March 28, 2005

• The first arrests are made for war crimes in Darfur, Sudan: 15 officials in South Darfur are accused of rape, murder, and other crimes related to the Darfur conflict. Whether they will be tried in a Sudanese or international court is uncertain at this time. (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4388197.stm) (Reuters) (http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=8013123)
• The Kuomintang's 34-member delegation led by KMT Vice Chairman Chiang Pin-kun arrives on a landmark official visit to mainland China, the first since the end of Chinese Civil War in 1949. On their first day, the delegates pay homage at the Mausoleum of the 72 Martyrs in Huanghuagang (Yellow Flower Knoll), Guangzhou in the province of Guangdong. (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4386787.stm) (Taipei Times) (http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2005/03/28/2003248069) (China Daily) (http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-03/28/content_428853.htm)
• 2005 Sumatran earthquake: An earthquake of magnitude 8.7 is reported off the west coast of Northern Sumatra, likely an aftershock of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. Concerned about the threat of a tsunami, evacuations begin in Malaysia, Thailand, and Sri Lanka, although no significant tsunami activity is reported. (USGS) (http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqinthenews/2005/usweax/) (CNN) (http://edition.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/asiapcf/03/28/indonesia.quake/index.html) (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4388579.stm) (CBC) (http://www.cbc.ca/story/world/national/2005/03/28/quake050328.html). Indonesias vice-president reports up to 2,000 deaths. (Guardian) (http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-4898004,00.html)
• Israeli-Palestinian Conflict:
  • The Israeli Knesset voted on a referendum bill on the Disengagement plan. 72 MKs rejected, 39 voted for and 3 abstained. (Haaretz) (http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/557471.html)
  • The Israeli Defence Forces arrested 8 Palestinians during a raid into Jenin. Israel claims the 8 men were members of Islamic Jihad building a Qassam rocket, while residents claim that 3 of the men were members of the security services, and that the other 5 were not known militants. (Haaretz) (http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/557744.html) (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4387191.stm)

March 27, 2005

• Christians around the world celebrate Easter Sunday. (AP via Yahoo! News) (http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050327/ap_on_re_mi_ea/holy_land_easter_2)
• In comments posted in a German newspaper Easter Sunday, Chancellor Gerhard Schröder expressed the hope that German-based companies will stop outsourcing, that they'll invest in employment opportunities within Germany. German companies have long complained of the stifling labor/regulatory/tax climate at home. (New York Times) (http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/28/international/europe/28germany.html?th&emc=th)

March 26, 2005

• Death toll from Marburg virus epidemic in Angola rises to 120; first case of the Ebola-like virus is reported outside Uige Province and the capital, Luanda. (ABC Australia) (http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200503/s1332103.htm) (SBS) (http://www9.sbs.com.au/theworldnews/region.php?id=108080&region=5) (Recombinomics) (http://www.recombinomics.com/News/03260506/Marburg_Cabina.html)
• Hundreds of thousands of Taiwanese hold mass rally to protest against the People's Republic of China's anti-secession law. (USA Today/AP) (http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2005-03-26-taiwan-china_x.htm) (Taiwan News) (http://www.etaiwannews.com/Taiwan/Politics/2005/03/27/1111889747.htm)

March 25, 2005

• Tulip Revolution in Kyrgyzstan:
  • Kyrgyz opposition leader Kurmanbek Bakiyev is named interim President of Kyrgyzstan, while ousted President Askar Akayev remains defiant. (Reuters) (http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L25245723.htm)
  • Looters ransack the capital city of Bishkek following the protests. (Reuters) (http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/IRIN/990d86555d72a7bca1f03e85bf688ed7.htm)
• Doctors at a Monaco hospital call the condition of Prince Rainier III "worrying" and are unsure if he will recover from heart and renal failure. He remains on a respirator. (Yahoo! News) (http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050325/ap_on_re_eu/monaco_prince_rainier_28)
• Good Friday was celebrated all over the world. Processions with statues representing the Passion of Christ (Way of the Cross) were held all over Malta. [NEWSLINK MISSING]. In Mexico City 19 year old Osvaldo Gordon was starved, whipped, fainted, crucified with nails through hands, in 162nd such reenactment. (El Universal) (http://el-universal.com.mx/pls/impreso/noticia.html?id_nota=274305&tabla=notas) [ENGLISH LANGUAGE NEWSLINK MISSING]

March 24, 2005

• Paleontologists from North Carolina State University announce the discovery of structures resembling blood vessels and red blood cells inside the hindlimb fossil of a Tyrannosaurus rex. (Science Magazine) (http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/summary/307/5717/1852b) (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4379577.stm).
• The Washington Post claims to have obtained documents indicating that "ghosting", the use of Army prisons in Iraq by the CIA to hold unregistered inmates, is "systematic and known to three senior intelligence officials", contradicting earlier claims by the Army that such incidences were rare and ad hoc. (Washington Post) (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A61206-2005Mar23.html)
• In Kyrgyzstan, protesters and riot police clash in the capital, Bishkek. (RIA Novosti) (http://en.rian.ru/rian/index.cfm?prd_id=160&msg_id=5474204&startrow=1&date=2005-03-24&do_alert=0) (ReutersAlertNet) (http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/IRIN/bbc5564933da930d7edbbcbdd8b4e4bc.htm) (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4378029.stm) President Askar Akayev's presidential palace, the White House, is overrun and the opposition is planning for a new government. (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4379441.stm) Akayev flees Bishkek by helicopter. His immediate whereabouts are unclear. Some report him going to Russia, others to Kazakhstan. (Fox News) (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,151351,00.html) Akayev is reported to have resigned, but this is not confirmed. (ABC) (http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=609942) (Xinhua) (http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-03/25/content_2740426.htm)
• Bobby Fischer leaves Japan for Iceland via Copenhagen after 8 months in detention. (Mainichi Daily News) (http://mdn.mainichi.co.jp/news/20050324p2a00m0dm008000c.html) (Reuters) (http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=peopleNews&storyID=7991572) (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4374811.stm)
• The World Health Organization states that tuberculosis cases in some African countries have tripled since 1990. There are also resistant strains of tuberculosis in Russia. (Reuters) (http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=healthNews&storyID=7989846) (RIA Novosti) (http://en.rian.ru/rian/index.cfm?prd_id=160&msg_id=5474027&startrow=1&date=2005-03-24&do_alert=0) (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4375179.stm)
• France presents a draft resolution to vote at the United Nations. It would give war crime cases in Darfur region of Sudan to the International Criminal Court in the Hague. USA resists the idea. (EUObserver) (http://www.euobserver.com/?sid=9&aid=18739) (Reuters) (http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=worldNews&storyID=2005-03-24T085536Z_01_DEN432021_RTRUKOC_0_SUDAN-UN.xml) (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4377805.stm)
• World Expo 2005 opens in Nagoya, Japan. (Expo 2005) (http://www.expo2005.or.jp/) (Asahi Shinbun) (http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200503240131.html) (ITAR-TASS) (http://www.tass.ru/eng/level2.html?NewsID=1861559&PageNum=0) (SwissInfo) (http://www.swissinfo.org/sen/swissinfo.html?siteSect=106&sid=5618603)
• The US Supreme Court declines to hear the appeal filed by the parents of Terri Schiavo to have her feeding tube reinserted. Florida judge George Greer likewise declines to open Schiavo's records to the Florida Department of Children and Families (Reuters) (http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=7980989)

March 23, 2005

• An explosion occurs at a BP oil refinery in Texas City, Texas. Over 100 are injured, and at least 15 are dead. (Fox News) (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,151302,00.html) (Globe and Mail) (http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20050323.wbp0323/BNStory/International/) (BP) (http://www.bp.com/genericarticle.do?categoryId=2012968&contentId=7005000)
• Prince Rainier III of Monaco reportedly has gone into renal and heart failure and is on a respirator. (Yahoo! News) (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=514&e=7&u=/ap/20050323/ap_on_re_eu/monaco_prince_rainier)
• Conflict in Iraq: Iraqi Army officials claim that they along with backing from US troops have killed at least 80 insurgents in a raid on a camp near Tikrit. (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4374533.stm)
• Two people die following a bomb in a shopping centre in a Christian area of North Beirut, Lebanon. The two are believed to have been foreign workers. (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4374111.stm)
• In Lebanon, Michel Abu Arraj, a judge investigating the murder of Rafik Hariri, asks to step down from the case prior to public announcement of the results of the United Nations investigation. (Reuters Alertnet) (http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L23461150.htm) (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4375835.stm)
• Israel announces that it will ban Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza Strip from entering Israel during the upcoming Purim holiday. (People's Daily) (http://english.people.com.cn/200503/23/eng20050323_177869.html) (RTE) (http://www.rte.ie/news/2005/0323/mideast.html)
• In Brazil, the Brazilian Army receives permission to set up second emergency field hospital in the park of Rio De Janeiro to alleviate shortage of medical services. Mayor Cesar Maia opposes the move, blaming the situation on lack of government funding. (Reuters AlertNet) (http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N21546906.htm) (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4374207.stm)
• In Kyrgyzstan, riot police break up a protest in the capital Bishkek. (Reuters Alertnet) (http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/IRIN/9a5015d5df6a1ecfad6abe30f41cd396.htm) (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4375083.stm) President Askar Akayev sacks his interior minister and prosecutor general for "poor work" in dealing with the growing protests against his government. (Interfax) (http://www.interfax.ru/e/B/0/28.html?id_issue=11259088) (Reuters) (http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=7980800) (RIA Novosti) (http://en.rian.ru/rian/index.cfm?prd_id=160&msg_id=5472339&startrow=1&date=2005-03-23&do_alert=0) (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4374437.stm) USA and UN appeal for calm and negotiations. (Bloomberg) (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000080&sid=a_M04VAW10So&refer=asia) (Bloomberg) (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000080&sid=a7Foki3sQT54&refer=asia)
• The College of Bishops of the Episcopal Church of Scotland declares that being a practicing homosexual does not constitute "a bar to the exercise of an ordained ministry". (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/4374249.stm)
• In the Central African Republic, the spokesman of André Kolingba, former military ruler, says that yesterday's shootout outside his house was an assassination attempt. Kolingba has called for an annulment of the results of the presidential elections. (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4374737.stm)
• In Cambodia, 16 prisoners die during an jailbreak in the province of Kampong Cham; 30 others escape. (Reuters AlertNet) (http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/BKK156113.htm) (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4375587.stm)
• In Libya, Muammar Gaddafi states that he is not going to pardon five Bulgarian nurses that face a death penalty accused of injecting children with the HIV (Gulf Daily News) (http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/Story.asp?Article=107624&Sn=WORL&IssueID=28004) (Bulgarian News Network) (http://www.bgnewsnet.com/story.php?lang=en&sid=19808) (Reuters) (http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?storyID=7987481&type=worldNews) (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4376551.stm)
• In Russia, recent studies and statistics show that the name "Dmitry" is the most popular name in the Slavic regions of Eastern Europe. [1] (http://www.mosnews.com/images/p/rodina7359.shtml)

March 22, 2005

• The World Hockey Association announces that a six-team tournament, the "Bobby Hull Invitational", will take place in May 2005 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. (ESPN) (http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/columns/story?id=2018949)
• Israel hands over control of Tulkarm to the Palestinian Authority. (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4370813.stm)
• Prince Rainier III of Monaco, hospitalized for the past two weeks with a pulmonary infection, is moved to intensive care. (Yahoo! News) (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=514&e=6&u=/ap/20050322/ap_on_re_eu/monaco_prince_rainier)
• In Chile, Paul Schäfer, former leader of Colonia Dignidad, is charged with involvement in the 1976 disappearance of Juan Maino, activist and opponent of the regime of Augusto Pinochet. (Reuters AlertNet) (http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N21146619.htm) (Prensa Latina) (http://www.plenglish.com/article.asp?ID=%7BBE959FFE-B0E8-4A11-B6E0-C54BC95D2E80%7D&language=EN) (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4370607.stm)
• In Kyrgyzstan, President Askar Akayev's spokesman claims that the protests are a coup attempt planned by "drug mafia". (Pravda) (http://newsfromrussia.com/world/2005/03/22/58751.html) (CNN) (http://edition.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/asiapcf/03/22/kyrgyzstan.ap/)
• In the Democratic Republic of Congo, authorities say they have arrested many senior members of militia groups in Ituri, including Thomas Lubanga of the Union of Congolese Patriots. (Reuters AlertNet) (http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L2144427.htm) (ReliefWeb) (http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/RMOI-6AQ2TZ?OpenDocument) (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4370843.stm)
• United Nations declares World Water Day, starting a decade-long Water for Life campaign for clean water. (UN News Centre) (http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=13724&Cr=water&Cr1=) (ABC) (http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=602733) (Reuters AlertNet) (http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/fromthefield/219124/111142023935.htm) (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4370847.stm)
• Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo sacks education minister Fabian Osuji for corruption. (Vanguard, Nigeria) (http://www.vanguardngr.com/articles/2002/headline/f123032005.html) (AllAfrica) (http://allafrica.com/stories/200503210766.html) (Reuters SA) (http://www.reuters.co.za/locales/c_newsArticle.jsp;:423c1bf9:67cb6051ffa8377b?type=topNews&localeKey=en_ZA&storyID=7950277)
• German airline Lufthansa announces its takeover of Swiss Airlines. (Swissinfo)