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- RoC Premier Yu Shyi-kun is prevented for six hours from delivering a key government report on the floor of the Legislative Yuan when opposition lawmakers, refusing to recognize President Chen Shui-bian's narrow re-election on March 20, tore up his report and unfurled banners and placards with the words "no truth, no president" and "bogus regime". (TheStraitsTimes) (Channelnewsasia)
- The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) releases a new report in which Iran amends its claims. Iran now states that it imported parts for centrifuges capable of making bomb-grade uranium that it previously said were made in the country. Highly enriched uranium (weapons grade 36% uranium-235) is found at a Farayand, a site previously unknown to the IAEA. (Reuters)
- Ghazi Mashal Ajil al-Yawer, a powerful Sunni Muslim tribal leader and critic of the U.S.-led occupation, is named president of Iraq's incoming government, after Iraqi leaders reject the Americans' preferred candidate for the post.
- Shi'ite Muslims in Karachi, enraged by a mosque bombing that killed 20 worshippers, battle police and burn U.S. fast food restaurants as the government struggles to contain a third day of violence in Pakistan's largest city. (CNN) (BBC)
- Democrat Stephanie Herseth narrowly defeats Republican Larry Diedrich in a closely watched by-election for South Dakota's US House seat. (The Guardian) (CNN) (Reuters)
- The Zimbabwe government proposes new terms for all Internet service providers that will force them to block content or report "malicious messages" to the authorities. (BBC)
- Norway becomes the world's second nation after Ireland to ban smoking in all bars and restaurants. (Reuters)
- Jennifer Hawkins, a twenty-year-old Australian, wins the Miss Universe contest, held in Quito, Ecuador. (AP)
- Dr. Jiang Yanyong disappears days before the 15th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre.
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- Five aid workers representing Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) are killed in a Taliban ambush in north-western Afghanistan. The workers are one Dutchman, one Belgian, one Norwegian, and two Afghans. The incident leads MSF to temporarily suspend their activities nationwide, except for life-saving activities. (BBC) (MSF Press Release)
- In a speech given at the United States Air Force Academy, President Bush compares the present War on Terrorism in the Middle East to World War II in Europe. (AP) (BBC)
- Zhou Zhengyi, the 11th richest businessman in mainland China, is given a three-year jail sentence for stock market fraud. (BBC)
- Norman Hutchins, who has a fetish for surgical masks becomes the first person in history to be banned from all British hospitals. (BBC)
- Scaled Composites announces that the world's first private manned space flight is scheduled for June 21, 2004. (BBC)
- U.S. government prosecutors, preparing for an upcoming trial of four former executives of Merrill Lynch and two former executives of Enron released a document that could prove helpful to the defense—indicating that the intent of the allegedly fraudulent transaction was, at the least, a bit equivocal. Trial begins Monday. (NYT)
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- Former U.S. President Ronald Reagan dies at the age of 93 from complications of Alzheimer's disease. (SF Chronicle) (BBC) (Reuters) (Washington Post)
- An outbreak of pseudomembranous colitis, a Clostridium difficile infection, is believed to have killed as many as 89 people in hospitals in Montreal, Quebec and Calgary, Alberta. (CBC)
- Noël Mamère, mayor of Bègles (near Bordeaux), France, celebrates the first same-sex marriage in France, between Bertrand Charpentier and Stéphane Chapin. Interior minister Dominique de Villepin states that the wedding is illegal and announces that the mayor will face censure. Mamère claims he is interpreting French law, inspired by similar actions in San Francisco and other US cities. (swissinfo)
- North Light wins the 225th Epsom Derby, the second race in the British Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing. (BBC)
- Belmont Stakes: Birdstone defeats Smarty Jones to prevent Smarty Jones from winning the United States Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing. (ESPN)
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- Heads of state and war veterans mark the sixtieth anniversary of the D-Day invasion of Nazi-controlled Europe in World War II. An estimated 250,000 people died in the Battle of Normandy. (BBC)
- Palestinian Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti is sentenced to five life terms plus forty years by an Israeli court for his role in Palestinian terrorism. (CNN)
- U.S.-led occupation of Iraq: Brigadier General Mark Hertling, a top US commander in charge of Najaf, Iraq, states "The Moqtada militia is militarily defeated. We have killed scores of them over the last few weeks, and that is in Najaf alone. ... The militia have been defeated, or have left." US Coalition patrols and checkpoints are still active around Najaf and its twin city of Kufa, Iraq. (News.com.au)
- French Open: Gastón Gaudio wins the men's singles title, defeating compatriot Guillermo Coria 0–6, 3–6, 6–4, 6–1, 8–6. (AP)
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- Votes are counted on Super Thursday in the UK as elections are held for the European Parliament, local council elections and for Mayor of London and the London Assembly. The local council elections show major losses for the Labour Party, attributed by Labour to protest voting over the 2003 invasion of Iraq. (BBC) (Guardian) (Guardian) (Daily Telegraph) (Daily Telegraph) (results from Guardian)
- Voting begins in the four-day-long European Parliament election; the United Kingdom and the Netherlands vote today. The Dutch authorities, in breach of an EU-wide reporting embargo, release their results in the early evening. (BBC)
- Mathematics professor Louis de Branges de Bourcia claims a proof of the Riemann hypothesis, a long-standing and fundamental mathematical problem for a solution of which the Clay Mathematics Institute has offered a USD $1 million prize. (CNet) (Purdue University press release)
- The U.S. State Dep't. announces that its Patterns of Global Terrorism report for 2003 was incomplete and partially incorrect. Instead of a decrease in terrorist attacks and casualties since 2002, the revised version will show a "sharp increase" over the previous year. (Press briefing), (Guardian)
- A polling organization announces that there is broad support in the U.S. state of California for a November ballot measure to limit the effect of the "three strikes" sentencing law. The Field Poll shows the measure, which would impose the 25-years-to-life only if the third felony is a serious or violent crime, is supported by 76% of those asked, opposed by 14 percent. (Sacramento Bee)
- Turkey releases four Kurdish prisoners. (Salt Lake Tribune)
- Pakistani paramilitary troops launch an offensive, hunting for foreign fighters in the tribal areas on the border with Afghanistan. (Asian times)
- The Zimbabwean cricket team is suspended from playing Test matches by the ICC till the end of 2004 due to their policy of racial bias in team selection.
- Apple Computer announces its new top-of-the-line Mac G5 will use water-cooling technology. ITworld
- Martha Stewart asks a federal judge to throw out charges of obstructing justice, claiming false evidence. (Bloomberg)
- Musician Ray Charles dies due to liver failure/hepatitis C at his home in Beverly Hills, California, surrounded by family and friends.
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- On the third anniversary of the execution of Timothy McVeigh for his role in the Oklahoma City bombing, the penalty phase of his co-accomplice, Terry Nichols, ends in a deadlocked jury over the issue of handing out a death penalty verdict. By law, the judge in the case must sentence Nichols to life in prison (a term he is already serving). (CNN)
- Ken Livingstone is re-elected Mayor of London for a second four-year term after polling 828,380 first and second preference votes, defeating his nearest rival Conservative Steve Norris by 161,202 votes. (Guardian)
- Eleven Chinese road construction workers and an Afghan guard are murdered in their sleep 20 miles (32 km) south of the Afghan city of Kunduz. Four more Chinese are hospitalized for wounds suffered in the same attack. The dead are among more than 100 engineers and workers engaged on a World Bank project to build a road from Kabul to the Tajikistan border. Mullah Dadullah, one of the top Taliban commanders, recently issued orders to his fighters to strike at road builders. (NYT)
- The Cassini–Huygens probe approaches within 2,000 km (1,200 mi) of Phoebe, the outermost moon of the planet Saturn. (Wired News) (BBC)
- Ronald Reagan's funeral held at Washington National Cathedral and burial service at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library later in the day. (White House) (Washington National Cathedral)
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- A meteorite plunges into a family's living room in the Auckland, New Zealand, suburb of Ellerslie on Saturday afternoon. No one is hurt. Weighing 1.3 kilograms (2.9 pounds), it is the ninth ever meteorite to be found in the country, and the first to hit a home. (TVNZ) (Stuff) (Reuters)
- In a Constitutional referendum in Ireland, the electorate approves a constitutional amendment denying Irish citizenship to all children born in Ireland unless one of the parents is an Irish citizen or the parents were legally resident for three years prior to the birth. This closes a perceived loophole where considerable numbers of women in the late stages of pregnancy were allegedly arriving in Ireland, since the parents of citizens were also allowed to remain in the country. (BBC)
- Football (soccer): Greece upset favourites Portugal in the Euro 2004 tournament opening match, beating the Portuguese 2–1. (BBC)
- Australia renames the town of Ballarat to "Chicken Catchatorie" for a day in a bid to cross promote the towns VFL finalist football team with their sponsor, Chicken Tonight.
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- Tim Berners-Lee receives the Millennium Technology Prize in Helsinki. (Technology awards)
- Janis Karpinski, the United States Brigadier General at the center of the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse in Iraq, says that she was "ordered from the top" to treat detainees "like dogs", as they are treated in Guantanamo. (BBC) (Guardian) (Voice of America)
- Bombs detonated against oil pipelines in Iraq result in the main Iraqi oil terminal being shut down for at least 10 days, an estimated revenue loss of USD 600 million to the Iraqi government. (NYT) (BBC)
- A militant Islamic group that has been identified as connected to Al Qaida releases a video-tape where they state they will kill an American hostage, Paul Johnson, if group members are not released from Saudi Arabian prisons in 72 hours. (BBC)
- FARC guerrillas massacre 34 coca farmers in Norte de Santander department, Colombia, in the worst such attack since President Álvaro Uribe took office. (BBC) (AP)
- U.S. Rep. Chris Bell files an ethics complaint against House Majority Leader Tom DeLay. (CNN)
- Apple Computer launches its iTunes Music Store digital music service in the United Kingdom, France and Germany. The price for a single track will be 79 pence or 99 euro cents. (Forbes) (The Register)
- The Detroit Pistons win their first NBA Championship since 1990 by defeating the widely favored Los Angeles Lakers 4–1 in a best-of-seven series. The Pistons swept all three of their home games, a first in the 20 years of the 2–3–2 game format. The final game's score was 100–87. (NBA.com)
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- EU leaders meet in Brussels to try to agree on the draft European constitution amid the showing of popular discontent with national governments in the recent European Parliament election. (BBC) (Guardian)
- The US's 9/11 Commission states that although meetings between al Qaeda representatives and Iraqi government officials had taken place, it has found "no credible evidence" of a "collaborative relationship" between Saddam Hussein's Iraq and al Qaeda in the 9/11 attacks or in any other strike against U.S. interests. It also finds that the original plan involved ten jets and that there was dispute within the terrorist network about its implementation until only shortly before September 11. (Washington Post) (AP) (BBC)
- Iraqi Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr calls upon members of his Mahdi Army to return to their homes and end their attacks. (NYT)
- The trial begins of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Russian oil tycoon on charges of tax evasion and fraud; the proceedings are later adjourned. (VOA) (BBC)
- 25 people die and 100 hurt in a train derailment on the Konkan Railway in India, near the western city of Mumbai. (Times of India)
- Jiang Yanyong's wife, Hua Zhongwei, is reported to have been freed from detention incommunicado in China and returned to the couple's Beijing home. (Reuters)
- The Diplomats and Military Commanders for Change, a group of 27 retired U.S. diplomats and military officers, publishes an open letter that states that U.S. President George W. Bush has so harmed international relations that only a new leader can repair them. (BBC) (Newsweek) (CNN)
- A computer virus capable of infecting cellphones running the Symbian OS with Bluetooth capabilities, "Cabir", has been developed by software experts. (Forbes) (BBC) (Reuters)
- The Bloomsday centennial is commemorated in Dublin and around the world. (IHT) (Reuters UK)
- The Hong Kong securities-industry watchdog obtained a court order freezing all assets belonging to hedge fund manager Charles Schmitt, or his fund of funds, CSA Absolute Return. Mr. Schmitt himself is in the custody of Hong Kong authorities on suspicions that he's misappropriated investor funds. (TheStreet.com)
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- Witnesses and hospital officials say that 22 Iraqis, among them children, women, and youths, are killed in a U.S. air strike in a residential neighborhood in Fallujah. U.S. officials say that they targeted an Abu Musab al-Zarqawi safe house. (Reuters) (CBC) Iraqi locals dispute the American account. (BBC)
- OpenBeOS becomes Haiku (operating system), announced at the first WalterCon in Columbus, Ohio.
- An asteroid discovered by NASA named 2004 MN4 that may hit earth in 2029. [1] [2]
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- 48 Nobel laureates endorse John Kerry as they think that he would increase the prosperity, health, environment, and security of Americans. They criticize the Bush administration for reducing funding for scientific research, setting restrictions on stem cell research, ignoring scientific consensus on critical issues such as global warming, and hampering cooperation with foreign scientists by using deterrent immigration and visa practices. (Reuters)
- A report by the New York Times alleges that the United States administration overstated the intelligence value and importance of the prisoners held at the controversial prisoner camp at Guantanamo Bay. The report, based on interviews with government officials, concludes that only a relatively small percentage of the prisoners were sworn members of Al Qaeda, and that most were relatively unimportant, low-level people. (NYT) (IHT)
- The Supreme Court of the United States, in Hiibel v. Sixth Judicial District Court of Nevada, rules that mandatory disclosure of identity to the police, when asked, does not violate the Fifth Amendment, and the Miranda warning does not apply. (CNN) (AP)
- UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan warns Security Council members not to grant the United States another exemption from prosecution by the International Criminal Court, stating that it was wrong, especially after the abuse of prisoners in Iraq. (New Zealand Herald) (NYT)
- Iran seizes three British Royal Navy patrol boats on the Shatt al-Arab waterway that divides Iran from Iraq. Their eight British crew members are detained by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards. (BBC)
- SpaceShipOne, the first privately and commercially funded aircraft/spaceplane designed for space travel without funding from any government, successfully embarks upon its maiden flight into outer space. Designed by legendary aerospace designer Burt Rutan and funded by billionaire Paul Allen, the ship was launched from a larger plane and, after igniting its burners, flew 62 miles (100 km) into space and back down again, an altitude that officially makes test pilot Michael Melvill an astronaut. (BBC) (Space.com)
- The United States reportedly tries to isolate the United Nations Population Fund because it allegedly supports abortions. (NYT)
- Three former top bankers in the United Kingdom, accused of stealing more than US$7 million from NatWest (now part of the Royal Bank of Scotland) in a scheme that helped to bring about the collapse of Enron vowed to fight attempts to extradite them to the United States.
- The first official group of Hmong refugees from the Wat Tham Krabok camp in Thailand begin arriving in the United States. 14,300 to 15,000 refugees are expected to arrive by the end of the year. The camp is one of the last remaining from results of the Vietnam War. One family had left early on June 16 due to a medical emergency. (BBC) (MPR)
- Facing impeachment over corruption charges, Governor John G. Rowland of Connecticut announces that he will resign, effective July 1. (NYT)
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- The United States Supreme Court rules that Health Maintenance Organizations cannot be sued in state courts under malpractice laws. (Forbes)
- The Iranian Islamic Republic News Agency reports Iran could soon free eight British military sailors seized yesterday on the Iranian side of the Shatt al-Arab waterway shared with Iraq if interrogations show they had "no bad intention." (ABC)
- An Islamic militant group beheads Kim Sun-il, a South Korean contractor, according to Al Jazeera television. (Al Jazeera)
- Imran Khan, Pakistani cricketer and politician, and Jemima Khan, daughter of the late Anglo-French billionaire Sir James Goldsmith, announce their divorce. (Arab News)
- The RIAA, in its anti-piracy campaign, sues 482 more John Does that could possibly be file sharing users. (newsfactor.com)(Dallas News) (Reuters)
- Francisco Ortiz Franco, editor of Mexican newsweekly Zeta, is ambushed and killed by gunmen in Tijuana. Ortiz Franco and Zeta were particularly well known for their work in investigating drug trafficking and reporting government corruption. (BBC)
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- Pakistan's Prime Minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali resigns. (BBC)
- U.S. presidential election
- The United States Green Party, in a rebuff to Ralph Nader, nominates Texas lawyer David Cobb as their candidate for President of the United States. This means that Nader will need to attain ballot access on his own in over 23 states, instead of being able to be placed on the ballots automatically as the Green Party candidate. Nader has announced that he may attempt to gain access as the Reform Party candidate. (The Progress Report)
- Ralph Nader holds a second convention in Portland to put his name on the presidential ballot in Oregon. This attempt is supported by conservative groups who hope his name will draw votes in this swing state from Democratic hopeful John Kerry. (Portland Oregonian) The outcome of the convention is still unknown: 943 forms were collected, but 1000 valid signatures are needed; many forms had more than one signature on them, however, the state elections board will require several weeks to validate all of the signatures.
- The Download.ject attack on Internet Explorer users is neutralised for the moment, with the Russian server containing the backdoor program having been shut down. Security experts warn that the IE vulnerabilities still exist and a copycat attack is still possible. (CNet) (Information Week)
- Czech Prime Minister Vladimír Špidla resigns after narrowly surviving a vote of no confidence. (BBC)
- Yasser Arafat, President of the Palestinian Authority, commits to refrains from attacks on the Olympics scheduled for this August in Athens, Greece. (WAFA)
- Six Palestinians, including Nayef Abu Sharkh, head of the Nablus old city part of the Al Aqsa Brigades, and Jaafar Masri, the leader of Hamas' military wing in Nablus, are killed during an Israeli operation, according to Palestinian sources. (CNN)
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- Chinese lawyers visit the victims of last year's deadly accident involving an abandoned WWII-era cache of mustard gas in Qiqihar. The chemical weapons were left behind by invading Japanese troops during the war. The lawyers are preparing to sue the Japanese government. (Xinhuanet)
- Canadian federal election, 2004: Results give the Liberal Party a minority government; in a likely alliance with the NDP, they will together hold exactly half the Commons seats. Despite the heated nature of the campaign, turnout was the lowest in recent memory. (CBC)
- The United States Supreme Court rules six-to-three that "illegal combatants" such as those held in Guantánamo can challenge the basis of their detentions, yet can also be held without charges or trial. (BBC) (NYT)
- The currencies of Estonia (the kroon), Lithuania (the litas), and Slovenia (the tolar) enter ERM II, the European Union's Exchange Rate Mechanism, in a move towards joining the euro. (BBC) (ECB1) (ECB2) (ECB3)
- Iraq Occupation and resistance:
- In Mongolia, the ruling Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party suffers considerable losses in the general election. Official results have not yet been announced, and it remains unclear whether the MPRP will retain its majority. The MPRP has accused the opposition of vote rigging, and has refused to concede defeat. (Ulaanbaatar Post) (Reuters)
- José Manuel Barroso, the Prime Minister of Portugal, gains the backing of the United Kingdom and Germany as the next President of the European Commission (The Independent)
- A Hong Kong appellate court rules 2–1 that a will presented by Nina Wang of her abducted and presumed dead husband Teddy Wang is a forgery. (CNN)
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- In an unprecedented move, the Archbishops of Canterbury and York write to Tony Blair on behalf of all 114 Anglican bishops, expressing deep concern about UK government policy and criticising coalition troops' conduct in Iraq. They cite the abuse of Iraqi detainees, which they say has been "deeply damaging" – and state that the government's apparent double standards "diminish the credibility of western governments". (BBC) (The Scotsman)
- The United States Federal Reserve raises the federal funds interest rate for the first time in four years, by a quarter point. (ABC News)
- Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is sworn into a new six-year term as president of the Philippines following a disputed victory in the May 2004 presidential election. (VOA)
- Iraq Occupation and resistance: The United States formally hands over legal custody of Saddam Hussein to the new Iraqi government. The trial of Saddam Hussein is expected to take place in January. (BBC)
- The Spanish minister of justice, Juan Fernando López Aguilar, announces a number of social bills to be introduced, including one that will legalize same-sex marriage in Spain, one that will introduce rights for common-law couples, and one that will allow transgendered people to legally change their name and sex designation without the requirement of surgery. (abc.es)
- The Israeli Supreme Court issues a landmark ruling that a 30-kilometer planned stretch of the separation barrier in eastern Jerusalem violates the legal rights of the local Palestinian population to an extent not justified by security concerns, and therefore must be changed. (Haaretz)
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