April 2005

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[edit] Ongoing events • Iraqi legislative election • Bill C-38 (Canada gay marriage) • Tsunami relief • Cedar Revolution in Lebanon • Tulip Revolution in Kyrgyzstan • German Visa Affair 2005 • Expo 2005 in Nagoya, Japan • Terri Schiavo controversy • Pope John Paul II's health [edit] Upcoming events • May 8: 60th Anniversary of V-E day [edit] Deaths in April • 26: Augusto Roa Bastos • 24: Ezer Weizman • 23: Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen • 23: John Mills • 16: Marla Ruzicka • 9: Andrea Dworkin • 6: Prince Rainier III • 5: Dale Messick • 5: Saul Bellow • 2: Pope John Paul II • 1: Harald Juhnke Recent deaths [edit] Ongoing armed conflicts • Arab-Israeli conflict (Al-Aqsa Intifada) • Conflict in Chechnya • Second Congo War • Conflict in Iraq (Occupation of Iraq) • Darfur conflict in Sudan • Civil war in Côte d'Ivoire Ongoing wars [edit] Upcoming holidays May 1: May Day May 1: Orthodox Easter May 2: Orthodox Easter Monday May 5: Cinco de Mayo May 5: Ascension Day May 8: Mother's Day in the US May 15: Pentecost [edit] Upcoming elections May 17: British Columbia general June 17: Iran presidential 2005: New Zealand general 2005: Norwegian parliamentary 2005: Polish parliamentary & presidential 2005/2006: UK general Electoral calendar [edit] Recent election results February 27: Kyrgyz parliamentary March 6: Moldovan parliamentary March 12: Maltese Local Council Elections March 13: Central African Rep. federal March 13: Liechtenstein parliamentary [edit] Ongoing trials Chile: Augusto Pinochet ICTY: Slobodan Milošević Iraq: Iraqi Special Tribunal — Saddam Hussein, among others India: Best Bakery case India: Jayendra Saraswathi Netherlands: Volkert van der Graaf Netherlands: Mohammed Bouyeri United States: Michael Jackson United States: Zacarias Moussaoui United States: Brian Nichols United States: Dennis Rader [edit] Related pages About this page Year in... Biocrawler Announcements

April 30 2005 (Saturday)

• Cairo terrorism: Tourists in the Egyptian capital Cairo are targeted in two separate terrorist attacks. (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4501263.stm)
• U.S. Senator John Kerry formally endorses a candidate for mayor of Los Angeles, Antonio Villaraigosa, repaying Mr. Villaraigosa's support for his own presidential campaign in 2004(AP)
• King Gyanendra of Nepal ends the state of emergency. Press censorship and ban of political activities continues. (NDTV) (http://www.ndtv.com/template/template.asp?template=nepalturmoil&slug=Nepal+king+still+reins+supreme&id=72365&callid=1) (IHT) (http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/05/01/news/nepal.php)
• US releases a report that clears soldiers who shot Italian intelligence agent Nicola Calipari and journalist Giuliana Sgrena. (full text on BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4499289.stm) (CNN) (http://edition.cnn.com/2005/US/04/30/italian.shooting/) (Reuters) (http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=politicsNews&storyID=8352644)
• In Roraima, Brazil, Macuxi indians release four policemen they had held as hostages since April 22. The Macuxi protested against the creation of a huge reservation and demanded better living conditions. (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4502689.stm) (ABC) (http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=718433)
• In Honduras, six children die in a grenade accident. (Scotsman) (http://news.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=463312005) (Reuters) (http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?storyID=8351167&type=worldNews)
• Severo Moto, exiled politician from Equatorial Guinea, reappears in Spain. He says that he survived an assassination attempt in Croatia. (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4502723.stm) (Reuters) (http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=worldNews&storyID=2005-04-30T195730Z_01_CAS071771_RTRUKOC_0_EQUITORIALGUINEA-DISAPPEARANCE.xml)

April 29 2005 (Friday)

• The next launch of the Space Shuttle Discovery, STS-114, is delayed until at least July 13. This is to be the first Space Shuttle launch since the Columbia disaster in February 2003. (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4496955.stm) (CNN) (http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/space/04/29/shuttle.delay/index.html)
• U.S. Congressman Rob Portman was confirmed by the United States Senate to be United States Trade Representative. (CBS Marketwatch) (http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7BD8143D14-B626-4FD8-8D82-1568451035C3%7D&siteid=google)
• The death toll in the Amagasaki rail crash in Japan totals 106. Rescue efforts are over and police begin the crash investigation. (Japan Today) (http://www.japantoday.com/e/?content=news&cat=1&id=335311)
• Kuomintang Chairman Lien Chan meets with Communist Party of China Secretary-General Hu Jintao in the highest level contact between leaders of the two parties since the meeting of Chiang Kai-shek and Mao Zedong in August 1945 at the end of the Second Sino-Japanese War. [1] (http://news.ft.com/cms/s/85702204-b864-11d9-bc7c-00000e2511c8.html)
• A prominent article in the state-owned China Securities Journal says conditions are ripe for changes in the country's policy of keeping the yuan pegged to the U.S. dollar. (Washington Post) (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/04/29/AR2005042901705.html)
• Three currencies join the ERM II: The Cyprus pound, the Latvian lat, and the Maltese Lira. The ERM II is one of the steps needed for a currency to become part of the Eurozone. EUbusiness (http://www.eubusiness.com/afp/050429215029.w0uofrf7)

April 28, 2005 (Thursday)

• Almost three months after the legislative election in Iraq, the National Assembly voted overwhelmingly to approve a Shi'a-led cabinet, establishing the first elected government in the history of Iraq. Two of the four deputy prime minister's slots remained vacant, however, and five ministries, including the important defence and oil slots, were left in the hands of temporary managers. (International Herald Tribune) (http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/04/29/news/iraq.php), (CBC) (http://www.cbc.ca/cp/world/050428/w0428112.html)
• The Ivory-billed Woodpecker, long thought to be extinct, has been rediscovered in the "Big Woods" area of Arkansas. (CNN) (http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/science/04/28/woodpecker/index.html)
• British Prime Minister Tony Blair publishes the advice of Lord Goldsmith, the Attorney General, on the legality of the 2003 invasion of Iraq. (BBC News) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/vote_2005/frontpage/4492439.stm), (Guardian) (http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1472115,00.html)
• The Edvard Munch paintings The Scream and Madonna, which were stolen from the Munch Museum in Oslo on August 22 2004, may have been burned, says the Norwegian newspaper Dagbladet. The Oslo police do not confirm the rumour. (Norway Post) (http://www.norwaypost.no/content.asp?cluster_id=27642&folder_id=1)
• The death toll in the Amagasaki rail crash in Japan rises to 104. Rescuers find the body of the train's driver. (Japan Today) (http://www.japantoday.com/e/?content=news&cat=1&id=335311), (Reuters AlertNet) (http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/T73025.htm)
• The United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda sentences Mika Muhimana, former Hutu civic leader, to life imprisonment for his role in the Rwandan genocide. (IOL) (http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=136&art_id=qw111469176324B265) (AllAfrica) (http://allafrica.com/stories/200504280083.html) (Reuters AlertNet) (http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/IRIN/274e00f6b504b972c331bb5a90d9fc24.htm)
• Gunmen kidnap Haitian political leader Jean Enold Buteau, head of the Movement for National Reconstruction. (Reuters AlertNet) (http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N28120302.htm)
• A Bulgarian court releases Serbian war crimes suspect Čedomir Branković because of his diplomatic immunity. (Sofia News Agency) (http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=47181) (Bulgarian News Network) (http://www.bgnewsnet.com/story.php?lang=en&sid=20090) (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4495829.stm)
• In France, Bernard Guillet, an aide to former interior minister Charles Pasqua is questioned in connection with the oil for food probe. (Financial Times) (http://news.ft.com/cms/s/23f51508-b782-11d9-9f22-00000e2511c8.html) (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4495691.stm)
• Swiss engineers blast through the Lötschberg tunnel through the Alps from Germany to Italy. The tunnel will be ready for traffic in two years. (SwissInfo) (http://www.swissinfo.org/sen/swissinfo.html?siteSect=106&sid=5730100&cKey=1114678983000) (NZZ) (http://www.nzz.ch/2005/04/29/eng/article5732050.html) (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4492359.stm)
• In Kenya, British peer and Kenyan rancher Thomas Cholmondeley is charged with the murder of two Maasai game wardens. (IOL) (http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=87&art_id=qw1114680601264B256) (Guardian) (http://www.guardian.co.uk/kenya/story/0,12689,1472924,00.html) (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4493909.stm)
• In Australia, Palacom has received permission to create a cemetery for upright burials. (Herald Sun) (http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,15121199%255E2862,00.html) (Reuters AlertNet) (http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/SYD107137.htm) (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4493655.stm)
• Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez visits Cuba to foster cooperation between the countries. (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4495975.stm) (Periodico26) (http://www.periodico26.cu/english_new/cuba/chavez280405.htm) (Reuters) (http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=8340185)

April 27 2005 (Wednesday)

• The U.S. House of Representatives votes 406-20 to rescind controversial Republican ethics rules, in order to end a stalemate in the evenly-divided Ethics Committee since their introduction in January. (AP) (http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050428/ap_on_go_co/ethics_committee_36), (Reuters) (http://www.reuters.com/printerFriendlyPopup.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=8321561)
• Johnson Beharry becomes the first recipient of the UK's highest military honor, the Victoria Cross since 1982 and the first living recipient since 1965. (AFP) (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20050427/wl_uk_afp/britainmilitaryiraqaward_050427154803&e=5)
• Two Palestinians, both aged 15, are arrested in a checkpoint near Jenin after 11 explosive charges were found on them. One teenager told interrogators that he was recruited to act as a couriers by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad and the second by the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades. (Haaretz) (http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/569675.html), (AP photo) (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/050427/481/jrl10704271338)
• The new Airbus A380 performs its maiden flight, in Toulouse, France. The A380 replaces the Boeing 747 ("jumbo jet") as the world's largest passenger plane. (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4488361.stm)
• The death toll in the Amagasaki rail crash in Japan exceeds 91, and may increase to over 100. (Japan Today) (http://www.japantoday.com/e/?content=news&cat=1&id=335311) (Asahi Shimbun) (http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200504270137.html) (Reuters) (http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=8305798) (Bloomberg) (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000101&sid=a0cEPLq5yG2k&refer=japan) (Reuters) (http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=NIOMAVDO32WWICRBAEKSFEY?type=topNews&storyID=8308438)
• Former Nepalese Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba is arrested for alleged corruption after he refuses to appear in court. (Reuters AlertNet) (http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/BOM201576.htm) (United We Blog) (http://www.blog.com.np/index.php?p=506) (NDTV) (http://www.ndtv.com/template/template.asp?template=Nepalturmoil&slug=Deuba+held+in+Nepal&id=16766&callid=0&category=International)
• A Moscow court postpones verdict on the case of Mikhail Khodorkovsky until May 16. (Mosnews) (http://www.mosnews.com/news/2005/04/27/khodordelayed.shtml) (RIA Novosti) (http://en.rian.ru/russia/20050427/39747159.html) (Reuters) (http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=8306948) (Bloomberg) (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000087&sid=aibowh5OjC.w&refer=top_world_news)
• In central Sri Lanka, at Polgahawela, a passenger train crashes into a bus on a level crossing; 35–50 persons are feared to be dead. (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/4488251.stm) (Bloomberg) (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000087&sid=a2awAoZTDpbw&refer=top_world_news) (Reuters) (http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=8308221)
• The date of the next elections in Lebanon is set for May 29. (Reuters) (http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=worldNews&storyID=2005-04-27T074244Z_01_SIN727703_RTRUKOC_0_LEBANON-ELECTIONS.xml)
• Colombian president Álvaro Uribe sacks four top army generals for disagreeing with his army reforms. (Reuters AlertNet) (http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N27646700.htm)
• In Togo, opposition resistance against election victory of Faure Gnassingbé escalates into violence. At least 33 have died in the clashes. Opposition leader Bob Akitani declares himself president. (AllAfrica) (http://allafrica.com/stories/200504270729.html) (News24) (http://www.news24.com/News24/Africa/News/0,6119,2-11-1447_1696571,00.html) (Reuters) (http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=8314991) (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4488849.stm)
• Mexican president Vicente Fox accepts resignation of his attorney general Rafael Macedo and orders review of the contempt of court case of Andrés Manuel López Obrador. (El Universal) (http://www2.eluniversal.com.mx/pls/impreso/noticia.html?id_nota=10296&tabla=miami) (Reuters) (http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=8322106) (Bloomberg) (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000086&sid=aK_6tzl5P4Oc&refer=latin_america)
• Amnesty International appeals to the government of Yemen to stop execution of Amina Ali Abduladif. She is sentenced to death for murder and the execution is to take place May 2. (Yemen Times) (http://yementimes.com/article.shtml?i=836&p=local&a=1) (Reuters AlertNet) (http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L2776057.htm)
• Zimbabwe opposition party Movement for Democratic Change says that the country has run out of maize grain and asks Robert Mugabe to apply for foreign food aid. (IOL) (http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=84&art_id=qw1114610760757B213) (ReliefWeb) (http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/MMQD-6BULFS?OpenDocument) (Reuters AlertNet) (http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L27378289.htm)
• In India, Gautam Goswami, director of flood relief in Bihar, is accused of misdirecting funds. He denies any wrongdoing. (NDTV) (http://www.ndtv.com/morenews/showmorestory.asp?slug=Flood+relief+scam%3A+Buta+clarifies+stand&id=72169) (Times of India) (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1091145.cms) (Times of India) (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1088997.cms) (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4489411.stm)
• Cherif Bassiouni, former United Nations human rights envoy to Afghanistan, says he lost his job due to US pressure. (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4491163.stm)
• John Gudenus of the Austrian Freedom Party causes controversy when he questions the existence of Nazi gas chambers and later leaves the party. (Ha'aretz) (http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/569406.html) (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4491231.stm)
• In Vietnam, six people are arrested for trying to sell human remains as remains of MIA US soldiers. (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4489649.stm)
• In Côte d'Ivoire, opposition leader Alassane Ouattara welcomes President Laurent Gbagbo's decision to let him contest elections. South African president Thabo Mbeki welcomes it as well. (ReliefWeb) (http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/EVIU-6BUG9K?OpenDocument) (Reuters AlertNet) (http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/IRIN/d2409ad200d348482756eae48b2863f1.htm) (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4490269.stm)

April 26 2005 (Tuesday)

• Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: The Israeli soldier killed in the West Bank on Monday night was shot by his comrades. It was believed he was killed by an Unarmed Taxi Driver, Iyad Dueik, who was shot seven times and whose car ran over the man, but news that he was shot questions this assesment. (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4484833.stm)
• Alassane Ouattara is allowed to run for Presidential election in Côte d'Ivoire. (AP via Yahoo! France) (http://fr.news.yahoo.com/050426/5/4duwh.html)
• 2005 Kuomintang visits to Mainland: a 70-member delegation led by Kuomintang chairman Lien Chan left Taipei for Nanjing via Hong Kong, launching Lien Chan's 8-day Taiwan Strait peace tour, also the first official visit by the highest leader of Kuomintang to Mainland China in 60 years. (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4482617.stm)
• Faure Gnassingbé wins the Togolese presidential election with more than 60% of the votes. Results cause riots in Lomé when the opposition doesn't acknowledge the election, denouncing massive fraud. (AFP via Yahoo!) (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1511&ncid=1511&e=6&u=/afp/20050426/wl_afp/togovote_050426121759) (AFP via Yahoo! France) (http://fr.news.yahoo.com/050426/202/4duqv.html)
• The Civil Unions and Relationships Acts take effect in New Zealand. These laws allow same-sex and de facto couples to form legal unions that are similar to marriage. (New Zealand Herald) (http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10122375)
• The death toll in the Amagasaki rail crash reaches 73. Police searches the offices of West Japan Railway Co looking for clues for the cause of the crash. (Japan Today) (http://www.japantoday.com/e/?content=news&cat=2&id=335311) (Reuters) (http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=8289081) (Bloomberg) (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000087&sid=ah.gQcMVrJQA&refer=top_world_news) (Reuters AlertNet) (http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/T345548.htm)
• Political unrest increases in Belize when opposition calls for the government to step down, telephone workers are on strike and teachers threatening to follow. (Reuters AlertNet) (http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N25491431.htm)
• The U.S. chief weapons inspector, Charles Duelfer states that search of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq has "gone as far as feasible". (Washington Post) (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/04/25/AR2005042501554.html) (Reuters AlertNet) (http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N2675583.htm) (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4484237.stm)
• Military action in Lebanon: After three decades, all Syrian troops leave Lebanon, fulfilling UN Security Council Resolution 1559. (Daily Star, Lebanon) (http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&article_id=14579&categ_id=17), (Reuters) (http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=HTYVLYYAWLYDSCRBAEKSFEY?type=topNews&storyID=8301502)
• British Labour Party member Brian Sedgemore moves to the Liberal Democrats. (Independent) (http://news.independent.co.uk/people/profiles/story.jsp?story=633042) (Times) (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,19809-1586048,00.html) (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/vote_2005/frontpage/4484043.stm)
• Following Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin's plea on national television that a re-election ought to be delayed until the Gomery Commission has completed its report on the sponsorship scandal, a deal between the governing Liberal Party and the New Democratic Party may avoid the election in the near future as predicted earlier last week. (CBC) (http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2005/04/26/martin-layton050426.html)

April 25 2005 (Monday)

• Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: Amnesty International has called on the Israeli Government to investigate the poisoning of Palestinian land, alledgedly by Israeli Settlers around Hebron (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4482211.stm)
• Bulgaria and Romania sign accession treaty to the European Union, continuing the enlargement process. (press release) (http://www.eu2005.lu/en/calendrier/2005/04/25bg-ro/index.html) (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4480677.stm)
• Mary, Crown Princess of Denmark will have a baby in October, says the Royal House in Copenhagen. (Royal House) (http://kongehuset.dk/artikel.php?id=68632) (Danmarks Radio) (http://www.dr.dk/nyheder/indland/article.jhtml?articleID=249817)
• More than 20,000 Australians, New Zealanders, Turks and other nationalities gather at Anzac Cove, Gallipoli, Turkey to mark the 90th anniversary of the landing at Anzac Cove during World War I. Thousands more attend ANZAC Day dawn remembrance ceremonies and marches in cities around Australia and New Zealand, 250,000 in Sydney alone. (Reuters) (http://www.optusnet.com.au/news/story/abc/20050425/18/domestic/1352789.inp)(Wikinews) (http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/ANZAC%27s_remembered_ninety_years_after_assault_on_Gallipoli)
• Amagasaki rail crash: In Japan, a Fukuchiyama Line train derails and crashes into an apartment building in the city of Amagasaki, near Osaka. At least 55 people are dead and around 400 are injured as a result of the accident, Japan's worst rail crash since 1963. (Japan Today) (http://www.japantoday.com/e/?content=news&cat=1&id=335311) (Reuters) (http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=8276501) (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4480031.stm)
• The third and final part of the Obelisk of Axum returns to Ethiopia. Ethiopia has also asked for the return of the remains of prince Alemayehu Tewodros. (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4472259.stm) (Independent) (http://news.independent.co.uk/world/africa/story.jsp?story=632214)
• Czech prime minister Stanislav Gross resigns. Jiří Paroubek is expected to succeed him. (Bloomberg) (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000087&sid=aL9ifJExdNO4&refer=top_world_news) (Reuters) (http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=8279703) (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4480577.stm)
• Same-sex marriage in Canada: Four same-sex couples in New Brunswick file suit for the right to marry under the Charter. This challenge, the first to be filed in over five months, would make New Brunswick the eighth of ten provinces to recognize same-sex marriage. (CBC) (http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2005/04/25/same-sex-new-brunswick050425.html)
• Germany's foreign minister, Joschka Fischer admits in a public hearing that procedural mistakes allowed criminals to have visas to enter the country. He also states that his political opponents had exaggarated the situation. (Deutsche Welle) (http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,1564,1562714,00.html) (IHT) (http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/04/25/news/germany.php) (Reuters) (http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=8283945) (Bloomberg) (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000100&sid=aZB_JlHP8eLs&refer=germany)
• A Finnish man is accused of sexual abuse of 445 boys in Thailand (Helsingin Sanomat) (http://www.helsinginsanomat.fi/english/article/1101979270450) (Reuters) (http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?storyID=8280393&type=worldNews)
• Andrés Manuel López Obrador returns to his work as a mayor of Mexico City despite government demands that he is no longer eligible. (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4481403.stm) (Washington Post) (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/04/25/AR2005042501130.html)
• A 5000-strong Richtersveld community in Northern Cape province, South Africa, goes to Land Claims Court seeking compensation. In the 1920's they were evicted from their land, that turned out to be rich in diamonds and was mined by Alexkor mining company. (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4482165.stm) (IOL) (http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=15&art_id=vn20050425064118469C283841)
• Liberians register to vote in the first elections after a long civil war. Elections are due on October 11. (Land Claims Court) (http://allafrica.com/stories/200504251100.html) (Reuters AlertNet) (http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/IRIN/e765b8433ae758c5e1ced67106afd49e.htm) (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4483239.stm)
• Indian Rail Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav is charged with embezzlement. (Deccan Herald) (http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/apr262005/national131592005425.asp) (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4480233.stm)

April 24 2005 (Sunday)

• About 1 million people march silently through Mexico City in support of the capital's embattled mayor, Andrés Manuel López Obrador. (Bloomberg) (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000086&sid=aM93blcVRAa4&refer=latin_america) (CNN) (http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/americas/04/24/mexico.reut/) (El Universal) (http://www2.eluniversal.com.mx/pls/impreso/noticia.html?id_nota=10267&tabla=miami) (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4479771.stm) (The Guardian) (http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,1469424,00.html)
• Togolese presidential election, 2005: Three killed, amid claims of fraud in tense election in Togo to choose the successor to President Gnassingbé Eyadéma, hardline ruler for 38 years, from amongst Faure Gnassingbé, the 39-year-old son of the late leader, and several challengers led by Emmanuel Bob-Akitani. (Khaleej Times) (http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/theworld/2005/April/theworld_April575.xml&section=theworld), (CNN) (http://edition.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/africa/04/24/togo.elex.ap/)
• Leaders of Asian and African countries celebrate the 50th anniversary of Bandung Conference. (People's Daily Online) (http://english.people.com.cn/200504/25/eng20050425_182578.html), (KeralaNext) (http://www.keralanext.com/news/indexread.asp?id=189799), (XinHua) (http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-04/24/content_2871253.htm)
• Tens of thousands of Armenians mark the 90th anniversary of the mass killings of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire. (CBC) (http://www.cbc.ca/cp/world/050424/w042406.html), (Reuters) (http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L24647754.htm)
• Soyuz TMA-5: A Russian Soyuz spacecraft lands in Kazakhstan, bringing 3 astronauts, Russian Salizhan Sharipov, Chinese American Leroy Chiao and Italian Roberto Vittori, safely back to Earth from the International Space Station. (Reuters) (http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=scienceNews&storyID=8274891)
• Pope Benedict XVI is formally installed as Pope of the Catholic Church in an inaugural mass. (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4477769.stm) (CNN) (http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/europe/04/23/pope.inaugural/index.html)
• Ousted president of Ecuador, Lucio Gutiérrez, moves to exile in Brazil. (Reuters) (http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=8273594) (ITV) (http://www.itv.com/news/world_517322.html)
• Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez ends military cooperation with USA, claiming that US army training officers in the country have been agitating unrest against him. (VCRISIS) (http://www.vcrisis.com/index.php?content=letters/200504230642) (Reuters) (http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=8274804)
• In Kuwait, around 7000 Bengali workers storm the embassy of Bangladesh in Kuwait City to protest against unpaid wages. (Bangladesh Journal) (http://www.bangladeshjournal.com/index.php?ID=3884&tim=24-4-2005) (Al-Jazeera (http://www.aljazeera.com/cgi-bin/news_service/middle_east_full_story.asp?service_id=8120) (Reuters) (http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L24657775.htm)
• Forty Pakistani Christians are arrested in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia for practicing their religion in violation of a Saudi law forbidding the practice of any religion but Islam. Christian Today (http://www.christiantoday.com/news/meast/289.htm).

April 23 2005

• Israeli-Palestinian conflict:
  • The Association of University Teachers, the leading British academic group, has voted to boycott two Israeli universities, Haifa University and Bar-Ilan University, over their alleged involvement in "illegal activity" in the occupied territories. The AUT said it voted for the boycott in response to a plea for action by a group of Palestinian academics. It was condemned by the Israeli Embassy, the British Ambassador in Israel, by Jewish Human Rights groups and by Universities UK. (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/4472169.stm), (Guardian) (http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,6903,1469015,00.html)
  • Israeli security forces arrest 3 suspected Palestinian militants on the Geha Highway near Ra'anana, Israel. When the police arived, the 3 suspects were barricaded in their car, while a 4th suspect fled the scene. Earlier in the night, the Israeli Police put roadblocks and checkpoints after it received high alert on "rolling" suicide bombing attack. (Haaretz) (http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/568452.html), (Ynet) (http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3076684,00.html)
  • A 17-year-old Palestinian is caught carrying 4 pipe bombs in Beit Furik checkpoint. (Haaretz) (http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/568452.html)
  • A Qassam rocket was launched toward northern Gaza community. No casualties were reported. Also, Palestinian militants stabbed a soldier near Ganim settlement, injuring him moderately. (Haaretz) (http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/568452.html)
• A rodent species representing a new family of mammals, Laonastidae, is discovered in Laos. This is the first new family of mammals discovered since 1974. (Cambridge Journals) (http://journals.cambridge.org/bin/bladerunner?REQUNIQ=1114272586&REQSESS=6569750&118000REQEVENT=&REQINT1=292893&REQAUTH=0)
• Bangladesh accuses the BSF of gunning down two farmers who had strayed into no man's land at Hairharpur on the Indo-Bangla border. Indian officials say the guards had only shot at and injured two Bangladeshis trying to sneak into West Bengal. (Gulf Times, Qatar) (http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=34281&version=1&template_id=44&parent_id=24) (Voice of America) (http://www.voanews.com/english/2005-04-22-voa29.cfm)

April 22 2005

• Rumors abound that a nuclear test by North Korea may be imminent, and that the United States is urging the People's Republic of China to pressure North Korea not to do so. (Reuters) (http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N2252742.htm) (The Hindu) (http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/003200504231210.htm) (Washington Post) (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A10477-2005Apr22.html) (Drudge Report) (http://www.drudgereport.com/flash.htm)
• Zacarias Moussaoui pleads guilty to terror charges in U.S. federal court. (Yahoo) (http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&e=1&u=/ap/20050422/ap_on_re_us/moussaoui&sid=84439559)
• At London's Old Bailey, Saajid Badat, who had earlier pled guilty to being part of Richard Reid's shoe-bombing conspiracy, is sentenced to 13 years imprisonment. (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4474307.stm)
• A German court orders a retrial in the case of Armin Meiwes, who was jailed in 2004 for eight years for killing and eating a man (with the man's supposed consent). (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4472593.stm)
• In an attempt to ease recent tensions between the two Asian economic powerhouses in the Japanese history textbooks controversy, Japanese prime minister Junichiro Koizumi publicly expressed his "deep remorse" for actions of Japanese troops in China during World War II for the first time in a decade. He intends to meet PRC president Hu Jintao at the Asia-Africa Conference in Jakarta. However, 81 Diet members visit Yasukuni Shrine the same day, causing more controversy inside and outside Japan about the true attitude of Tokyo on this subject. (Japan Today) (http://www.japantoday.com/e/?content=news&cat=9&id=335039), (Bloomberg) (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000087&sid=a9Maq0YTvPUQ&refer=top_world_news), (Reuters) (http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=8260899), (Guardian Unlimited) (http://www.guardian.co.uk/japan/story/0,7369,1468519,00.html), (Telegraph UK) (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/04/23/wjapan23.xml&sSheet=/news/2005/04/23/ixnewstop.html)
• In the UK, the National Portrait Gallery states that the so-called Flower Portrait of William Shakespeare is a 19th-century forgery. (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4471515.stm), (Herald) (http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/37805.html)
• Canadian prime minister Paul Martin promises in a televised address to call for an early general election once the Gomery inquiry into the current corruption scandal is over. (CTV) (http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1114083674580_24/?hub=CTVNewsAt11), (Globe and Mail) (http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20050421.wmartin0421_2/BNStory/Front/), (Reuters) (http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=8259354), (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4471407.stm)
• Togolese interior minister François Boko wants to postpone next Sunday's presidential election, claiming that there is a threat of civil war. ECOWAS wants them to continue as scheduled. (IOL) (http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=86&art_id=qw1114143841405B232), (Reuters AlertNet) (http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/IRIN/a62d3d6d1b768a86fc053c9ef14896b9.htm)
• Nepal releases 61 political prisoners, including the former deputy prime minister. (Sify) (http://sify.com/news/international/fullstory.php?id=13724215), (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4471545.stm) Amnesty International states that human rights violations have escalated under the state of emergency. (Indian Express) (http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story.php?content_id=68890), (ReliefWeb) (http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/ACIO-6BNQKF?OpenDocument)
• Medtronic, Inc. paid US$ 1.35 billion to settle a patent lawsuit and also to acquir