July 2004

July 31, 2004

• 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. (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. (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". (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. (Reuters)

July 30, 2004

• The United Nations Security Council passes a US-drafted resolution 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. (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. (FOXNews) (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. (Reuters) (CNN)

July 29, 2004

• 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". (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. (BBC) 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. (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. (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. (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. (Vietnam News Agency) (note the Agency is state-controlled), (Miami Herald).
• Doughnut maker Krispy Kreme announces that its accounting practices are the subject of an informal inquiry by the US Securities and Exchange Commission. The inquiry is concerned with the company's repurchase of franchises as well as a recent earnings warning. (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. (MBARI)

July 28, 2004

• The Catholic Church says a "weeping statue" at a Vietnamese Catholic centre near Brisbane is not a miracle. (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". (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. (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. (ArabNews)
• Roman Catholic Bishop Misael Vacca Ramrez, abducted by the left-wing rebel group National Liberation Army (ELN) in Colombia, tells local television he has been set free. (BBC)
• Traces of ricin are found in jars of baby food in a supermarket in Irvine, California. (Bloomberg)

July 27, 2004

• 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. (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. (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. (AP)
• Iran is alleged to have broken seals placed upon uranium centrifuges by the International Atomic Energy Agency and resumed their construction. (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. (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. (BBC)

July 26, 2004

• The 2004 Democratic National Convention opens in Boston, Massachusetts. (BBC) (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. (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. (BBC)

July 25, 2004

• 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. (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. (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. (AP)

July 24, 2004

• 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. (BBC)
• A militant group kidnaps an Egyptian diplomat, Mohamed Mamdouh Qutb, in Baghdad, Iraq. (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. (BBC)
• In Mexico Judge Csar Flores refuses to authorize an arrest warrant for former president Luis Echeverra lvarez and other officials under the accusations of genocide for the killing of students during the "dirty war". Prosecutors are expected to appeal the decision. (BBC)

July 23, 2004

• 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. (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. (Haaretz) (BBC)
• An arrest is made in Toronto in the Cecilia Zhang murder case, nine months after she was abducted. (Toronto Star)
• The bridge in Mostar dividing Croatian and Bosniak communities is opened 11 years after it was destroyed in the Bosnian war. (BBC)
• A special prosecutor files genocide charges against former President of Mexico Luis Echeverra for actions taken by the Mexican military during a student protest in 1971.

July 22, 2004

• 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. (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. (Toronto Star)
• In the United States, the 9/11 Commission releases its unanimous final report. The report harshly criticizes American intelligence agencies. (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. (Reuters)
• United States and Afghan forces kill 10 suspected Islamic militants and arrest five others. (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. (Reuters)
• Kenya calls on its citizens to leave Iraq, after the recent abductions of three Kenyan citizens (AP)
• In Canada, one person is reported to have died and five others hospitalized due to an E. coli contamination (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. (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. (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 Echeverra lvarez and 11 other ex-government figures. (BBC) (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. (The NewStandard)

July 21, 2004

• 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. (Reuters)
• The United Nations General Assembly passes a 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. (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". (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.

July 20, 2004

• PETA releases a video of gross cruelty to chickens taken at Pilgrim's Pride, one of KFC's suppliers in West Virginia. The supplier will investigate the claims. (The Independent) (FOX News)
• Sandy Berger resigns as a foreign affairs advisor to John Kerry's presidential campaign after it is reported that Berger was under investigation for allegedly illegally taking classified documents belonging to the U.S. National Archives, intended for review by the 9/11 Commission, related to the Clinton administration's handling of millennium terror threats. (Reuters)
• Canadian Prime minister Paul Martin announces his new cabinet, which includes new faces such as ice hockey great Ken Dryden and former BC premier Ujjal Dosanjh. (CBC)
• Gloria Arroyo, President of The Philippines, confirms that hostage Angelo de la Cruz has been freed by his captors after their demands for a one-month-early withdrawal of all 51 Filipino troops from Iraq were met. (Reuters)
• Ahmed Qurei, Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority, agrees to withdraw his resignation, three days after tendering it. Qurei is maintaining a threat to quit "because he has no powers". (Reuters)
• Human Rights Watch releases a report stating that Sudanese government documents confirm support for the Arab Janjaweed militia in their campaign of ethnic cleansing against African Muslims in Darfur.
• The U.S. House of Representatives votes to override a proposal by the Financial Accounting Standards Board that would require publicly traded companies to record all forms of share-based payments to employees, including stock options, as expenses. Similar legislation remains stalled in the Senate.
• The EU approves a 50-50 merger between BMG and Sony. (CNN)

July 19, 2004

• Jordanian troops detect and intercept 4 unidentified indivdiuals attempting to "infiltrate to the western side of the Jordan River" (Israel). Three are killed and the fourth arrested. (JNA)
• Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon calls on French Jews to move to Israel immediately in light of the dramatic rise in French anti-semitism (510 anti-semitic acts or threats in the first six months of 2004, compared to 593 for all of 2003). The French government describes his comments as unacceptable. An Israeli spokesperson later claims that Sharon had been misunderstood. (BBC) (Haaretz)
• Amnesty International releases its report citing systematic killing, torturing and gang raping of females from ages 8 to 80 by Muslim Arab Janjaweed militia in the Darfur region of Sudan. (Amnesty) (Reuters)
• A Sudanese court sentences 10 Janjaweed militiamen to amputation and imprisonment for looting and killing in Darfur. (Reuters)
• A tanker truck bomb in Baghdad kills nine Iraqis and wounds another 60.
• Yasser Arafat, President of the Palestinian Authority, seeking to quiet unrest in the Gaza Strip reinstates Abdel-Razek al-Majaideh, demoting his cousin Moussa Arafat who was appointed just 3 days ago. (Reuters)
• Hezbollah official Ghalib Awali is killed in an explosion in Beirut, Lebanon. The governments of Syria and Lebanon blame Israel. A statement attributed to underground Sunni Muslim group Jund as-Sham claims responsibility for the attack against "Shiite infidels"; later, the group denies involvement in the bombing and proclaims its solidarity with Shiites and Hezbollah. (INN) (Daily Star)

July 18, 2004

• The trial for the murder of Canadian journalist Zahra Kazemi in Iran ended abruptly on the second day of the proceedings. The lawyers of the Kazemi family insisted that the time has not been enough for proofs to be given, witnesses to be brought to court, and the murderer to be identified.
• Thousands of Palestinians take to the streets to protest appointments by Yasser Arafat. Palestinian gunmen attack and burn down a security force post in the Gaza Strip town of Khan Younis manned by forces loyal to Moussa Arafat, the cousin of Yasser Arafat. The security forces flee. (Haaretz) (Reuters)
• U.S. President George W. Bush states that the establishment of a Palestinian state by the end of 2005 is unlikely due to instability and violence in the Palestinian Authority. (Maariv) (Jerusalem Post)
• Argentina holds a national day of mourning to mark the tenth aniversary of the AMIA Jewish community centre bombing. (BBC) (MercoPress)
• Bolivia holds a referendum on gas exports. (BBC)

July 17, 2004

• Allegations surface that Iyad Allawi himself summarily executed six prisoners at a Baghdad police station one week before becoming Iraqi prime minister, to "send a clear message to the police on how to deal with insurgents". His office completely denies the event. (SMH) (Age)
• The Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority, Ahmed Qurei, submits his resignation during chaos in the Gaza Strip as gunmen kidnapped several people, including the chief of police of the Gaza Strip, demanding reform of the Palestinian security force. Yasser Arafat refuses to accept the resignation. (Reuters)
• The Asian Cup 2004 kicks off in Beijing, China. Hosts PR China ties Bahrain 2:2 in the opening match.

July 16, 2004

• At least 88 children are killed and several others injured when a kitchen fire engulfs a thatched-roof school in the Kumbakonam district of Tamil Nadu, India. Five are arrested so far. (BBC) (Rediff News) (Times of India) (CNN)
• American celebrity Martha Stewart is sentenced to five months in a federal prison, five months of house arrest, two years probation, and ordered to pay a $30,000 fine, for attempting to cover up illegal stock trading. The sentence is stayed pending appeal. (Reuters)
• Acceding to the demands of Iraqi militants who kidnapped and threaten to behead truck driver Angelo de la Cruz, the Philippines agrees to withdraw from Iraq. Eleven soldiers leave today, while the remaining 32 are slated to withdraw at a later date. (BBC)
• Palestinian militants kidnap Ghazi al-Jabali, the Palestinian Authority Chief of Police of the Gaza Strip, at gunpoint following an ambush of his convoy and the wounding of two bodyguards. The Jenin Martyrs' Brigade claims responsibility. Hours later the police chief is released and another official of the Palestinian Authority kidnapped. (Reuters) (BBC)
• A United Nations tribunal trying the alleged masterminds of Rwanda's 1994 genocide convicts former finance minister Emmanuel Ndindabahizi on three counts of genocide and crimes against humanity, sentencing him to life in prison.
• The British government is reported to be considering the decriminalization of activities relating to prostitution, including the possibility of legal brothels. (BBC) (Independent)
• It is reported that former Chess World Champion Bobby Fischer was detained in Japan on July 13, 2004, and may face deportation due to competing in Yugoslavia in 1992. (ABC NEWS) (CNN)

July 15, 2004

• Canada recalls its ambassador to Iran to protest Iran's refusal to allow Canadians to attend the trial of an Iranian intelligence agent charged in the death of Montreal-based photographer and journalist, Zahra Kazemi. (Globe & Mail) (Chanel News Asia)
• Voting takes place in the Birmingham Hodge Hill and Leicester South parliamentary by-elections in the United Kingdom. The Labour Party retains Hodge Hill, narrowly, but loses Leicester South to the Liberal Democrats. The Conservative Party is pushed into third place in both seats. (BBC)
• The Cambodian parliament votes to reappoint Hun Sen as Prime Minister, following an 11-month deadlock. (BBC) (Xinhua)
• The United States House of Representatives passes a resolution condemning the International Court of Justice ruling on the Israeli West Bank barrier. (Jerusalem Post)
• New Zealand imposes diplomatic sanctions on Israel after an incident involving two alleged Mossad agents committing passport fraud. (BBC) (New Zealand Herald) (Independent) (TVNZ) (VOA)
• A United Nations report says that life expectancy in some parts of Africa has dropped to below 33 years, due to the AIDS epidemic. (Medical News Today)
• The U.S. bankruptcy court for Manhattan approved the reorganization plan of notorious energy-trading company Enron, which is now likely to formally emerge from chapter 11 later this year. (Washington Post)

July 14, 2004

• Stephen Hawking changes his position on black holes and Hawking radiation, stating that it is possible for information to escape, thereby reinforcing a central tenet of quantum physics. (New Scientist)
• The Iranian government rejected requests for Canadian government observers to attend the trial of intelligence agents charged with the death of Canadian photographer, Zahra Kazemi
• The Federal Marriage Amendment, a bid by members of the United States Republican Party to amend the United States Constitution to ban same-sex marriage in the United States, fails in the Senate by a larger-than-expected margin. (CNN)
• The governor of the Iraqi city of Mosul is killed in an attack on his vehicle. (BBC)
• France celebrates Bastille Day, and:
• In commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the Entente Cordiale, troops from the United Kingdom are accorded the honour of leading France's parade on the Champs-lyses in Paris. (BBC)
• President Jacques Chirac announces that France will hold a referendum over the proposed constitution for the European Union in 2005. (Reuters) (BBC)
• The Butler Review into United Kingdom intelligence on Weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq is published. It criticises the government for using unreliable intelligence, which it says was 'open to doubt' and 'seriously flawed', but blames no single individual. (BBC) (Guardian) (Independent)
• The death toll from monsoon flooding in South Asia reaches 300. (ABC Australia)
• Same-sex marriage in Canada: A court in Yukon rules that the territory's government must licence marriages between same-sex partners. Yukon becomes the fourth jurisdiction in Canada to perform same-sex marriages, after Ontario, British Columbia, and Quebec. (CBC)
• By a 3-to-2 vote, the US Securities and Exchange Commission proposes requiring the registration of hedge funds (investment pools restricted to high net worth individuals and institutions). Although many hedge funds are already registered, that has thus far been voluntary. (thestreet.com)
• A Turkish court orders a retrial of four Kurdish former members of parliament who were jailed in 1994. They have been accused of supporting separatism and for making speeches in Kurdish. (BBC)

July 13, 2004

• Khaled al-Harbi, a disabled militant Saudi sheikh linked to al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden, turns himself in to the Saudi authorities in Tehran under an amnesty program of the Saudi King. (BBC)
• Al Jazeera television reports that a Bulgarian hostage held in Iraq by suspected al-Qaeda ally Abu Musab al-Zarqawi has been executed. A video tape of the murder was provided to Al Jazeera. The group vows to execute another hostage within 24 hours. (Reuters)
• The United States Department of State adds the Continuity Irish Republican Army (CIRA) to its list of foreign terrorist organisations, which means that CIRA assets in the US will be frozen and visas denied to members of CIRA. (BBC)
• A rough cut of U2's new album is stolen in Nice, France. The album is scheduled for release in November. (BBC)

July 12, 2004

• Montenegro adopts new state symbols including a new red flag bearing King Nikola's coat of arms.
• Pedro Santana Lopes becomes the prime minister of Portugal. (BBC)
• The Philippines announces the withdrawal of its forces from Iraq. (Reuters)
• The United States Department of Homeland Security asks the Justice Department's office of legal counsel to research on the legal requirements for postponing the November elections, stating that they are concerned that terrorists might disrupt the elections. (Newsday)
• Albertan Premier Ralph Klein announces that the province has completed repayment of its public debt, which once stood at CAD $23 billion. (CBC)

July 11, 2004

• Ashraf Jehangir Qazi is nominated by Kofi Annan to be the UN new envoy to Iraq. (Rediff News)
• Boris Tadic is inaugurated as the President of Serbia after winning the Serbian presidential election, 2004. (Bulgarian News Network)
• Flash floods caused by severe hail and rain strike Edmonton, Alberta (Canada), causing widespread damage including structural damage to the West Edmonton Mall. (CBC News)
• Monsoon rains force millions of people to flee their homes in India, Nepal and Bangladesh. At least 80 people are reported killed. (BBC)

July 9, 2004

• In its advisory opinion asked for by the United Nations General Assembly the International Court of Justice states that the Israeli West Bank barrier is illegal and calls for the General Assembly and the Security Council to remedy the situation. (New Straits Times) (NZZ) (BBC)
• The final report of the US Senate Intelligence Committee states that the Central Intelligence Agency described the danger presented by weapons of mass destruction in Iraq in an unreasonable way, largely unsupported by the available intelligence. (BBC)
• Ahmed Nazif is appointed the new Prime Minister of Egypt after the resignation of previous Prime Minister Atef Obeid, and the entire cabinet. (BBC)

July 8, 2004

• US Marine Corporal Wassef Ali Hassoun appears unharmed at the US Embassy in Beirut. Hassoun disappeared from his unit in Iraq on June 21, and was incorrectly reported as having been beheaded by the group that captured him. The United States Navy has launched an investigation into the incident. (Reuters) (BBC)
• Mexico and Venezuela become associate members of Mercosur (the Southern Common Market). (BBC)
• The Republic of China Defense Ministry reveals that the Chiang family has asked that Chiang Kai-shek and Chiang Ching-kuo both be buried in the Wu Chih-shan Military Cemetery in Taipei County. The state burial is scheduled for Spring 2005. (Taiwan News)(Reuters)
• India presents its national budget, hiking its defence outlay. (Rediff India)

July 7, 2004

• Kenneth Lay, the former Chairman of Enron, is indicted by a grand jury in Houston, Texas. Enron filed for bankruptcy in December 2, 2001, after investigators discovered that it had hidden more than $1 billion in debt and inflated profits. (CNN) (BBC) (Democracy Now!)
• The archdiocese of Portland, Oregon, U.S., files for bankruptcy, claiming payouts for sexual abuse of boys by its priests have exhausted all of its funds. (The Guardian)
• Japan tells the United Nations it should get a permanent seat on the Security Council because of its participation in the multinational force in Iraq. (VOA) (JapanToday)
• At a meeting with 20 pro-democracy lawmakers, Chief Executive Tung Chee Hwa says he is powerless to ask Beijing to reconsider its decision to deny universal suffrage to Hong Kong's people. (VOA) (Radio Australia)

July 6, 2004

• Major Harry Schmidt of the United States Air Force is found guilty of dereliction of duty in a "friendly fire" bombing that killed four and seriously wounded eight Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan in 2002, given an official reprimand and fined US$5,672, which will be made in two monthly payments of US$2,836. (CNN) (Washington Post)
• President of Austria Thomas Klestil dies of a heart attack, just two days before he was due to leave office. (BBC)
• Islamic Response claims that United States Marine Corps Corporal Wassef Ali Hassoun has been taken to a place of safety after he promised to desert from the Marine Corps. (BBC)
• A car bomb in the Khalis section of Baghdad kills 13 people attending the wake of individuals killed two days ago in a previous attack. (Boston Globe)
• United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan calls upon African Union leaders to take action to resolve the crisis in Darfur where an estimated 30,000 black Sudanese have been killed by Sudanese Arabs in cultural and racial strife. (BBC)
• U.S. Democratic Party presumptive presidential candidate John Kerry picks former rival John Edwards to be his running mate. (MSNBC) (BBC) (Democracy Now!)
• In a huge front-page headline, the New York Post mistakenly reports that Kerry had picked Richard A. "Dick" Gephardt.
• The U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence uncovers that, before the War on Iraq, the C.I.A. was told by relatives of Iraqi scientists that Iraq's programs to develop unconventional weapons had been abandoned. (Guardian)

July 5, 2004

• Australia and Thailand sign a free trade agreement. (Xinhua)
• The International Committee of the Red Cross and UNICEF state that there are more than 100 Iraqi children in custody of the US-led coalition, and a US soldier reports of child harassment in Abu Ghraib. (Der Spiegel via Pakistan News Service)
• The first direct Indonesian presidential election is held, with Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono expected to win with one-third of the vote. If no candidate wins at least 50 percent of the vote, the two top finishers will compete in a September runoff. The race for second place, between President Megawati Sukarnoputri and former army chief General Wiranto, is still too close to call. (VOA)(PolitInfo)
• Alfonso Durazo, spokesman and private secretary to Mexican President Vicente Fox, resigns over "political differences" with his boss, including the presidential ambitions of First Lady Marta Sahagn. The announcement came shortly after, but was not related to, a bad day for Fox's PAN party in state elections in its northern heartland. (BBC) (Reuters)

July 4, 2004

• Greece wins the Euro 2004 football tournament by defeating host nation Portugal 1-0. (ESPN) (Euro 2004 Official Website)
• In New York City, groundbreaking takes place at the site of the Freedom Tower, due to be completed in 2009. (Reuters)
• Polio spreads across Nigeria and ten other African nations after vaccinations are suspended in Kano province, on rumors that the vaccine was adulterated to cause infertility and AIDS. (New Era via All Africa)
• Roger Federer wins the men's Wimbledon championship for the second straight year, defeating Andy Roddick in 4 sets. (Rediff News)

July 3, 2004

• Occupation of Iraq: The Islamic extremist group Jaish Ansar al-Sunna has reportedly beheaded U.S. Marine Corporal Wassef Ali Hassoun. The group claims that it will release a videotape recording of the execution in the coming days. (Reuters) (Reuters)
• The new metro in Bangkok, Thailand, officially opens. It is overcrowded within 30 minutes. (The Star)
• 17-year-old Maria Sharapova defeats Serena Williams 6-1, 6-4 in the Wimbledon Championships women's tennis final to become the first Russian Wimbledon champion. (BBC Sport)

July 2, 2004

• Darfur conflict: Sudanese President Omar Hasan Ahmad al-Bashir, in a meeting with United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, makes a commitment to "ensure security for the civilian population by deploying civilian police and by disarming militias". (Reuters)
• Brazil's strict new gun control legislation, including a nationwide register of all firearms, both privately owned and government issued, comes into force. (BBC) (BNN)
• Entertainer Bill Cosby, in an appearance with Jesse Jackson, criticizes the African American community, saying illiterate blacks are "going nowhere" and advising unemployed black men to "stop beating up your women". (CNN)
• Occupation of Iraq: Four U.S. Army soldiers, including 1st. Lt. Jack Saville and Sgt. Tracy Perkins, are charged with offenses ranging up to involuntary manslaughter in the January 3 drowning death of an Iraqi detainee whom they reportedly forced to leap into the Tigris from atop a bridge in Samarra. (Reuters)
• U.S. presidential election: Several Democratic Party members of the U.S. House of Representatives request that the United Nations send observers to monitor the November 2 presidential election, citing the disputed 2000 presidential outcome. (AFP)
• A Medevac of airline Air TRK crashes during take-off from Tocumen International Airport in Panama City, Panama, after a stopover in a flight from Quito, Ecuador, to Washington, D.C., USA, killing six passengers and one airport worker. (Estrella de Panama)

July 1, 2004

• The Iraqi Special Tribunal holds the first hearing in the trial of Saddam Hussein. (BBC) (Guardian)
• The U.S. Centers for Disease Control announce that three organ transplant recipients have died from rabies infection after receiving organs from a donor infected with the rabies virus. This is a medical rarity, as human rabies infections in the developed world are extremely rare. (CNN)
• A Qatari court sentences two Russian intelligence officers to 25 years in prison for assassination of Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev, a suspected terrorist and leader of Chechen separatists, on February 13, 2004. (Pravda) (Washington Times)
• The Cassini-Huygens unmanned probe becomes the first spacecraft to orbit Saturn, and prepares to study the planet and its satellites. (Space.com)
• The International Ship and Port Facility Security Code, a set of security restrictions designed by the UN's International Maritime Organization in response to the September 11, 2001 attacks, goes into effect. (Reuters)
• More than 200,000 Hong Kong residents march to demand greater democracy on the 7th anniversary of the handover. (VOA)

Past events by month

News collections and sources

• 2004-07

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