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 PolitInfo.com > Current Events > November 2004

January 2004 - February 2004 - March 2004 - April 2004 - May 2004 - June 2004 - July 2004 - August 2004 - September 2004 - October 2004 - December 2004

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Articles: November 2004

November 30, 2004

• A report from the International Committee of the Red Cross, recently leaked to the New York Times, describes the treatment of prisoners at the U.S. base in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba as being "tantamount to torture". The U.S. military disputes this. (New York Times) (PolitInfo)
• A report commissioned by U.N. Secretary General calls for radical reform of the United Nations, including expansion of the U.N. Security Council. (AP) (PolitInfo)
• The United Nations is appealing for 1.5 billion dollars for humanitarian assistance next year in conflict-ravaged Sudan. Almost half the money will go towards life-saving programs in Darfur, where more than one and one half million people have been displaced from their homes. (PolitInfo)
• A group of American civil rights lawyers of The Center for Constitutional Rights and four Iraqi citizens file a criminal complaint in Germany calling for an investigation into top U.S. officials over the Iraqi prisoner abuse scandal. (PolitInfo)
• Traian Băsescu, the leader of the Romanian opposition alliance Justice and Truth, demands a re-run of the 2004 legislative elections, claiming that 160,000 void ballots were awarded to Adrian Năstase and his Social Democratic Party. But the Central Electoral Bureau turns down the demand that Sunday's first round of presidential and parliamentary elections be annulled because of alleged fraud. (BBC) (Guardian) (PolitInfo)
• In Ottawa, Canada, sporadic violence occurs in protests against U.S. President George W. Bush's first official visit to Canada. (CBC)  (Globe and Mail) (PolitInfo)
• U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge resigns. This is the latest in a string of resignations after the 2004 presidential election. (CNN)  (Yahoo) (PolitInfo)
• Portuguese President Jorge Sampaio dissolves the parliament after Prime minister Pedro Santana Lopes fails to present a plan to solve cabinet instability. The elections are expected to be scheduled to February 2005. (CNN) (BBC)

November 29, 2004

• 2004 Ukrainian presidential election: The Supreme Court of Ukraine continues its public hearings of electoral fraud. Outgoing President Leonid Kuchma asks for a new election "to preserve peace and consensus and build this just democratic society". (Reuters) (BBC) (PolitInfo)
• The International Atomic Energy Board of Governors adopts a resolution urging Iran to fully co-operate with the agency in monitoring a suspension of Iran's nuclear program. The resolution acknowledges that states have the right to develop atomic energy for peaceful purposes, and notes that Iran's suspension of its programs is voluntary and not legally binding. (PolitInfo)
• An international summit to assess how countries are complying with a convention banning land-mine use, production, stockpiling, and transfer is underway in Nairobi. Several countries have not yet signed the treaty, including the United States, China and Russia. (PolitInfo)
• A senior leader of the Islamic militant group Hamas says his organization will not stand in the way of an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement if it is fair for the Palestinians. (PolitInfo)
• The Arabic television station al-Jazeera has broadcast a videotape of al-Qaida's second in command, Ayman al-Zawahri, who vowed to keep fighting the United States unless Washington changes its policies towards the Muslim world (PolitInfo)
• President of Chile Ricardo Lagos proposes special lifetime pensions (approx. €150 a month) for 28,000 survivors of the Pinochet regime's torture camps. (SwissInfo)  (Reuters Alertnet) (Washington Post) (PolitInfo)
• The U.S. Supreme Court hears a landmark case to decide the rights of states to overrule federal restrictions on medical marijuana use. This case has important consequences for redefining the separation and limitation of powers between states and the federal government. (CSM)  (PolitInfo)

November 28, 2004

• In Romania, voters are deciding who will lead the impoverished former Communist nation toward membership in the European Union. The elections for a new president and parliament have been overshadowed by public anger over poverty and corruption. (PolitInfo)
• Western diplomats say Iran has withdrawn its demand to continue research and development of uranium enrichment technology, seen by critics as a potential cover for developing nuclear weapons. (PolitInfo)
• In separate interviews with Newsweek Magazine, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian presidential candidate Mahmoud Abbas say they are willing to meet. (PolitInfo)

November 27, 2004

• Ukraine presidential election, 2004: Ukraine's parliament votes for the annulment of the election results and asks President Leonid Kuchma to dissolve the country's Central Election Committee. This is a non-binding request as the parliament cannot annul the results itself. (CNN) (PolitInfo)
• Leaders at a summit in Burkina Faso of mostly French-speaking nations condem authorities in divided Ivory Coast for resuming hostilities in the rebel-held north earlier this month.  (PolitInfo)
• Rwanda's President Paul Kagame says he retains the right to strike neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo if no progress is made to disarm Rwandan Hutu rebels based in eastern Congo. (PolitInfo)

November 26, 2004

• Ukraine presidential election, 2004: Ukraine's outgoing president, Leonid Kuchma, says a working group has been formed, effective immediately, to find a peaceful way out of the political deadlock now gripping Ukraine.  The word comes after talks including international mediators from Europe (European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana, OSCE Secretary-General Jan Kubash, Polish President Alexander Kwasniewski, Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus, and Russian parliamentary speaker Boris Gryzlof.) President Kuchma and the opposing presidential candidates.  (PolitInfo)
• Several political groups in Iraq are calling for the postponement of national elections, scheduled for January 30th. The parties, mostly Sunni Muslim, Kurdish and secular groups, cite security concerns as their reason for calling for the delay. (PolitInfo)
• A new study by the United Nations and the U.S.-based Brookings Institution finds that the world's 25 million internally-displaced persons need better international protection. The study is calling on the United Nations to more forcefully persuade governments that they must protect citizens who have been displaced by conflict within their own nations boundaries. (PolitInfo)
• The International Atomic Energy Agency criticizes South Korea for past secret plutonium and uranium experiments, but is not referring the matter to the United Nations Security Council. (PolitInfo)
• Anti-landmine activists are urging governments to commit more money and political will towards eradicating the threat of landmines.The call comes as Kenya prepares to host a major international conference on the issue next week. (PolitInfo)
• The President of Indonesia, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, visits the province of Aceh for the first time, the scene of one of Asia's longest-running separatist rebellions. (BBC) (PolitInfo)

November 25, 2004

• The Ukranian Supreme Court bars publication of the presidential election results, delaying inauguration, and decides to examine a complaint alleging fraud on November 28th. (Reuters) (PolitInfo)
• DR Congo Crisis::
  • The presidents of Congo and Rwanda could meet soon to calm renewed tensions between the neighboring countries, according to presidential aides. (PolitInfo)
  • A U.N. spokesman says he is shocked that Rwanda is threatening to attack Rwandan rebel bases in the Democratic Republic of Congo one week after a summit in which regional leaders agreed to work together for peace.  (PolitInfo)
• Darfur Crisis:
  • Renewed clashes between government troops and rebel fighters in the western Sudan state of North Darfur has forced the UN World Food Programme (WFP) to temporarily suspend its operations, except in the state capital El-Fasher. (PolitInfo)
  • A rebel group in Sudan's western Darfur region says the government is responsible for an upsurge in fighting there in violation of a ceasefire. But U.S. and U.N. officials say the rebels started the latest violence with an attack that killed more than 20 policemen. A spokesman for the Sudan Liberation Movement says his group remains committed to a peaceful settlement of the Darfur conflict, despite the breakdown of the cease-fire. (PolitInfo)
• After more than a year, the Ethiopian government indicates it would accept "in principle" a ruling by an independent Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission on the exact location of the countries' shared border. (PolitInfo)
• India proposes to Pakistan that India will grant Kashmir a large amount of autonomy, in order to end the state of war between the two countries, but that current border can not be modified. Pakistan recently proposed that Kashmir be demilitarized, split along ethnic/religious lines and granted independence or transferred to United Nations control. (Reuters) (PolitInfo)
• Iran's nuclear program: Just three days after an agreement with the European Union took effect, Iran prevents the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) from sealing centrifuges at the Natanz enrichment facility. The IAEA begins its meeting to decide whether or not to refer the matter to the United Nations Security Council. (Reuters) (PolitInfo)
• A previously-scheduled EU-Russia summit in The Hague is overshadowed by the Ukraine presidential election crisis. (official EU)  (BBC) (PolitInfo)

November 24, 2004

• 2004 Ukrainian presidential election: Ukraine's Central Election Commission declares Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych the winner of Sunday's disputed presidential election. (PolitInfo)
• Iran's nuclear program: The European Union rejects a request by Iran to be allowed to continue using uranium enrichment centrifuges. (Reuters) (PolitInfo)
• The UN says Rwanda is threatening to attack Hutu rebels based in the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo. Meanwhile, Kigali says the rebels are advancing toward Rwanda's border. (PolitInfo)
• U.N. General Assembly President Jean Ping says North Korea has given him a very positive message on resuming six-party talks on its nuclear ambitions. (PolitInfo)
• A leading media advocacy group says more than 100 journalists are being held in prisons worldwide, simply for doing their jobs. The group Reporters Without Borders set aside November 24 as Jailed Journalists' Support Day, to call attention to the issue. (PolitInfo)
• Indonesian police officials announce the arrest of four suspects wanted concerning the September 9 suicide bombing outside the Australian Embassy in Jakarta. (BBC) (CNN) (PolitInfo)

November 23, 2004

• 2004 Ukrainian presidential election: Opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko declares himself winner and takes a symbolic oath of office at a parliament special session, boycotted by pro-government MPs. Crowds of around 200,000 Yushchenko supporters rally outside the parliament building in Kiev. .(PolitInfo) (BBC)  (Reuters)
• A new United Nations report says women living with HIV and AIDS have increased in each region of the world over the past two years. The report warns that many countries must act now to prevent disaster. The report says women living with HIV have increased globally with the sharpest rise in East Asia, followed by Eastern Europe and Central Asia. (PolitInfo)
• Interim Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas is  formally nominated as Fatah's candidate in the January 9th elections. to succeed Yasser Arafat.  (PolitInfo)
• Three foreign election workers kidnapped last month in Afghanistan are now free and reported to be in good health. The three United Nations workers were found in the capital Kabul. (PolitInfo)
• While on a tour of Africa's Great Lakes region, ambassadors from the UN Security Council call on the Congolese authorities, as well as the international community, to work harder to ensure next year's elections are held on time. (PolitInfo)
• Conflict in Iraq:  Officials from the Arab League, Organization of the Islamic Conference, G8 nations, People's Republic of China and UN Secretary General Kofi Annan convene at Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt to discuss and issue declarations on Iraq. (BBC) (Reuters) (PolitInfo)
   

November 22, 2004

• 2004 Ukrainian presidential election: The head of European observer missions in Ukraine says Sunday's second-round presidential ballot fell far short of international standards. The assessment comes as opposition street protests intensify, following an announcement by Ukraine's Central Election Commission that official returns give Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich the lead. (Reuters) (BBC) (PolitInfo)
• Israel says it will do everything it can to enable Palestinians to hold elections for a successor to Yasser Arafat. Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom promised help to facilitate the Palestinian elections January 9th, as long as it does not jeopardize Israeli security. (PolitInfo)
• Iran's nuclear program: Iran declares that it will suspend its uranium enrichment programme to comply with a European Union-brokered deadline. Iran will review its decision in three months. The EU seeks to have the suspension made permanent and is willing to provide economic and political incentives. (Reuters) (BBC) (PolitInfo)
• European Parliament lawmakers urge European Commission president José Durão Barroso to suspend Transport Commissioner Jacques Barrot, after it was revealed that Barrot was involved in a party funding scandal in 2000. (CNN) (PolitInfo)

November 21, 2004

• Ukraine holds the second vote in a run-off presidential election. Voters will decide between Moscow-oriented Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych and western-leaning reformer Viktor Yushchenko. Observers have expressed concern over possible Russian interference, election abuses, and bias in reporting by the state media.  Various exit polls  indicate that Yushchenko enjoys a substantial lead. (BBC) (PolitInfo)
• The Electoral Commission of the Iraq interim government schedules parliamentary elections for January 30, 2005. (Reuters) (PolitInfo)
• Hifikepunye Pohamba, the candidate of the ruling South-West Africa People's Organisation party, is declared the winner of the Namibian presidential election with 76% of the vote. He succeeds Sam Nujoma, who is retiring after serving as president for 15 years. (BBC) (PolitInfo)
• Israeli-Palestinian conflict: US Secretary of State, Colin Powell, arrives in Israel for talks with Leaders of both sides of the conflict with an aim to restarting the stalled peace Process. (BBC) (PolitInfo)
• The summit of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum comes to a close in Santiago, Chile, with an agreement to continue working towards a free-trade area of the Pacific rim. The final declaration from the Santiago APEC summit includes initiatives to promote more free trade within the framework established by the group, to increase security and anti-terrorism efforts, and to enhance cooperation generally in the Asia-Pacific region. (PolitInfo)
• The Paris Club of international creditors agrees to cancel 80 percent of the debt Iraq owes member countries. (PolitInfo)
   

November 20, 2004

• A group of 15 African leaders signs an agreement pledging to promote peace and security in Africa's Great Lakes region.
  The leaders gathered in the Tanzanian capital, Dar Es Salaam Saturday to sign the framework agreement, as part of a two-day summit organized by the United Nations and the African Union. (PolitInfo)
• Conflict in Iraq: Insurgents in Baghdad step up their attacks killing Iraqi and American soldiers as well as civilians.  Iraq's minister of electricity says insurgents are reducing Iraq's ability to provide electricity. (PolitInfo)

November 19, 2004

• Sudanese Civil War: At a special session of the United Nations Security Council in Nairobi, Kenya, the government of Sudan and southern rebels sign an agreement which states that both sides will commit themselves to ending the 21 year conflict by December 31. The Council then unanimously passes a resolution which promises substantial aid to the country after the wars in the south and in the region of Darfur come to an end. (Reuters) (PolitInfo)
• Somalia's newly elected president, Abdulahi Yusuf Ahmed, addresses the special U.N. Security Council meeting in Nairobi, asking the members to provide peacekeeping troops to enable him establish a government in his war torn country. (PolitInfo)
• The United Nations has put off for this year the question of whether to draft a treaty that would ban all human cloning. Diplomats instead settle on a compromise political declaration.  (CNN) (PolitInfo)
• Burma's military junta frees well-known journalist and key opposition figure U Win Tin and other prominent political figures in a mass release of prisoners. The junta announced Thursday evening that it would release 3,937 people who may have been wrongfully jailed by the recently disbanded National Intelligence Bureau. (PolitInfo)
• U.S. President George W. Bush arrives at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Santiago de Chile for talks with China and other member nations.  About 40,000 people protest against the summit, Bush, the war in Iraq, and globalization; they are blocked by Chilean police with tear gas and water cannon. (MSNBC)  (CBC) (PolitInfo)
• Israeli-Palestinian conflict: The commander of the Israeli Defense Force, Moshe Yaalon, orders an investigation "to reach the truth" of claims by the Yediot Ahronot newspaper that IDF troops abused Palestinian corpses. (BBC) (PolitInfo)
• Conflict in Iraq:
  • World Vision, one of the last aid agencies left in Iraq, announces it will pull its staff out of the country following the murder of its senior manager. (BBC)
  • In Baghdad, two people are killed when clashes break out as Iraqi forces backed by U.S. troops enter a popular Sunni mosque to arrest dozens of members reportedly including the imam. (BBC) (PolitInfo)

November 18, 2004

• The European Parliament approves the new European Commission, the European Union's executive body, after an unprecedented dispute during which the assembly managed to increase its institutional clout. The new commission will take office on Monday, three weeks later than scheduled.  (Xinhua) (Bloomberg)  (PolitInfo)
• Russia formally joins the Kyoto Protocol on global warming, after President Vladimir Putin signed Russian ratification into law earlier this month. This means the agreement will become legally binding on its signatories in 90 days, on February 16, 2005. (PolitInfo)
• The International Campaign to Ban Land Mines releases its Landmine Monitor Report 2004. Land mines have killed or maimed at least eight thousand people worldwide this year. But activists say that is lower than before an international treaty banning the weapons went into effect five years ago. (PolitInfo)
• In North Korea, portraits of Kim Jong Il vanish and the official media stops referring to him as the "Dear Leader" leading to speculation his cult of personality is undergoing revision or weakening.  (Asia Times) (PolitInfo)
• Three Egyptian paramilitary security officers stationed at the Sinai-Gaza border are killed by Israeli tank fire, after IDF troops allegedly mistook them for Palestinian terrorists or militants . The Egyptian government accepts an apology from Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and demands an investigation on the incident. (Haaretz) (Reuters) (BBC) (PolitInfo)

November 17, 2004

• Governments are undermining progress in ending the use of children as soldiers, says a coalition of the world’s leading human rights and humanitarian organizations in a newly published report. The Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers releases the most comprehensive global survey of child soldiers to date. It says that children are fighting in almost every major conflict, in both government and opposition forces. (PolitInfo)
• India's prime minister Manmohan Singh says he is prepared to hold unconditional talks with anyone working for peace in the disputed region of Kashmir.  He made his comment as India began a reduction of troops in the region, part of new round of peace initiatives between India and Pakistan. (PolitInfo)
• The World's largest conservation group opens a weeklong meeting in Bangkok, warning nearly 16,000 species face extinction. The World Conservation Union is holding its third international meeting and kicked off its congress by releasing its so-called Red List of Endangered Species. (PolitInfo)

November 16, 2004

• Conflict in Iraq:
  • A possible war crime by a U.S. Marine in Fallujah, Iraq, is caught on film by an NBC camera crew. The marine shot and killed an apparently unarmed Iraqi while in a mosque. (NYT) (ABC US) (The Independent) (PolitInfo)
  • Margaret Hassan, the Irish-born aid worker kidnapped in Iraq, is believed to have been killed. A tape apparently showing her being shot has surfaced. (BBC) (PolitInfo)
  • US troops have launched a major assault of the northern Iraqi city of Mosul following insurgents gaining control of key sites. (BBC) (PolitInfo)
• White House officials announce that Condoleezza Rice will be nominated to succeed Colin Powell as Secretary of State. (BBC) (PolitInfo)
• The human rights group Amnesty International is calling on the U.N. Security Council to forbid arms sales to Sudan, saying foreign weapons are fueling massive human rights violations in the Darfur region. (PolitInfo)
• Japan says the People's Republic of China has apologized for one of its submarines sailing into Japanese waters last week. The PRC has refused to confirm the apology, saying only that a "diplomatic" resolution has been reached.  (PolitInfo)

November 15, 2004

• U.S. President George W. Bush accepts the resignation of Secretary of State Colin Powell. He is the sixth Cabinet member to resign since the re-election of President Bush. (CNN)  (BBC) Other resignations today include Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman, Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham,  and Education Secretary Rod Paige. (PolitInfo)
• Conflict in the Ivory Coast:
  • The U.N. Security Council imposes an immediate arms embargo on Ivory Coast. The vote was unanimous. (PolitInfo)
  • As tensions continue to mount between France and Ivory Coast, French Defense Minister Michele Alliot-Marie says Paris has no intention of withdrawing its troops from the West African country. (PolitInfo)
• Conflict in Iraq: US Troops in Falluja have launched new air strikes and artillery attacks against suspected rebel positions. Violence  spreads to other areas of Iraq  (BBC) (PolitInfo)
• A U.S.-based human rights group is urging the U.N. Security Council to use its meeting this week in Nairobi to put pressure on Sudan to halt ethnic cleansing in the troubled Darfur region. (PolitInfo)
• An Iranian official confirms his country will briefly suspend uranium enrichment and related activities during negotiations with European countries over Iran's nuclear program. The IAEA will start verification of the suspension next week. (PolitInfo)
• Namibians are going to the polls on Monday and Tuesday for their fourth democratic elections since gaining independence from South Africa in 1990. (PolitInfo)

November 14, 2004

• Iran has agreed to a full suspension of uranium enrichment in an effort to avoid referral to the U.N. Security Council. Diplomats say Tehran has agreed to stop work on potentially weapons-related nuclear activities including testing and production in any conversion facility. (PolitInfo)
• Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni declares a week-long truce with the Lord's Resistance Army starting Monday. (BBC) (PolitInfo)
• Two bodyguards of former Palestinian prime minister and new  head of the PLO Mahmoud Abbas are killed as they exchange fire with masked Gunmen as Abbas pays a visit to a mourning tent for Yasser Arafat in Gaza City. (Haaretz) (BBC) (PolitInfo)
• Palestine Authority interim President Rawhi Fattuh  announces elections to choose the successor to Yasser Arafat are to be held on 9 January 2005. The nominating period for candidates will begin November 20, and run for 12 days. (BBC) (PolitInfo)

November 13, 2004

• Iran is reportedly concluding a deal with the European Union which would spare it from possible United Nations sanctions over its nuclear arms programme. (Reuters) (PolitInfo)
• Death of Yasser Arafat: Palestinians file past the burial site of Yasser Arafat on Saturday, a day after he was laid to rest in an emotional funeral in his compound in the West Bank city of Ramallah.  Palestinian officials announce they expect to hold elections by January 9 to choose a successor. (PolitInfo)
• Conflict in Iraq: The assault on Fallujah by U.S. and Iraqi forces enters its fifth day, with U.S. officials saying they are close to gaining complete control of the city. (PolitInfo)
• A series of bomb explosions in southern Thailand has injured more than 30 people and killed at least one man in the past two days, as sectarian violence continues in the region. (PolitInfo)
• A fire has badly damaged a mosque in the south-eastern village of Helden, Netherlands, in the latest of a series of attacks on Dutch Muslim sites. (BBC)

November 12, 2004

• Death of Yasser Arafat
  • Yasser Arafat's funeral procession is held in Cairo, Egypt. Arafat is given full military honours and his coffin is led by a horse drawn carriage. Leaders of Muslim and Arab countries as well as other dignitaries attend, including Khaled Meshaal, head of Hamas, who is currently sought by Israel. (Reuters) (BBC) (PolitInfo)
  • Israel has barred the entire population of the Gaza Strip from attending Yassir Arafat's funeral in Ramallah, and has sealed off many West Bank towns. (BBC) Ramallah is described as in a state of "chaos" as tens of thousands of people pack the area in and around the Muqata, prior to Arafat's burial. Gunmen in the crowd shot repeatedly into the air, but there is no serious violence; and plans for Arafat to lie in state appear to have been dropped due to the huge crowd. He was buried in soil from Al Quds.(BBC) (PolitInfo)
• The U.S. State Department expresses renewed concern over the humanitarian situation in northern Uganda, where terror tactics by the Lord's Resistance Army rebel group have displaced nearly a 1.5 million people. The United Nations calls the situation there one of the world's most neglected crises. (PolitInfo)
• Conflict in Iraq: The United States Armed Forces report that insurgents in Falluja, Iraq, are trapped. Hundreds of insurgents, 18 U.S. soldiers and five members of the Iraqi security forces are reported killed in four days of fighting. (Reuters) (PolitInfo)
• Deputy director of central intelligence John McLaughlin and some other senior officials in the CIA resign amid conflict with new director Porter Goss's chief of staff, Patrick Murray. (Washington Post) (AFP) (PolitInfo) A senior Central Intelligence Agency officer resigns so he can speak openly about what he sees as the government's failure to understand the threat from the al-Qaida terrorist network. Michael Scheuer, the former chief of the CIA's Osama bin Laden unit, said he believes there has not been adequate national debate over the nature of the threat posed by bin Laden and the forces he leads and inspires. The CIA allowed Mr. Scheuer to publish his book "Imperial Hubris" anonymously and to conduct media interviews under the name "Mike." (PolitInfo)
• U.S. President George Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair say there is a new chance for peace in the Middle East. President Bush and Prime Minister Blair are pledging to support elections for a new Palestinian president and to revitalize the stalled Middle East peace process. (Reuters) (PolitInfo)
• Ilda Boccassini, an Italian prosecutor in the Milan corruption trial, asks the court to sentence Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi to eight years' imprisonment for bribing judges. (Reuters) (PolitInfo)

November 11, 2004

• Death of Yasser Arafat
  • Saeb Erakat announces that Palestinian Authority leader Yasser Arafat has died at the age of 75 at a Paris hospital. Rawhi Fattouh becomes interim President of the Palestinian Authority. Mahmoud Abbas leads the Palestine Liberation Organization. Farouk Kaddoumi, foreign minister of the PLO, leads Fatah and Ahmed Qureia receives the security portfolio of the Palestinian Authority. The United Nations accords Yasser Arafat honors as a head of state, holding a tribute in the General Assembly and flying the flag at half staff. (CNN) (Reuters) (PolitInfo) (PolitInfo)
• The United Nation's envoy to Sudan criticizes the Sudanese government for using what he says is "too much violence" to relocate thousands of people displaced by the conflict in Darfur. (PolitInfo)
• The United Nations (U.N.) is appealing to rich countries for $ 1.7 billion to help with what are called the world's forgotten emergencies. The 2005 Consolidated Humanitarian Appeal will focus on 14 of the world's most neglected crises. Twelve are in Africa. The others are the Palestinian territories and Chechnya, in southern Russia. (PolitInfo)
• India announces it will reduce troops in the disputed region of Kashmir in the next few months because of a decline in separatist violence. Pakistan and Kashmiri leaders are praising the decision and say it could give a boost to the peace talks. (PolitInfo)
• Lithuania became the first country to approve the new EU constitution. (BBC) (PolitInfo)
• The international rights group, Human Rights Watch, says Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels are still recruiting child soldiers, despite a ceasefire with the government. (PolitInfo)
• Israeli nuclear technician Mordechai Vanunu is arrested, again, on suspicion of leaking classified information. (BBC)
• Foreign troops start arriving in Ivory Coast to assist with mass evacuations of foreigners while Ivorians slowly start to return to daily life amid ongoing mob riots and anti-French protests. (PolitInfo)
• Global warming is accelerating rapidly in the Arctic, according to Arctic Climate Impact Assessment scientists. Probable outcomes include a 1m rise in worldwide oceans by year 2100, elimination of habitat for the Polar Bear, reduction of tundra and migratory bird habitat. (AP) (PolitInfo)

November 10, 2004

• Conflict in the Ivory Coast:
  • The French military, United Nations, and foreign embassies start evacuating thousands of foreign nationals from divided Ivory Coast, prompting celebrations by supporters of President Laurent Gbagbo. (PolitInfo)
  • South African President Thabo Mbeki invites warring parties from Ivory Coast to peace talks in South Africa. (PolitInfo)
• Sudanese government troops have again forcibly ousted refugees from a camp in the western Darfur region. Security forces tried to forcibly relocate refugees from a camp complex at El-Geer in the southern part of Darfur for the second time in less than a week. (PolitInfo) 
• Illness of Yasser Arafat
  • The Muslim cleric, Mufti Taissir Dayut Tamimi, a close personal friend of Arafats, has flown out to see him. Aides have denied reports that he is there to turn off Arafat's life support machine. (National Post) (BBC) (PolitInfo)
  • The Israeli government agrees to allow Arafat to be buried at his compound in Ramallah, West Bank. State funeral services can be held as early as Thursday in Cairo, Egypt followed by a Friday burial in Ramallah. (Jerusalem Post) (CNN) (Haaretz) (PolitInfo)
• Conflict in Iraq: 3 relatives of the US imposed Iraqi Prime Minister, Iyad Allawi, have been kidnapped. The kidnappers have demanded that the siege on Falluja be lifted, or the hostages will die. (BBC) (PolitInfo)
• U.S. President George Bush  nominates White House Counsel Alberto Gonzalez to succeed John Ashcroft as U.S. Attorney General. Human rights groups criticize the nomination. In his role as White House Counsel, Mr. Gonzalez defended the administration's policy of detaining certain terrorism suspects for extended periods of time, without any access to lawyers or courts. He also wrote a controversial memo in early 2002, suggesting President Bush had the right to waive anti-torture laws and international treaties providing protections for prisoners of war. (PolitInfo)
• Ukraine's Central Election Commission says pro-reform opposition candidate Viktor Yushchenko is the winner of the first round presidential election in Ukraine, edging out Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich. The commission released the final, official first-round results ten days after the October 31st election and just less than two weeks before the scheduled second round.  (PolitInfo)
   

November 9, 2004

• Darfur conflict:
  • The Sudanese government and rebel leaders sign two accords that include a no-fly zone over Darfur, disarming Janjaweed militia and informing the location of forces to cease-fire monitors.  (Reuters) (BBC) (PolitInfo)
  • United Nations officials arrive to investigate claims of genocide. Members of the International Commission of Inquiry  will interview local residents, government officials, rebels, and others about events taking place in the troubled region. (PolitInfo)
• Violence in Côte d'Ivoire has left 20 dead and 600 injured and stopped cocoa exports. South African President Thabo Mbeki has flown to the country to help find a settlement. (CNN) (PolitInfo)
• United States Attorney General John Ashcroft and Secretary of Commerce Donald Evans resign. (Reuters) (PolitInfo)
• Conflict in Iraq: U.S. troops reach the center of Falluja with heavy fighting reported throughout the city. The Pentagon announces 10 U.S. and two Iraqi soldiers killed in the assault. Residents say a U.S. airstrike hit a clinic killing medical staff and patients.  The Muslim Clerics Association called for a boycott of the election in protest of the assault. In Mosul, two U.S. soldiers are killed when mortars land in a military base. Three police stations are attacked in Baquba with casualty reports ranging from 25 to 45 people killed. A car bomb outside an Iraqi National Guard base near Kirkuk kills three people and wounds two. In Samarra, a senior local government official is assassinated. (Reuters) (BBC) (PolitInfo)
• More than 30 people are injured in a bomb blast in Nepal's capital Kathmandu. So far, no group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but suspicion has fallen on the country's Maoist rebels. (PolitInfo)
• Illness of Yasser Arafat: Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei and Former Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas have visted Arafat at his bedside, and Mr. Abbas has described his condition as "very serious" (BBC) (PolitInfo)
• The trial of former Yugoslav leaver Slobodan Milsoevic resumes in The Hague with the former leader's court-appointed lawyers arguing that the judges should allow them to withdraw from the case. (PolitInfo)
   

November 8, 2004

• U.S. Federal District Judge James Robertson (judge) rules that the system of tribunals set up by the United States military to try and sentence prisoners being held at Guantanamo Bay is illegal. (Washington Post) (ACLU) (The Guardian) (PolitInfo)
• Conflict in the Ivory Coast: The head of the French rapid reaction force in Ivory Coast, whose armored vehicles took up positions near the residence of President Laurent Gbagbo, says France has no intention of overthrowing the government. (PolitInfo)
• The relief group, Doctors Without Borders, says refugees in northern Uganda are dying at an alarming rate, due to poor living conditions. An estimated 1.6 million people have fled their homes in northern Uganda, where government forces have been battling rebels for 18 years. (PolitInfo)
• Conflict in Iraq:
  • Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi publicly authorizes an offensive in Fallujah and Ramadi to "liberate the people" and "clean Falluja of terrorists". U.S. and Iraqi forces advance. A hospital doctor in Falluja reports 15 people killed and 20 wounded. (Reuters) (BBC) (PolitInfo)
  • In Baghdad, three Iraqis are killed when a suicide car bomb explodes near a U.S. convoy. A U.K. soldier is killed by a roadside bomb near Camp Dogwood. A U.S. soldier is killed when gunmen open fire on a military patrol. At least three people are killed and 40 others injured in explosions at two Christian churches. (Reuters) (BBC)
• Illness of Yasser Arafat: Palestinian leaders leave for Paris to consult with French doctors about Yasser Arafat's health, despite vehement objections by Arafat's wife. (Reuters) (PolitInfo)

November 7, 2004

• Conflict in the Ivory Coast:
  • Protests against French interests continue one day after French troops neutralized much of Ivory Coast's military, in response to an attack on French troops. (PolitInfo)
  • After suffering its biggest casualties since its peacekeeping operation began in Ivory Coast two years ago, France is stepping up pressure on Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo to cease all military action. (PolitInfo)
• The Iraqi government declares a state of emergency for most of the country, as insurgent violence engulfs much of central Iraq and U.S. forces prepare to storm rebel-held Fallujah. (PolitInfo)
• Macedonians are voting in a referendum on whether to scale back autonomy for the Albanian minority granted under an internationally mediated peace accord. (PolitInfo)
• Iran says it has reached a tentative deal with several key European Union countries on its disputed nuclear program. (PolitInfo)
• Illness of Yasser Arafat: Palestinian leaders agree on a plan to provide security in Gaza and the West Bank as Yasser Arafat remains in serious condition in a Paris hospital. (PolitInfo)
• At an anti nuclear waste shipment protest rally near the French town of Avincourt a protester is killed after a train severs both his legs. The 21-year old French man was protesting against the Castor-transport. (BBC)

November 6, 2004

• Conflict in the Ivory Coast:
  • Nine French peacekeepers and a U.S. citizen are killed in the rebel-held town of Bouake in Côte d'Ivoire after government warplanes bomb the town to root out insurgents. In response, the French military launches attacks which destroy two warplanes at Yamoussoukro airport. (CNN) (BBC) (PolitInfo)
  • The U.N. Security Council holds an emergency session to condemn the killing of nine French troops and an American relief woker in Ivory Coast, Saturday. The council is also considering other measures, including an arms embargo. (PolitInfo)
  • Senior officials from the African Union are holding emergency talks, to discuss the most serious outbreak of violence in Ivory Coast since last year's cease-fire. (PolitInfo)
• Conflict in Iraq: Three suicide car bombs in Samarra kill 19 Iraqi police, two Iraqi National Guardsmen, two Iraqi Rapid Reaction Force, and 11 civilians, with 48 wounded. In Ramadi, an Iraqi is killed and 20 U.S. Marines are wounded after a shoot-out between the Marines and rebels. A physician at Fallujah General Hospital reports two dead and maintains no foreign fighters have been admitted to his hospital. (Reuters) (BBC) (PolitInfo)

November 5, 2004

• Conflict in the Ivory Coast:
  • Rebels and opposition politicians in Ivory Coast plead for international help as attacks against them by the military and supporters of President Laurent Gbagbo continued for a second day.  The violence comes even though there are more than 10,000 peacekeepers in the country. (PolitInfo)
  • The African Union, French and U.S governments and the United Nations express grave concern over the renewed fighting in Ivory Coast. The international community is calling on rebels and the Ivorian military to implement the 2003 peace agreement.  (PolitInfo)
• Conflict in Iraq:
  • United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan warns that an assult on Falluja may result in a Sunni Muslim boycott of January elections. (Reuters) (PolitInfo)
  • Two U.S. soldiers are killed and five wounded when fighting breaks out near a base on the outskirts of Falluja. After weeks of intensive airstrikes, U.S. and Iraqi troops seal off all roads to the city.  (Reuters) (BBC) (PolitInfo)
• Illness of Yasser Arafat: The ailing leader of the Palestinian Authority is still in a coma, which might be reversible; an aide rejects reports that Arafat is "brain dead".  (Reuters) (PolitInfo)
• Voters in the north east of England decisively reject plans for a devolved assembly for the region. With a turnout of 47.8% 197,310 vote for and 696,519 vote against the plans. It is a serious setback for the British Deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott, who had championed the plans. (BBC)

November 4, 2004

• Darfur conflict: A senior United Nations official is warning the Security Council that Sudan could quickly descend into total anarchy. Special envoy Jan Pronk told the Security Council it could be blamed unless it takes prompt action. (PolitInfo)
• Military and rebel commanders in Ivory Coast say war has resumed, after military planes carried out raids on northern rebel positions. Hundreds of protesters in the Ivory Coast commercial capital, Abidjan, have gone on a rampage.  (PolitInfo)
• President designate of the European Commission José Manuel Durão Barroso announces that Franco Frattini from Italy and Andris Piebalgs from Latvia will complete his commission and says he is ready to go to the European Parliament to seek its approval of his team. (PolitInfo)
• Yasser Arafat's condition is detoriating quickly, after having lost consciousness thrice he is now on intensive care. (Seattle Times) (PolitInfo)
• The High Court in the Republic of China rejects a petition by the Kuomintang to nullify the March 2004 presidential election result that saw Chen Shui-bian re-elected president by a margin of 0.2% over Lien Chan.  (BBC) (PolitInfo)
• Russian President Vladimir Putin signs a bill ratifying the Kyoto Protocol aimed at fighting the problem of global warming.  This means that the international treaty will soon take effect. (Reuters) (PolitInfo)
• Conflict in Iraq:
  • The NGO aid agency Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) ends work in Iraq due to the "escalating violence" and "the warring parties have repeatedly shown their disrespect for independent humanitarian assistance." (BBC) (PolitInfo)
  • A suicide car bomb and mortar fire kills three Scottish soldiers and an Iraqi translator south of Baghdad at Camp Dogwood. (BBC)
• The United States recognizes the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) as the Republic of Macedonia, the first major foreign policy move by the re-elected Bush administration. The move outrages Greece, who had the European Union's support in lobbying against recognition since Macedonia's independence in 1991. (Reuters) (BBC) (PolitInfo)

November 3, 2004

• 2004 U.S. Presidential election:
  • Senator John Kerry concedes to President George W. Bush "The outcome should be decided by voters, not a protracted legal process," Kerry said. "I would not give up if there was a chance we could prevail." (Reuters)  (BBC) (PolitInfo) Republican President George W. Bush wins the popular vote, receiving 3.58 million more votes than Democratic Senator John Kerry. (51.6% to 48.4%, 59.0 million to 55.4 million) Claiming victory in the swing state of Ohio, Bush will probably have more than the 270 votes needed when the U.S. Electoral College meets on December 13. (CNN)
  • The Republican Party widens its majority in the Senate and House of Representatives. Democratic Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle concedes defeat to Republican challenger John Thune, thus becoming the first Senate leader in 52 years to lose a re-election bid and leaving the leadership of the Democratic Party in the Senate open. (CNN) (PolitInfo)
  • The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) reports that on November 2, touch-screen electronic voting machines in at least six U.S. states had incorrectly recorded their choices, including for the president election. Incorrectly recorded votes make up roughly 20 percent of the e-voting problems. (EFF)
• Darfur conflict: 
  • U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan calls on the Security Council to take action to halt a surge of violence in Sudan's troubled Darfur region. In a report to the Council ,  Annan says there are strong indications that war crimes and crimes against humanity have been committed in Darfur. (PolitInfo)
  • The United States calls on the Sudanese government to end the forced relocation of refugees from camps in the troubled Darfur region. (PolitInfo)
• The United Nations-Afghan joint electoral commission announces that interim leader Hamid Karzai is the winner of the October 9 presidential election in Afghanistan. (PolitInfo)
• Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahayan, the son of Sheikh Zayed who died yesterday, is elected President by the United Arab Emirates' federal council. (Reuters) (PolitInfo)
• Conflict in Iraq: Hungary announces the withdrawal of its 300 troops by the end of next March. Poland says it will scale back the 2,500 troops stationed in Iraq early next year. (Reuters) (BBC) (PolitInfo)

November 2, 2004

• U.S. presidential election:
  • 2004 US election in progress: Voting begins for the 2004 U.S. presidential election, as well as for elections to the U.S. Congress and many state and local offices. The incumbent, Republican George W. Bush, and the challenger, Democrat John Kerry, are statistically tied in the latest opinion polls. (PolitInfo)
  • U.S. civil rights organizations report on a number of misleading voter fliers and phone calls aimed at African-American voters, alleging that these are an attempt to suppress the African-American vote in today's U.S. presidential election. (Reuters)
• Darfur conflict: United Nation officials say Sudanese troops have surrounded two refugee camps in Darfur and are blocking access.  (Reuters) (BBC) (PolitInfo)
• Conflict in Iraq: Iraqi officials report at least eight dead in a car bomb outside the education ministry in Baghdad. In Mosul, another car bomb kills two and wounds four Iraqi National Guard. (Reuters) (BBC) (PolitInfo)
• UAE president and founding father Sheikh Zayed dies. Vice-President and Prime Minister Sheikh Maktoum temporarily assumes presidental role. (Reuters)

November 1, 2004

• Israeli-Palestinian conflict: A suicide bombing by a 16-year-old Palestinian boy in Tel Aviv kills four and wounds over 30 people. The Marxist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine claims responsibility. (Reuters) (BBC) (PolitInfo)
• International election observers say the first round of voting in Ukraine's presidential election failed to meet a number of democratic standards, but the observers stop short of calling for the vote to be invalidated. (PolitInfo)
• Martial law is imposed in parts of China's Henan province after fighting between Hui Chinese and Han Chinese ethnic groups kills seven and wounds 42 people. (Reuters) (BBC) (PolitInfo)
• Appeals judges at the Yugoslav war crimes Tribunal uphold a lower court's decision forcing attorneys on Slobodan Milosevic. But they also find that judges went a little too far, and order that the former Yugoslav ruler play the leading role in his own defense.  (PolitInfo)
• Conflict in Iraq:
  • The deputy governor of Baghdad, Hatem Kamil, is assassinated. The militant group Army of Ansar al-Sunna claims responsibility. (Reuters) (BBC) A Reuters cameraman is shot dead by suspected sniper fire. In Ramadi, hospital officials report six dead from fighting between United States armed forces and rebels. A U.S. citizen, an unidentified Nepali and four Iraqi workers are taken hostage at gunpoint from their office in Baghdad. (Reuters) (PolitInfo)
• The party that has governed Botswana for the past 38 years wins another election by a landslide. The Botswana Democratic Party has taken 38 of the 50 parliamentary seats that have been declared so far, leaving just 12 seats for the two main opposition parties. (PolitInfo)
   

January 2004 - February 2004 - March 2004 - April 2004 - May 2004 - June 2004 - July 2004 - August 2004 - September 2004 - October 2004

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