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PolitInfo.com > Current Events > May 2004
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Articles: May 2004
May 31, 2004
- A bomb explodes at a Shi'a mosque in Pakistan during evening prayers. Around 15 people are
killed, dozens more are injured, the building is seriously damaged, and rioting Shi'ites take to the streets. (BBC)
(PolitInfo)
- The African Union sends a mission into the war-torn Darfur region of western
Sudan to oversee a cease-fire between the Sudanese government and warring rebels.
(PolitInfo)
- Singapore's governing party endorses Lee Hsien
Loong, current deputy prime minister and son of former prime minister Lee
Kuan Yew, as the next prime minister.
(BBC)
(PolitInfo)
- The trial in Turkey of 69 suspects charged with involvement in last
November's deadly suicide bomb attacks in Istanbul is postponed, after the court
ruled it did not have authority to deal with the case. (PolitInfo)
May 30, 2004
- Saudi commandos storm the Khobar housing compound where Islamic militants were
holding several dozen hostages, ending with 22 dead. (BBC)
(PolitInfo)
- Thousands of Pakistani Sunni Muslims riot in Karachi, ransacking property,
setting fire to four banks, and stoning vehicles after Mufti Nizamuddin Shamzai, an influential pro-Taliban cleric, is killed in a drive-by shooting. (NYT) (BBC)
(PolitInfo)
- The house critic for The New York Times says the newspaper engaged in "flawed
journalism" by giving too much hype and not enough review to its reports that
Iraq had weapons of mass destruction.
(PolitInfo)
- Israeli prime minister, Ariel Sharon, threatens to fire some of his cabinet
ministers in order to win a majority for his disengagement plan from Palestinian
areas.
(PolitInfo)
May 29, 2004
- Islamist militants attack two oil industry installations and a foreign workers'
housing complex in Khobar, Saudi
Arabia, killing at least 11 people and taking some 50 hostages. Saudi police attempt to storm the housing complex but
withdraw after taking casualties. A previously unknown militant group styling itself "The Jerusalem Squadron" claims
responsibility and says they are attacking "zionists and crusaders" who are there to "steal our oil and resources". (CNN) (BBC)
(PolitInfo)
- A published report says interrogators from the U.S.- run detention camp at
the Navy Base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba were sent to Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison late
last year to train American intelligence teams.
(PolitInfo)
- Leaders from Latin America, the Caribbean and Europe condemn the abuse of
Iraqi prisoners and called for a stronger United Nations role in resolving
international conflicts at a summit.
(PolitInfo)
- The World War II Memorial is
dedicated in Washington, DC, with around 200,000 people attending the
ceremony. (Reuters) (CNN)
May 28, 2004
- Top Polish officials deny news reports accusing Polish troops in Iraq of
involvement in the Iraqi prisoner abuse scandal.
(PolitInfo)
- The Iraqi Governing Council nominates one of its own members, Shi'ite Muslim
Iyad Allawi, as its candidate for prime minister of the caretaker government
that will take power in Iraq on June 30.
(PolitInfo)
- The United States signs a free trade agreement with five Central American
nations. It will eliminate almost all tariffs on U-S exports to the region over
the next decade.
(PolitInfo)
- The chief of the United Nations Children's Fund, UNICEF, says Uganda faces a
major humanitarian crisis, spawned by the long-running war with a northern rebel
group.
(PolitInfo)
- A court in Chile strips former dictator Augusto Pinochet of his immunity from
prosecution, paving the way for him be tried for human rights
abuses in the 1970s and 1980s. (BBC)
May 27, 2004
- The world hails the peace deal in Sudan between the government and a
southern rebel movement to end a war that has claimed two million lives. But
human rights watch dogs warn of ongoing atrocities and human rights violations
in the Darfur Region of Sudan.
(PolitInfo)
(PolitInfo)
- Iraq:
- The U.S.-led coalition in Iraq agrees to suspend offensive operations
against the militia of Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr in Najaf.
(PolitInfo)
- Britain's Defense Secretary announces in parliament that more British troops
will be heading to Iraq before the June 30 handover of sovereignty to an interim
Iraqi government.
(PolitInfo)
- Democratic Party presidential candidate John Kerry criticizes President
Bush's use of force in Iraq, which he says has undermined U.S. leadership.
(PolitInfo)
May 26, 2004
- In its annual assessment of human-rights violations on a global scale,
Amnesty International is blaming both armed groups and governments for
perpetuating what it calls the most sustained on attack on basic values and
international humanitarian law seen in 50 years. The report also says that the
U.S.-led war on terrorism and invasion of Iraq have sacrificed human rights
considerations in the name of security.
(PolitInfo)
(PolitInfo)
- A signed peace accord marks an end to the 21-year civil war in Sudan. The
Darfur conflict continues. (AP)
(PolitInfo)
- The United Nations Security Council expresses its grave concern over the
deteriorating situation in the Darfur region of the Sudan and underscored the
responsibility of the country's Government to neutralize the armed Janjaweed
militias operating in the region.
The United Nation's estimate of people in Darfur in desperate need of food and
other aid has been raised from 1.2 million to two million.
(PolitInfo)
(PolitInfo)
- FBI Director Robert Mueller and John
Ashcroft state that Al Qaeda may be planning a terrorist strike over the coming
months. Multiple FBI officials contend that there is no recent intelligence to suggest a significant change in the USA's security
situation, and critics question the validity and timing of the public warning.(NYT)
(PolitInfo)
- Journalist Peter Hounam, who had revealed Israel's secret nuclear
program, is arrested in Jerusalem and denied access to a lawyer. He is
released and expelled from the country the following day. (BBC)
May 25, 2004
- U.S. defense officials say the Pentagon will replace Army Lieutenant
General Ricardo Sanchez as the top U.S. commander in Iraq, but they
categorically reject suggestions it has any connection to the Iraqi
prisoner-abuse scandal.
(PolitInfo)
- The African Union formally launches its Peace and Security Council
intended to reduce armed conflict in the continent.
(PolitInfo)
May 24, 2004
- South Korean politics: South Korean Prime Minister Goh Kun resigns as announced last month. His successor has not yet been named by President Roh Moo-hyun. (Reuters)
- Philippine general election,
2004: Incumbent Philippine President
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo wins another term according
to a senior election official who leaks the narrow winning margin of about 3% or 900,000 votes. An independent watchdog group
confirms the figures. (Reuters)
- The United States and Britain introduce a Security Council resolution
outlining a full transfer of sovereignty to an interim Iraqi government on June
30.
(PolitInfo)
- Israeli troops withdraw from one key neighborhood of the Rafah refugee camp
in the southern Gaza Strip, lifting a six-day siege and allowing residents out
of their homes to again move about freely.
(PolitInfo)
- The Arab League concludes its yearly summit in Tunis with promises of
deep political, social, economic, and educational reforms, as well as greater
human rights.
(PolitInfo)
- Malawi's new president, Bingu wa Mutharika, is sworn in, despite a second
day of clashes between security forces and opposition supporters over his
disputed election victory.
(PolitInfo)
- Prime Minister of Canada Paul Martin asks Governor General Adrienne Clarkson to dissolve Parliament; an election will be held on June 28. (CBC)
- At least 28 people are killed in Indian-controlled Kashmir when a bus carrying Indian soldiers and family hit a landmine. Hizbul Mujahideen claim responsibility. (ABC AU)
(PolitInfo)
- Horst Köhler is elected as the President of Germany by a special federal assembly in the Reichstag. (Reuters)
- Iraq Occupation and resistance: Twenty insurgents loyal to Moqtada al-Sadr are killed by Coalition forces during a raid on the Selah mosque compound in Kufa, Iraq. Twelve insurgents are killed in other fighting in Kufa. (ABC AU)
- 2 Palestinians die and another suffers seriously injuries due to an explosion in Nablus on the West Bank. It is believed the explosion resulted from improper handling of explosives. (Reuters)
- Libyan leader Moammar Al Qadhafi walks out of the Arab League Summit in Tunis, Tunisia stating: "There is one agenda laid out by the Arab people and another by the Arab governments". (NYT)
(PolitInfo)
- The Commonwealth Secretariat announces it will re-admit Pakistan to the Commonwealth, five years after its suspension. Continuing concerns about democracy will be monitored. (BBC)
- Manmohan Singh is sworn in as Prime Minister of India. (BBC)
(PolitInfo)
- Russia agrees with the European Union on the terms of its entry into
the World Trade Organization. Moscow agrees in return to speed up ratification
of the Kyoto Protocol on reducing pollution.
(PolitInfo)
- The Washington Post releases more photographs of abused prisoners at
Baghdad's Abu Ghraib prison, as well as previously secret statements by
prisoners.
(PolitInfo)
-
Israeli troops begin a partial withdrawal from parts of the Rafah refugee camp
in the southern Gaza Strip, where their operations this week have left at
least 41 Palestinians dead, scores injured and hundreds more homeless.
(PolitInfo)
- The Supreme Court of Canada, in a 5-4 decision, has ruled in a case between U.S. biotechnology firm Monsanto and farmer Percy Schmeiser that Monsanto holds a patent on the Roundup Ready gene inserted in its canola seed, and it can control the use of the plant. The court previously decided that a higher lifeform, the Harvard mouse, could not be patented. (CBC)
- The U.N. Security Council adopts a resolution condemning the killing of
Palestinian civilians at the Rafah refugee camp. The United States -- which
has vetoed similar measures in the past -- abstains. The Arab-sponsored
measure is approved by a 14-to-0 margin.
(PolitInfo)
- Chen Shui-bian is sworn in to his second term as the 11th President of the Republic of China in Taipei while the High Court has yet to rule on a recount of the presidential election that concluded two days before. (BBC)
(PolitInfo)
- United States forces and Iraqi police raid the home of controversial Iraqi Governing Council member Ahmed Chalabi, arresting several members of the Iraqi National Congress and seizing documents. The US severs its financial ties with the group, and accuses it of illegal profits from currency exchange, theft, and obstructing the Oil for food investigation. (MSNBC)
(PolitInfo)
- The United States pushes for the UN Security Council to renew Resolution 1487 that would exempt U.S. troops and officials from prosecution by the International Criminal Court. (Reuters) (OneWorld.net)
(PolitInfo)
- US Army says it killed around 40 in Iraq attack near Syria. Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt, deputy director of operations for the US military in Iraq, tells Reuters
the attack was within the military's rules of engagement, denying reports that
the victims were members of a wedding party. (Reuters)
(PolitInfo)
- Eight people were killed and scores wounded in a large crowd of Palestinian marchers in Rafah, Gaza Strip. (BBC) (CNN) (Jerusalem Post)
(PolitInfo)
- Iraqi abuse scandal at Abu Ghraib prison: First U.S. soldier is sentenced after pleading guilty; Spc. Jeremy Sivits receives 1 year in prison, demotion and dishonorable discharge. (CNN)
(PolitInfo)
- The British House of Commons is temporarily suspended after purple flour thrown by a Fathers 4 Justice protestor hits Tony Blair during Prime Minister's Questions. (BBC)
- The Nationalist Party of China (KMT) and the People First Party announce plans to merge after a unanimous vote by the KMT Central Standing Committee. (BBC)
(PolitInfo)
- Manmohan Singh is asked by India's Congress party to become Prime Minister and form new government.
(Reuters)
(PolitInfo)
- Sonia Gandhi declines the post of Prime Minister of India. (BBC)
(PolitInfo)
- In Burma, delegates to the military government's constitutional
convention begin work, but with most of the main opposition parties boycotting
the process.
(PolitInfo)
- According to the U.S. Army's investigation outlining abuse of the
detainees at Baghdad's Abu Ghraib prison, some soldiers working at the jail
say civilian contract interrogators and translators encouraged the abuse of
prisoners.
(PolitInfo)
-
Israeli-Palestinian conflict:
Israel launches a large offensive against the city of
Rafah dubbed
Operation Rainbow, cutting it off from the rest of
Gaza.
Amnesty International has called on Israel to stop and accused it of
committing
war crimes by its destruction of more than 3,000
Palestinian homes in Israel and the
occupied territories since the
intifada began three and a half years ago.
(Independent)
(Democracy Now!)
(AFP)
(PolitInfo)
- Ceremonies in Topeka, Kansas commemorate the 50th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education. Both President George W. Bush and presidential candidate John Kerry attend seperate ceremonies. (AP)
(PolitInfo)
-
Massachusetts issues the first fully legal same-sex marriage licences in the
United States. This follows a November 18, 2003 ruling of the Massachusetts
Supreme Court requiring the state to issue same-sex marriage licences. The
first licence is issued at Cambridge to Marcia Hams and Susan Shepherd at the
stroke of midnight.
(PolitInfo)
- Ezzedine Salim, head of the Iraqi Governing Council, is killed by a car bomb in Baghdad. (BBC)
(PolitInfo)
- A published report by The New Yorker about conditions in Iraq's
U.S.-run prisons contends that U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld himself
authorized harsh interrogations of detainees in Iraq.
(PolitInfo)
- Voters in the Dominican Republic go to the polls to elect a new president; election violence claims three lives. (BBC)
- The Israeli army announces its intention to demolish hundreds of additional houses in the Rafah refugee camp in the Gaza Strip along the border with Egypt
after the Supreme Court rejects a petition against the demolitions. (BBC) (Haaretz) (Maariv)
(PolitInfo)
- The regional group of Sahel and Saharan States known as CENSAD
welcomed four new West African member states at the close of the group's
summit in Mali.
(PolitInfo)
- U.S. military forces in Afghanistan say they are investigating a new
allegation of prisoner abuse by their troops.
(PolitInfo)
- Cuban President Fidel Castro leeds a massive, six-hour protest in Havana
against a U.S. plan to tighten economic sanctions against Cuba.
(PolitInfo)
- Roh Moo-hyun is reinstated as President of South Korea after that country's Constitutional Court overturns the National Assembly's March 12 impeachment vote against him. (KBS News)
(PolitInfo)
- Polish Prime Minister Marek Belka looses a parliamentary vote of
confidence, less than two weeks after he was appointed to the post.
(PolitInfo)
- The British tabloid newspaper The Daily Mirror, which published photos allegedly depicting British Army soldiers abusing Iraqi prisoners, concedes that it was hoaxed, apologises, and sacks its editor Piers Morgan. (BBC) (Al Bawaba) (Reuters)
- Indian general elections: Sonia Gandhi's opposition Congress Party
scores an upset victory as the vote is tallied for the formation of the 14th
Lok Sabha. The ruling BJP-led coalition concedes defeat, and Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee resigns. (Indian Express) (CNN)
(PolitInfo)
(PolitInfo)
- Abu Ghraib scandal: Some members of the British government begin to distance themselves from the Bush administration and Prime Minister Tony Blair. Peter Hain, Leader of the House of Commons, tells Parliament that the pictures are "appalling and possibly in breach of the Geneva Convention". (The Independent) (Guardian)
- Iraq Occupation and resistance:
- A poll commissioned by the US-led Coalition Provisional Authority has found that 80% of Iraqis distrust the occupying government and 82% want the U.S. and its allies to leave Iraq. (Seattle Times)
- Yang Jianli, a Chinese dissident with U.S. residency, is sentenced to five years in prison by the People's Republic of China for illegally entering the country and "spying for Taiwan". (BBC)
(PolitInfo)
- Syrian officials dismiss new U.S. sanctions imposed on
Damascus for allegedly supporting terrorism, and accuse Washington of
poisoning relations with the Arab world.
(PolitInfo)
- One Filipino worker is killed and four others wounded during a mortar
attack on a U.S. army base in northern Iraq.
(PolitInfo)
- U.S. forces in Afghanistan say they are starting an investigation into new
allegations of abuse of detainees at their main prison facility.
(PolitInfo)
- The human rights group Amnesty International says British troops have
shot and killed dozens of civilians in Iraq who posed no apparent threat.
(PolitInfo)
-
U. S.
President Bush imposes economic sanctions on Syria. They include an export
ban and flight restrictions.
(PolitInfo)
- Israeli-Palestinian conflict : Six Israeli soldiers are killed in the Gaza Strip during an incursion when their armored personnel carrier triggered an explosive device. Hamas and Islamic Jihad
claim to hold a portion of the remains of the soldiers: (HaAretz)
(PolitInfo)
- Iraq Occupation and Insurgency : Video is released of the decapitation of Nick Berg, a U.S. civilian, murdered by an Islamist group allegedly in retaliation for the abuse of prisoners at Abu Ghraib Prison. (Reuters) (Arabnews) (NYPost) (Radio Free Europe)
- A judicial recount of the 2004 Taiwanese presidential election begins. (CNA)
(PolitInfo)
- The Arab League agrees to hold a summit in Tunis. The summit originally scheduled for March of this year was scrapped over differences between the participants. (NYT)
(PolitInfo)
- 2004 Philippine elections: About 40 million Filipinos go to the polls today to elect candidates to national and local positions from the President down to municipal councilors. (BBC)
(PolitInfo)
- The marathon elections in India end. The four phases of elections were held in three weeks with opinion polls indicating a hung parliament. (IHT)
(PolitInfo)
- Pro-Moscow Chechen president Akhmad Kadyrov is killed in a landmine bomb blast under a VIP stage during a World War II memorial victory parade in Grozny, Chechnya. (Reuters) (AP) (BBC)
(PolitInfo)
- The scandal about U.S. torture in Iraq widens as The New Yorker reports about guards setting dogs against naked prisoners. (New Yorker)
(PolitInfo)
- Thousands of people march in Washington against gun violence at the 'Million Mom March'.
(PolitInfo)
- British newspapers report fresh allegations of abuse of Iraqi prisoners by
coalition soldiers.
(PolitInfo)
- Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan wraps up a landmark visit to Greece. Both sides pledge cooperation—Erdoğan visits the Turkish minority in Thrace and urges reconciliation, and his Greek counterpart Costas Karamanlis says Greece will support Turkey's EU bid, marking a high point in Greco-Turkish relations. (BBC) (BBC)
(PolitInfo)
- Militiamen in Iraq loyal to radical Shi'ite Muslim cleric Moqtada al-Sadr
launch a series of attacks on British forces in the southern city of Basra.
(PolitInfo)
- A report from the UN's High Commissioner for Human Rights describes a "reign of terror" imposed by government-backed militias in Sudan's western province of Darfur. (UN)
(PolitInfo)
(PolitInfo)
- Iraq Occupation and Insurgency:
- U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld testifies before the U.S. Congress, taking "full responsibility" and apologizing for the abuse of Iraqi detainees at the Abu Ghraib Prison. The hearing highlights a split between how the abuses are perceived either as "isolated incidents" or as part of the "chain of command". (BBC)
(PolitInfo)
- The International Committee of the Red Cross states that on some of its inspection visits to Coalition detention centres in Iraq, it observed "incidents tantamount to torture". (Reuters)
- United States Armed Forces encounter heavy fighting in Karbala, Iraq where at least 24 gunmen of Moqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army are killed and in Najaf where another 12 gunmen are killed. (NYT)
(PolitInfo)
- Two Polish journalists are killed and a third wounded by Iraqi gunmen on the road between Baghdad and Karbala. (BBC)
(PolitInfo)
- Japan's longest-serving chief cabinet secretary, Yasuo Fukuda, resigns to take responsibility for not making pension payments. (VOA)
(PolitInfo)
- A bomb blast during Friday prayers at a Shia mosque in Karachi, Pakistan kills 14 people and injures 100. A suicide bombing is suspected. The head cleric of the mosque is among the dead. (NYT) (National Post)
(PolitInfo)
- Vladimir Putin is sworn in for his second (and final) four-year term as Russian president. (BBC)
(PolitInfo)
- U.S. attorney Brandon Mayfield is detained in the investigation of the 11 March Madrid attacks. (CNN) (BBC)
(PolitInfo)
- The Prime Minister of Nepal Surya Bahadur Thapa resigns amid protests by oppostion parties. Prime Minister Thapa was appointed by King Gyanendra eleven months ago. The opposing parties are demanding formation of an all party government with a Prime Minister of their choice. (BBC)
(PolitInfo)
- Iraqi abuse scandal at Abu Ghraib prison
- The International Committee of the Red Cross states that, over a period of some months, it has repeatedly requested that the United States take action on alleged prisoner abuse at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison. (NYT)
(PolitInfo)
- U.S. Democratic Senator Tom Harkin calls on Donald Rumsfeld to resign from office to protect the image of America around the world in light of the abuse. (AP)
(PolitInfo)
- Iraq Occupation and Insurgency:
- The United States Senate votes (95-3) to approve John Negroponte as the head of the new U.S. embassy in Iraq despite concerns over his role in allegedly supporting widespread campaigns of terror and human rights abuses as ambassador of Honduras in the 1980s. (Los Angeles Times) (IPS) (Democracy Now!)
- In Baghdad, a suicide bomber using a car packed with explosives and artillery shells kills 5 Iraqis and one American soldier and injures 25 people, including two American soldiers. (NYT)
(PolitInfo)
- Israeli-Palestinian conflict:
- Over U.S. and Israeli objections, the UN General Assembly votes 140-6, with 11 abstentions, to adopt a resolution that affirms the Palestinians' right of sovereignty over the territories seized by Israel during the 1967 Six-Day War. (Reuters) (AP)
- An Israeli government report finds that Israel's Housing Ministry secretly gave about $6.5 million to help expand illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank territory between 2000 and 2003. (Philadelphia Inquirer) (Haaretz)
- During a raid in Gaza Israeli troops kill a police captain and wound 15 people, in an area that is used to fire Qassam rockets into Israeli towns. (Reuters)
- Three bombs explode in Athens outside a single police station, 100 days before the start of the Olympic Games. One policeman was injured. (BBC) (Boston Herald)
(PolitInfo)
- George W. Bush speaks on the Al Arabiya and Alhurra Arabic-language television networks, stating he was 'appalled' at the conduct of U.S. soldiers in Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. (Toronto Star)
(PolitInfo)
- President of the breakaway Georgian republic of Ajaria, Aslan Abashidze is forced to resign by Georgian president Mikhail Saakashvili. (BBC) (Independent) (Guardian) (Washington Post)
(PolitInfo)
-
In Indonesia, the General Election Commission announces the final results of
last month's parliamentary vote. Indonesia's once long-ruling Golkar Party
captures the most votes in the April election with 22 percent. President
Megawati Sukarnoputri's Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle comes in a
second with just fewer than 19 percent, nearly half of what it won in 1999.
(PolitInfo)
- Leaders in Congress condemn the alleged mistreatment of Iraqi detainees
in the strongest terms and call for a congressional investigation.
(PolitInfo)
- The United Nations Commission on Human Rights elects thirteen countries to serve on it for 3-year terms. Sudan is elected unopposed to represent the African bloc, prompting a walk-out by the U.S. delegation. (NYT) (CNN)
(PolitInfo)
- One million black farmers are ethnically cleansed by Arab jingaweit nomads from the Darfur region in western Sudan. (NYT) (CNN)
- Democrats in Congress unveil legislation to overhaul
America's immigration system by providing a means for undocumented workers to
become legal U.S. residents.
(PolitInfo)
- Hundreds of Muslims are killed by Christian militia in central Nigerian town of Yelwa. (Reuters)
- In an open letter to George W. Bush more than fifty former high-ranking United States diplomats (including former ambassadors to Saudi Arabia and Qatar) complain about the Bush administration's policy towards the Middle East claiming that the President's approach, and specifically his endorsement of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's disengagement plan, is losing the U.S. "credibility, prestige and friends". The letter follows a similar one written by fifty-two former British diplomats sent to Tony Blair a few days ago. (BBC)
(PolitInfo)
-
Press Freedom Day: The Paris-based group Reporters Without Borders marks the
occasion with a report that calls 2003 a "black year" for press freedom. In
its annual report, Reporters without Borders calls Asia "the world's biggest
prison for the press."
(PolitInfo)
- Mexico and Peru recall their ambassadors from Cuba, citing recent "offensive" comments by Cuban head of state Fidel Castro. The Cuban ambassador to Mexico is also expelled, for "activities incompatible with his diplomatic status". (VOA) (BBC)
(PolitInfo)
- Polish Prime Minister Leszek Miller resigns one day after Poland becomes a member of the European Union. His government was the most unpopular of the nine that have ruled Poland since the fall of the communist regime in 1989. President Aleksander Kwaśniewski announces he will designate Marek Belka, a liberal economist, as new prime minister. (Reuters)
(PolitInfo)
- Israeli-Palestinian conflict:
- Israel's Likud Party votes in a referendum not to pull out of the Gaza Strip unilaterally. The referendum's defeat is seen as a major blow to the Sharon government. Sharon subsequently says that he will not resign and may modify the plan. (BBC)
(PolitInfo)
- A pregnant Israeli and four of her children (aged 2 to 11) are killed by terrorists at Kissufim in the Gaza Strip. The attack may have influenced the votes of Likud members in the referendum taking place the same day. (BBC) (INN) (INN)
- Martín Torrijos wins Panama's presidential election. (BBC)
- U.S. civilian contractor Thomas Hamill, who was taken hostage by Iraqi terrorists on April 9, is found by U.S. forces south of Tikrit after escaping his captors in a daring escape. (MSNBC)
- EU enlargement: Ten new member states join the European Union, increasing the EU's population by 75 million people to a total of roughly 455 million. (BBC) (Guardian)
(PolitInfo)
- In Yanbu, Saudi Arabia, gunmen kill five Westerners and a Saudi security guard in a shooting spree and car chase. (BBC)
(PolitInfo)
-
Britain is investigating allegations that its soldiers abused an Iraqi
prisoner whose fate is now uncertain. The allegations have surfaced after
similar reports of prisoner abuse by U.S. soldiers in Iraq.
(PolitInfo)
January 2004 - February 2004 - March 2004 - April 2004
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