (News24)(Bloomberg) (Japan Today)
• At least five people die in a second Indian train accident, blamed on negligence by railway officials. The new accident comes after the previous day's train crash with an eventual death toll of 37. (Times of India) (Reuters) (News24)
• United Nations envoy Jan Pronk says that 10,000 peacekeepers are needed in Sudan to monitor the forthcoming peace deal. (Reuters Alertnet)
• Pitcairn Islands election, 2004: Jay Warren becomes Mayor of Pitcairn Island.

December 14, 2004

• Same-sex marriage in Canada: Federal justice minister Irwin Cotler announces that the bill to legalize same-sex marriage will contain a provision allowing civic officials to refuse to perform such ceremonies. (365Gay)
• Nick Griffin and John Tyndall, the current and previous leaders of the far-right British National Party, are arrested and bailed in relation to investigations by British police into suspicion of incitement to racial hatred. (BBC)
• Bahrain, the smallest Persian Gulf nation, unfurls the world's largest national flag at a sports stadium car park. (BBC)
• Arab-Israeli Conflict:
  • A Thai worker is killed and two more are injured in Gush Katif by Palestinian mortar shells. (Haaretz)
  • The Syrian government blames Israel for a failed attempt to kill an alleged senior Hamas member in Damascus yesterday. (BBC)
  • The leader of Hamas, Khaled Meshal, tells the BBC's Newsnight programme that his group has had secret contacts with the United States and the European Union. (BBC)
  • Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas calls for an end to violence in the 4-year old intifada and a return to non-violent resistance. The announcement comes two days after a faction of Abbas's Fatah party, Fatah Hawks, claims responsibility for an attack killing at least 5 Israeli soldiers. (Reuters)
• Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian resigns as Chairman of the Democratic Progressive Party to take responsibility for the pan-green alliance's failure to win a majority in the legislative election. (BBC)
• Two trains collide in the northern Indian state of Punjab, killing at least 50 people. One of the trains was carrying Hindu pilgrims returning from Vaishno Devi. (BBC)(The Times-UK)
• The US admits that more prisoners have died in American custody in Afghanistan than it has previously acknowledged. (BBC)
• Another car bomb detonates inside the Green Zone of Baghdad. Iraqi doctors claim at least 7 deaths and 12 injuries. (BBC) (News24)
• President Chirac inaugurates the world's highest road bridge in southern France. The Millau Viaduct over the River Tarn is higher than the Eiffel Tower. It is expected to open to traffic on Thursday. (BBC)
• A new species of monkey, the Arunachal Macaque, is discovered in India. It is the first new macaque discovered since 1903 and the first new primate in 49 years. (NCF India)

December 13, 2004

• Self-confessed cannibal Yoo Young-Chul, convicted of killing 20 people, mostly prostitutes, is sentenced to death in Seoul, South Korea. (Xinhua)
• France's highest administrative court, the Conseil d'État, bans Hizbullah's al-Manar TV station on the grounds that it incites racial hatred and antisemitism. (BBC)
• The jury in the Scott Peterson trial recommends that he be sentenced to death for the murder of his wife and unborn son. (CNN)
• Augusto Pinochet is charged by Chilean prosecutors for alleged involvement in murder and "disappearances" in Chile in the 1970s, and is placed under house arrest. (BBC)
• 2004 U.S. presidential election controversy:
  • As required by the United States Constitution, Members of the United States Electoral College meet in all 50 state capitols and the District of Columbia to cast their electoral votes, including an unexpected single vote for John Edwards by an elector in Minnesota. (Minneapolis Star Tribune)
  • All members of the Ohio delegation of the Electoral College cast their ballots for George W. Bush while a legal recount is still ongoing, after a written request by 11 Democratic congressmen (pdf) to suspend voting. (ABC) (ABC)
  • The U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary hears testimony at a forum in Colombus, Ohio regarding problems with the 2004 presidential election. (freepress.org) (statements) (audio, mp3) (video, wmv)
• United States Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael O. Leavitt is nominated by President George W. Bush to succeed outgoing Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson in the Cabinet-level post. (Bloomberg)
• Conflict in Iraq:
  • At least 13 people die following a car bomb attack on a U.S. checkpoint near the Green Zone in Baghdad, Iraq. (The Guardian)
  • The U.S. launches another air raid on the Iraqi city of Fallujah after eight US Marines were killed by insurgents over the weekend. (ABC {aus})
• Foreign policy of the George W. Bush administration: Human Rights Watch, a New York based NGO claims that another three prisoners have died while in U.S. detention in Afghanistan. (BBC)
• Hundreds of protesters have gathered in Cairo outside Egypt's Supreme Judiciary buildings, defying a ban on public protests, to call for an end to Hosni Mubarak's 23-year presidency of Egypt. (BBC)
• Romanian presidential election, 2004: Prime Minister Adrian Năstase concedes defeat to opposition candidate Traian Băsescu after a close contest. With 99% of the vote counted, Băsescu took 51.23% of the vote to Năstase's 48.77%. (BBC)
• Oracle Corporation announces a merger deal to acquire PeopleSoft for approximately US$10.3 billion. (Oracle Press Release)

December 12, 2004

• According to the Washington Post the Bush administration used wire taps to intercept a number of phone conversations of Mohamed ElBaradei, Director General of the United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency in hope of finding information that would help remove ElBaradei from his post. (CNN) (The Washington Post)
• Israeli-Palestinian conflict
  • At least 5 Israeli soldiers are killed and 10 are injured as a tunnel rigged with 1500 kg of explosives exploded near the Rafah crossing betw