Portal:Current events/October 2003
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- NASA is reporting the discovery of the oldest extrasolar planet yet discovered. The planet, which is estimated to be 12.7 billion years old, is orbiting the pulsar PSR B1620-26 in the core of the ancient globular star cluster M4, located 5,600 light-years away in the summer constellation Scorpius. [1]
- The ferry MV Nasrin-1 capsizes and sinks near Chandpore in Bangladesh. The whereabouts of most of the approximately 700 passengers is unknown. [2]
- The U.S. government announces that two more officials of the defeated Iraqi government on the U.S. list of most wanted Iraqis were taken into custody on Tuesday. Mizban Khadr al-Hadi was a high-ranking member of Iraq's Baath Party Regional Command and Revolutionary Command Council, and Mahmud Dhiyab al-Ahmad was a former Interior Minister.
- Pat Robertson continues his support for Liberian dictator Charles Taylor. Taylor has been indicted by the United Nations for war crimes. [3]
- A worker at a Lockheed Martin aircraft parts factory in Meridian, Mississippi shoots 13 co-workers, killing five, before committing suicide. Investigators are unsure of the motive.[4]
- Ladan and Laleh Bijani die during their unsuccessful separation operation in Singapore. [5]
- During a visit to the former slave-trading station on Goree Island, off the coast of Dakar, Senegal, U.S. President George W. Bush calls slavery "one of the greatest crimes of history", but stops short of an official apology. [6]
- Same-sex marriage in Canada: A British Columbia court rules that same-sex couples may get married in that province, effective immediately. BC becomes the second Canadian province, and second political division in the Western Hemisphere, to legalize same-sex marriage. This decision is similar to the Ontario decision on June 10, 2003. [7]
- A Sudan Airways Boeing 737 jetliner crashes in Port Sudan, killing 116 passengers. A toddler of two or three years is the sole survivor. [8], [9]
- MSNBC fires conservative talk show host Michael Savage for making several anti-gay remarks, including telling a homosexual caller that he "should only get AIDS and die". Gay rights group GLAAD applauds the decision to fire Savage.[10]
- United States Central Command chief Gen. Tommy Franks retires after 36 years in uniform. Newcomer Army Gen. John Abizaid is appointed as his replacement. [11]
- Thousands of people take part in the first bull run of the annual San Fermin festival in Pamplona, Spain. No serious injuries or gorings were reported. [12]
- A United States district court approves a settlement between WorldCom and the Securities and Exchange Commission, in which WorldCom will pay $750 million to investors for its accounding scandal.[13]
- A rare political drama happens in Hong Kong. Chief Executive Tung Chee Hwa is forced to postpone the legislation of Hong Kong Basic Law Article 23, just few hours after he insists the second reading will go on schedule despite the giant protest on July 1.
- Roger Federer makes history, becoming the first Swiss male ever to win the Wimbledon final, defeating Mark Philippoussis, 7-6 (7-5), 6-2, 7-6 (7-3)
- Martina Navratilova equals her idol, Billie Jean King's record of 20 Wimbledon titles after winning the mixed doubles final with Leander Paes against Andy Ram Anastassia Rodionova, 6-3 6-3. [14]
- Todd Woodbridge also equals a record, winning with Jonas Bjorkman his 8th men's doubles title by beating Mahesh Bhupathi and Max Mirnyi, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6, 6-3. [15]
- Kim Clijsters and Ai Sugiyama win the women's doubles final, and so their first Wimbledon title, 6-4, 6-4, against first seeds Virginia Ruano Pascual and Paola Suarez, as they did in this year's French Open final. [16]
- Laden and Laleh Bijani, 29-year-old female Iranian twins conjoined at the head, begin their 2 to 4-day-long separation surgery in Singapore. [17]
- At least 16 people are killed and 40 injured by two female suicide bombers in an attack at Krylya, a popular music festival, at the Tushino airfield near Moscow. The Russian authorities blame an on-going terrorism campaign by Chechen rebels; the Chechen government denies any connection to the attacks. [18]
- 2003 occupation of Iraq: 7 newly US-trained Iraqi policemen are killed and at least 13 are wounded by an explosion while they are marching from training school in Ramadi. The American forces overseeing the rebuilding of Iraq's infrastructure, who gave their blessing to the march taking place, blames loyalists to Saddam Hussein; some people on the scene blame U.S. forces. It is the first attack on Iraqis collaborating with the invading coalition forces, as opposed to on the forces themselves. [19]
- In response to 500,000-strong protests earlier in the week, Tung Chee-hwa, leader of Hong Kong, announces that controversial provisions limiting civil liberties in Hong Kong Basic Law Article 23 will be rewritten. [20]
- Taiwan is the last territory to be declared free of SARS by the World Health Organization, after 20 days with no new cases reported. [21]
- Premier John Hamm of Nova Scotia, Canada, calls a provincial election for August 5.
- Wimbledon championships: Serena Williams repeats as women's champion by beating her sister Venus, by scores of 4-6, 6-4, 6-2.
- A Shia Muslim mosque in Quetta, Pakistan is stormed by armed attackers, killing at least 32 worshippers and wounding 52. [22]
- A tape, purporting to be of Saddam Hussein and to have been made on June 14, is broadcast on Al-Jazeera, the Arabic-language satellite television station. If it is Saddam, it marks the first public communication from the former Iraqi leader since his disappearance early on in the Invasion of Iraq.
- The World Meteorological Organisation publishes a report stating that recent extreme weather conditions around the world may mark changes in global climate caused by global warming. [23]
- President Bush continued to consider whether or not to contribute United States troops to a peacekeeping mission in Liberia.[24]
- On taking up the EU presidency, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi makes an embarrassing remark, causing an uproar of criticism from the 626-seat European Parliament and the European media, by insulting the German MEP Martin Schulz (SPD) with the words "Mr. Schulz, I know there is a producer in Italy who is making a film on the Nazi concentration camps. I will suggest you for the role of kapo. You'd be perfect."
- The European Parliament approves two laws that regulate the selling of genetically modified food in the EU territory, requiring labelling of all GM products (products with more than 0.9 % genetically modified parts) and allowing member states to separate GM food and non-GM food and crops.
- The International Olympic Committee announced in Prague, Czech Republic, that Vancouver, British Columbia will host the 2010 Winter Olympics.
- There are reports of the discovery of a possible new type of subatomic particle, a pentaquark. [25]
- The results of a Royal Commission on renewing the relationship between Canada and the province of Newfoundland and Labrador is released. [26]
- In Hong Kong, 500,000 people march to protest the rush into legislation of Hong Kong Basic Law Article 23, the anti-subversion law. Critics say the law is both too broad and too vague.
- After many years of controversy, the United Kingdom House of Commons, the lower house of parliament, again votes in favour of legislation to ban fox hunting.
- Italy Premier Silvio Berlusconi's government assumed the rotating EU presidency.
- In Canada, Canadians celebrate Canada Day, their nation's 137th anniversary since confederation on this day in 1867.
Past events by month
2003: January February March April May June July
2002: January February March April May June July August September October November December
News collections
External links to news pages that can be used to gather new topics for the above list:
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- Internet Public Library: Newspapers
News sources
External links to leading worldwide news organizations:
- Associated Press (US)
- British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) (UK)
- Cable News Network (CNN) (US)
- Fox News Channel (US)
- Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) (CA)
- The Globe and Mail (CA)
- Reuters (UK)
- The Times (UK)
- The Independent (UK)
- The New York Times (US)
- The Washington Post (US)
- The Sydney Morning Herald (AU)
- The Guardian (UK)
- Independent Media Centre