Portal:Current events/February 2005

September 28, 2024 (2024-09-28) (Saturday)

February 13, 2005

• Explosion around 7:00 am in Paris, France at the Empire theater. (Yahoo France - Reuters)
• In Moscow, Russia, thousands protest the new benefits plan, which replaces such benefits as free transportation and subsidized drugs with small cash payments. (The Washington Post)
• Two strong aftershocks strike tsunami-devastated Aceh, leading to some panic. (The Jakarta Post)
• At least the top 14 floors of the 32-storey Windsor office building in central Madrid, Spain, one of the most prominent buildings in the city, are destroyed in a dramatic fire starting around 23:30 of February 12, Madrid time. Part of the building has been empty for renovations since 2003, but it also holds offices for Deloitte & Touche. The Mayor of Madrid says that it is uncertain whether the fire has damaged the structure of the building. The cause of the fire is not yet known, but a short-circuit in floor 21 is suspected. (El Mundo)

February 12, 2005

• In Lome, Togo, thousands protesting the army-installed President Faure Gnassingbé. Clash with soldiers and police forces caused three death. (Guardian) (Yahoo France - AP)
• A drug resistant and quickly progressing strain of HIV is discovered in a New York City individual. The patient is known to have frequently taken methamphetamine, a mutagen. (CNN)
• Howard Dean, a former governor of Vermont and 2004 presidential candidate, is elected chairman of the United States Democratic Party National Committee. (CNN)

February 11, 2005

• At least eight people are killed during a jail riot in Córdoba, Argentina. All hostages taken by the prisoners were later freed by police. (Yahoo! News)
• Conflict in Iraq: At least 20 people are killed in Baghdad as United States Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld tours the country for a day. (BBC)
• Israeli-Palestinian conflict: Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas travels to the Gaza Strip to persuade militant groups to join the ceasefire announced with Israel three days ago. (BBC)
• An estimated two million Iranians demonstrate against a possible US pre-emptive strike aimed at preventing Iran from deploying nuclear weapons - a strike which top US military leaders deny considering. (Jakarta Post)
• The 485-foot-long Shakidor Dam in Baluchistan, south west Pakistan, bursts under the pressure of a weeks' worth of rain, sending the Pakistani military into emergency Search and Rescue operations. Some 400 to 500 people are still unaccounted for.
• Japan pledges over $21M in support of a United Nations-backed independent tribunal of Khmer Rouge leaders in Cambodia. The proposed tribunal is for crimes against humanity. (ChannelNews Asia) (BBC)
• The Supreme Court of India agrees to examine the legality of the sensitive issue raised in a petition demanding reservation for Dalits even after conversion to Christianity. {Indian Express)
• In Karnataka, India, "heavily" armed Naxalites gun down six State Reserve Police personnel and a civilian and injure five others at Venkammanahali in Tumkur district bordering Andhra Pradesh. (Times of India) (Indian Express)
• The Supreme Court of India issues notices to all state governments of India on a public interest petition seeking a ban on mixing whitening chemical agents like magnesium carbonate in gutkas. (NDTV) (Times of India) (Rediff)

February 10, 2005

• Balance of trade: The U.S. Department of Commerce states imports exceeded exports by $670 billion USD for 2004, beating the previous record by nearly 25%. (BBC)
• September 11, 2001 attacks: A previously unreleased portion of the 9-11 Commission's report details the Federal Aviation Administration received 52 intelligence reports on potential terrorist attacks by al-Qaeda before September 11, 2001. (BBC) (NY Times)
• Wal-Mart closes a store in Jonquière, Quebec in response to what a company spokesman says is unreasonable demands from union negotiators. The union was close to winning the first ever labor contract from the world's largest retailer. (MLive/AP)
• Conflict in Iraq:
  • Iraqi officials announce they must recount around 300 ballot boxes due to various discrepancies, delaying the final results.
  • In Salman Pak south of Baghdad, guerrillas attack a police station killing at least eight Iraqi policemen and wounding more than 60.
  • Three people are killed when a car bomb is detonated in Baghdad.
  • Also in the capital, the bodies of 20 truck drivers are found and guerrillas ambush a convoy of Kurdish party officials, killing one and wounding four.
  • In Basra, guerrillas kill an Iraqi journalist working for the U.S.-funded al-Hurra TV station and his 3-year-old son as they leave their home.
  • A roadside bomb in Samarra leaves four policemen dead. (BBC) (ABC)
• Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: Israel has postponed security talks with Palestinians following a mortar attack by Hamas on the Gush Katif Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip. Hamas claim the attack was in retaliation for an attack by Jewish settlers which left one man dead. Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas responds by firing the top security commanders in the Gaza Strip. (BBC)
• Clarence House announces that Charles, Prince of Wales is to marry Camilla Parker Bowles in a civil ceremony on 8 April. When Charles becomes king, it is intended that she will be styled as a princess consort, rather than queen consort. (BBC)
• North Korea and weapons of mass destruction: North Korea announces that it has developed nuclear weapons for its self-defense, and suspends participation in multi-nation talks to discuss its arms program. (Reuters)
• Saudi Arabia starts its first nationwide municipal elections. Voting is limited to men in Riyadh and voters elect only half of the municipal councils; the other half is appointed by the monarchy. Other regions are scheduled to hold elections next month. (Reuters) (Arab News) (Khaleej Times) (World Peace Herald)
• In ECOWAS meeting, west African leaders refuse to recognise Faure Gnassingbé as the new president of Togo and threaten to impose sanctions if the country does not begin to plan presidential elections. Gnassingbé has promised elections as soon as possible. (Reuters) (BBC) (Republic of Togo)
• Rumaisa Rahman, an Indian baby who is believed to be smallest to survive, goes home six months after she was born in hospital in Chicago. She was born weighing 8.6 ounces (244 grams). (Calcutta Telegraph) (Khalsa News) (Reuters)
• In Peru, 5 die and 19 are injured when two gangs clash in the maximum security Lurigancho prison outside Lima. (Bloomberg) (BBC)
• According to Zimbabwean police, female athlete Samukeliso Sithole is actually male. (AllAfrica) (BBC)

February 9 2005

• War on Terror: Ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, Jane Harman, announces she is planning to introduce a bill to ban torture by U.S. interrogators and bar transfers of detainees to countries that engage in torture. (LA Times)
• Conflict in Iraq: A suicide bomber kills at least 21 people outside a police recruiting center in Baghdad. In a separate incident also in Baghdad, three policemen die from a firefight in the notoriously dangerous neighborhood of Ghazaliyah. (Newsday/AP)
• Carly Fiorina, widely considered one of the most powerful women in American business, resigns her post as CEO of Hewlett-Packard, having being asked to do so by the company's board of directors after she failed to cut costs and increase revenue as quickly as the board had hoped. She had served as CEO of the company since 1999 and Chairman of the Board since 2000. (ABC News)
• British survey ship HMS Scott produces the first sonar survey of the seabed site of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. Some images appear to show a landslide 100 metres high and 2 kilometres long. (BBC).
• In Guyana, over 290,000 people (39% of the population) continue to be affected in the aftermath of serious floods resulting from torrential rains in mid January 2005, the worst for the region in 100 years. United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) yesterday launched a Flash Appeal to cover both immediate and transitional needs.(Guyana Flood Information) (Guyana Outpost)
• In Switzerland, federal court rules that the money of Sani Abacha, the former dictator of Nigeria, can be returned to the country. Money Abacha took from Nigeria amounts to hundreds of millions of dollars (Swissinfo)
• In Sri Lanka, "Baby 81", a baby boy who survived the 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake, is submitted to a DNA test to determine who his parents are. Nine couples have claimed as their own and one apparently tried to kidnap him from a hospital. (Times of India) (BBC)
• ECOWAS, the regional body of West Africa, intends to hold an emergency summit in Niger to discuss the political developments about appointment of Faure Gnassingbé as the president of Togo. (GhanaWeb) (AllAfrica) (BBC)
• An ETA car bomb explodes in Madrid injuring 31 people outside a conference center where the King and Queen of Spain and President of Mexico were to open an exhibition later today. (Reuters), (BBC).
• In Canada, former prime minister Jean Chrétien defends his government's actions in an inquiry into the misuse of government advertising and sponsorship funds. (Winnipeg Sun) (Canada.Com)
• The French parliament is about to vote for the relaxation of the 35-hour work week rules (BBC)

February 8 2005

• Conflict in Iraq: Guerrillas in Baquba detonate a car bomb outside an Iraqi police headquarters, killing 15 and wounding 17. A suicide bomber in Mosul kills 12 policemen and injures 4 others. In another area of the city, guerrillas fire a dozen mortar rounds at a police station, killing 3 civilians. (Scotsman/AP)
• Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: A truce is declared between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Abu Mazen, the Palestinian president, and the Prime Minister of Israel, Ariel Sharon, shook hands at a four-way summit which also included Jordan and Egypt at Sharm al-Sheikh. Hamas says it is not bound by the ceasefire. (BBC)
• In Denmark, parliamentary elections result in a continuation of the center-right coalition of Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen. (BBC)
• In Nepal, phone lines and internet connections are restored.(BBC) (Sify) At the same time, the army begins air strikes against Maoist troops. (Reuters)
• Swiss police are hunting three apparent burglars who yesterday briefly held hostages in the Spanish embassy in Bern. When the police stormed the building, the criminals had left the scene. An embassy security guard is in the hospital. (SwissInfo) (Reuters)
• The president of Mexico, Vicente Fox, increases his personal security after an advisor reportedly leaked his itinerary to a Mexican drug cartel. (Reuters) (Bloomberg) (BBC)
• A ban on tobacco smoking in public places begins in Cuba (Reuters) (BBC)
• In China, the Ministry of Agriculture announces that it has developed a vaccine against bird flu spreading to humans (New Ratings) (BBC)
• The parliament in Greece is to elect a new president for the next five-year term.

February 7 2005

• Englishwoman Ellen MacArthur sets a record for the quickest round-the-world solo sail. She completed the 27,354 mile journey in 71 days, 14 hours, 18 minutes and 33 seconds, breaking the old record of 72 days, 22 hours, 54 minutes and 22 seconds, set by Francis Joyon in 2004, which itself took 20 days off the previous record. (Associated Press) (Sky News)
• A number of people are taken hostage in the Spanish consulate in Bern, Switzerland (Reuters AlertNet) (SwissInfo) (BBC)
• Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo asks other African states not to recognize the transfer of power in Togo to Faure Gnassingbé. The African Union has also condemned the move (Reuters AlertNet) (IAfrica)
• Spanish police in the Canary Islands find a drifting boat containing 227 African migrants. (Reuters) (BBC)
• In Guatemala, the constitutional court stops a trial of 16 military officers accused of war crimes and killing hundreds of civilians (Reuters) (BBC)
• In Malawi, president Bingu wa Mutharika quits the governing party, the United Democratic Front, stating he is fed up of criticism of his anti-corruption campaign. The party had debated whether to expel him for alleged misconduct. (IOL, SA) (SABC) (BBC)
• In Nepal, the state media reports that the new government of King Gyanendra of Nepal offers talks to Maoist rebels. At the same time, government forces begin a new offensive against them (Reuters AlertNet) (BBC)

February 6 2005

• The New England Patriots win the Super Bowl, defeating the Philadelphia Eagles 24-21. (Wash. Times)
• U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrives in Israel to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. (CNN)
• Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra wins an unprecedented second term as prime minister, in the greatest electoral sweep in the nation's history. (CNN)
• Togo succession:
  • The Togolese parliament tries to legalize the accession to power of Faure Gnassingbé, son of Gnassingbé Eyadéma, by voting constitutional amendments. (Yahoo France - AFP)
  • The military of Togo is criticized by global leaders for suspending the constitution after the death of president Gnassingbé Eyadéma and naming his son successor. (BBC)
• Conflict in Iraq: Guerilla fighting leaves 22 dead, including two US troops. (Daily Times)
• The tobacco industry hails a US court of appeals ruling which rejected the government's $280bn claim for alleged deceit about smoking dangers. (BBC)
• A gas leak in a hostel in Todolella, Spain kills 18 people. (BBC)

February 5 2005

• NATO helicopters find the wreckage of a Kam Air Boeing 737, an Afghan passenger jet in mountains east of Kabul; all 104 people on board are presumed dead. (ABC News)
• Bareilly, India: more than 250 grams of weapons-grade uranium are found in possession of two people arrested for drug peddling in India. (Times of India)
• President Gnassingbé Eyadéma of Togo dies of a heart attack at the age of 68 and is succeeded by his son Faure Gnassingbé. (CNN)
• In the People's Republic of China, The Tenth Shaanxi Provincial People's Congress votes in favour of Acting Governor Chen Deming to become the next Governor of Shaanxi. (People's Daily) (ChinaBroadcast)

February 4 2005

• New observations from the Arecibo radio telescope confirm that asteroid 2004 MN4, once briefly considered an impact risk, will pass Earth on April 13 2029 at a distance of 36,350 km (22,600 mi) and will reach magnitude 3.3, easily visible to the naked eye from Europe, Africa and western Asia. (Space.com)
• United States: Alberto Gonzales becomes the first Hispanic U.S. Attorney General, confirmed by a 60-36 Senate vote split across party lines. (Washington Times)
• In Congo (Kinshasa), the equestrian statue of King Léopold of the Belgians, who founded the Congo Free State in 1885, is briefly re-erected in Kinshasa before it is again removed. (News24) (BBC)
• Government of Uganda announces a new ceasefire of 18 days with the Lord's Resistance Army. (Reuters AlertNet) (BBC)
• In Mauritania, four army officers who plotted coups against President Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya each receive a life sentence instead of the expected death penalty after a four-month trial. The sentenced include former army major Saleh Ould Hanenna. (Reuters AlertNet) (Middle East Online)
• Watergate papers of the Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein will go on public display. They still do not intend to reveal the identity of Deep Throat. (Reuters) (Washington Post)
• Same-sex marriage in the United States: The New York State Supreme Court rules that the state's ban on same-sex marriage violates the state constitution. The decision is stayed for 30 days. (CBC) (CNN)

February 3 2005

• Conflict in Iraq: At least 29 people are killed by opponents to the interim government and the occupying forces. This includes 3 US Marines. In one operation, 50 policemen are ambushed in Baghdad, leaving at least 2 dead, 14 wounded and 16 missing. (The Scotsman)
• Pope John Paul II's medical condition is "evolving positively" but the Vatican says the 84-year-old pontiff will remain in hospital for another week. However, there is still concern over the pontiff's continuing fever, which some medical experts fear could be a sign of pneumonia.(CBC)
• Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania of Georgia dies of gas poisoning. Zhvania was found dead by security guards, an apparent victim of carbon monoxide exposure. (Civil Georgia) (Reuters) (Interfax) (BBC)
• Greece hands over Dejan Milenkovic, main suspect of the murder of Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic, to Serbian authorities. (Athens News Agency) (BBC)
• Emergency measures of King Gyanendra of Nepal include media censorship. (BBC)
• A cargo plane crashes near Khartoum, Sudan, killing seven people. (Reuters) (IOL) (BBC)
• In Cambodia, opposition leader Sam Rainsy is stripped of his parliamentary immunity. He may face libel charges, and has fled the nation. (Reuters AlertNet) (BBC)

February 2 2005

• Eleven people die in a Baghdad bombing, according to the Al-Zaman newspaper. Of these, eight are policemen or soldiers. (Informed Comment)
• The IRA withdraws its weapons decommissioning offer because of claims that the organisation is connected to a Belfast bank raid last December in which £26.5m was stolen. (Ireland Online) (Reuters) (Bloomberg) (BBC) (BBC)
• President of the United States George W. Bush delivers his 2005 State of the Union address. The section on Social Security reform is booed by some members of Congress, a very rare show of open disdain for the President during such a speech. Transcript (WP)
• A former secret U.S. military investigative report on Guantánamo Bay is revealed to conclude there is no evidence of systemic detainee abuse but cited several cases of questionable physical force documented on videotape. Prisoners released have stated abuse is commonplace and one former U.S. National Guardsman received brain damage after being beaten while posing undercover as a rowdy detainee. All Freedom of Information Act requests by the ACLU for video and photographs depicting detainee treatment have been denied. (Newsday AP)
• The unemployment rate hits a 70-year high in Germany. More than 5 million people are unemployed today in Germany. Ignoring different statistical methods and the different areas, that's the highest since the Great Depression and the Weimar Republic. BBC World.
• The cancellation of Star Trek: Enterprise is announced, marking the end of 18 consecutive years of Star Trek on television. (BBC)
• Jerusalem/Israel: Horst Koehler, President of Germany, has a special audience in the Knesset, the highest chamber of Israel. He says that Germany has to fight more aggressively against anti-semitism and far-right parties. (BBC World).
• Arab-Israeli Conflict:
  • Ariel Sharon, the Prime Minister of Israel, and Abu Mazen, the President of the Palestinian National Authority, have been invited by Egypt to attend a summit at Sharm el-Sheikh. (BBC)
  • Abu Mazen, the President of the Palestinian National Authority, has accepted an Iranian invitation to pay an official visit to Tehran. (Reuters)
• King Gyanendra of Nepal forms a new cabinet and names himself as its head. His decision to dismiss his former cabinet has been widely condemned. (Reuters) (BBC)
• Robert Mugabe, president of Zimbabwe, announces that a general election will be held March 31. The country's main opposition party Movement for Democratic Change has not yet decided whether to participate. (IAfrica) (Reuters)
• The Spanish parliament rejects an appeal from the Basque regional government for more autonomy and a referendum for eventual independence. (Bloomberg) (Reuters AlertNet) (BBC)
• The parliament of Slovenia ratifies the European Union Constitution. (EUobserver) (EurActiv) (BBC)
• In Japan, the first of the former residents of the island of Miyakejima return to their homes they left after a volcanic eruption in 2000. (Reuters AlertNet) (Mainichi Daily News)

February 1 2005

• Pope John Paul II is taken to hospital suffering from a serious case of influenza. (CNN)
• Same-sex marriage in Canada: The Liberal government presents Bill C-38, an act to legalize same-sex marriage nationwide, to the Canadian House of Commons. (CBC)
• Arab-Israeli Conflict
  • The Palestinian Authority arrests a Palestinian man who had been shooting in the air, on suspicion that he had killed an Palestinian girl the day before. The original shooting sparked Palestinian accusations that the girl had been shot by Israeli soldiers, and Hamas fired mortars at Israeli settlements in response. Jerusalem Post Reuters
  • The Attorney General of Israel, Meni Mazuz, has told the government to call an immediate halt to confiscating Palestinian property in East Jerusalem under a 1950 land law. The legislation entitles Israel to take Arab-owned land, and Mr Mazuz described it as illegal. (BBC)(Al Jazeera)
  • Five people are suspected to have died following clashes between Egyptian security forces and Bedouins suspected of being involved in last years bombings in Taba, which was aimed at Israeli holiday makers. (BBC)
• Israel announces that it intends to bring the last 20,000 Falash Mura, Ethiopian Jews who converted to Christianity in the 19th and 20th centuries, to Israel by 2007. (Reuters) (Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs) (Jerusalem Post) (Haaretz)
• Indonesian cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir has denied any involvement in the Bali bombing and the Marriott Hotel attack, saying that the bombings were wrong. He also denied being a member of Jemaah Islamiah. (BBC)
• A man who had been detained since December 2001 in the UK without a trial, or a charge, on suspicion of being involved in terrorism has been released without conditions, his lawyer has stated. (BBC)
• A United Nations report has made accusations of killings, torture and rape of civilians in Sudan's Darfur area, and has called for those accused of carrying out war crimes to be put on trial. The report stops short of calling the events a genocide. (BBC)
• At least three people are known to have died following a bomb blast in Gori, northern Georgia. (BBC)
• King Gyanendra of Nepal sacks the government of Sher Bahadur Deuba and takes direct power for himself. (Reuters) (Rediff)
• Chinese goverment issues emergency orders to stop a meningitis outbreak that has killed 16 people. (Xinhua) (ChinaDaily) (BBC) (Reuters AlertNet)
• Ex-president of Kenya and chairman of KANU party, Daniel Arap Moi, is due to step down. His successor will be Uhuru Kenyatta, son of Jomo Kenyatta. (Standard, Kenya) (Reuters SA) (BBC)
• South Korea's foreign minister believes that North Korea will re-enter talks about its nuclear proliferation. (Reuters)
• A consortium of micro-lenders supported by U.S. investors announced plans to "play a big role in rebuilding the jobs and small businesses of Asia" in the areas devastated by the recent tsunami and earthquake.

Past events by month

2005: January
2004: January February March April May June July August September October November December
2003: January February March April May June July August September October November December
2002: January February March April May June July August September October November December
2001: January February March April May June July August September October November December
2000: January February March April May June July August September October November December

Logarithmic timeline of current events - most important events of the last ten years on one page.

News collections and sources

• Wikipedia:News collections and sources.
• Wikipedia:News sources - This has much of the same material organised in a hierarchical manner to help encourage NPOV in our news reporting.