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2003 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December
A timeline of events in the news for September, 2003.
- Abdalla Yones, who was convicted of murder for killing his daughter for dating a Christian, is sentenced to life in prison
after becoming the first person in Britain to admit an "honour
killing". [8]
- Terrorism: Pakistan dismisses
and condemns al-Qaida terrorist network threat
against President Pervez Musharraf, saying the war
against terrorism will continue. Pakistan Foreign Ministry
spokesman Masood Khan states (in
Islamabad) Pakistan will not be deterred by such threats. The identity of the
speaker on the audio tape or the authenticity of the tape has not been
verified. The message was attributed to al-Qaida's second-ranking leader, Ayman al-Zawahri, and was aired on Al-Jazeera and
Al-Arabiya. [9] [10] [11]
- Space - Technology: NASA outlines plans for the Space
Shuttle’s Replacement, a "Space Taxi". The next-generation space vehicle is on the drawing boards now and NASA
has just issued newly defined requirements. [12]
- Occupation of Iraq: Iraqi security forces and United States military police in Tikrit launch a
hunt for guerrillas behind a series of deadly attacks on coalition troops — the largest-ever joint military operation to date. During the
raids, dozens of soldiers from the United States Army's
720th Military Police Battalion backed up over 200 Iraqi police. The raids netted 92 people
and weapons that included Kalashnikov rifles, mortars, firing tubes, 155-mm artillery
shells and rocket launchers. [13]
- Nuclear weapons: Iranian
official confirm traces of highly enriched uranium found in the country at the
Kalaye Electric
Company near Tehran (this was the second time such a discovery was made by United Nations inspectors). Iran's ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency,
Ali Akbar Salehi,
attributes the find to the contamination of imported equipment on state television. Iranians have allegedly used Kalaye Electric
Company to test centrifuges used to make highly enriched uranium that can be used to make atomic bombs. [14]
- International relations: European Union increases
pressure on Tehran to cooperate with international nuclear weapons inspectors. Britain states
Iran must declare "unequivocally" that it harbours no ambitions to develop nuclear
arms. European Union, in a draft joint statement, warns of economic fallout if Tehran does not make progress on key areas
including non-proliferation, fighting terrorism, human rights and the Middle East peace
process. [15]
- Nuclear power: Iran insists on
assurances it can develop uranium enrichment technology for its civil nuclear
power program. Foreign Minister, Kamal Kharrazi, states he wants "assurances that the problem is going to be solved" before signing an
additional protocol with the International Atomic Energy Agency. [16]
- International relations: Former US Secretary of State, Madeline Albright (commenting on European Union
relations to the United States), says that current transatlantic
relations are in a dangerous "vicious circle". She states that the European Union is not a counterweight to American power in the
world. She also states that there is an American
"catch-22", and that America is criticized no matter which foreign policy
it adopts. [17]
- Euro: British Prime Minister
Tony Blair has not ruled out a euro referendum before the next general election
- expected in 2005. Both pro and anti-euro campaigners, however, believe that
the chances for an early referendum on the single currency have disappeared.
[18]
- United Kingdom: The British Labour Party is holding its annual conference in Bournemouth on the English south coast. For the party and especially Tony Blair it is a tough conference as his policies (especially over Iraq) are under heavy attack.
- European Union: Member states clash over the issue of how many MEPs
should represent the European Parliament on the approaching Intergovernmental Conference on October 4. The
developing consensus seems to be that at least one representative from the two major parties in the European Parliament will attend the conference, but this procedure is
highly controversial -- normally parliamentarians do not attend high level meetings among EU leaders. [19]
- Natural disaster: The Canadian Maritimes recover from Hurricane
Juan, which slammed into Halifax, Nova Scotia. Two Nova Scotians die.
[20] Two-thirds of Prince Edward Island is left without power [21] .
- Elections : Despite the blackout and other damage caused by Hurricane Juan,
Prince Edward Islanders go to the polls during the Prince Edward Island
general election, 2003, re-electing the Tories under Premier Pat
Binns. The Liberals
receive four seats. [22]
- Elections: Newfoundland and Labrador premier Roger
Grimes calls a general election for October 21. Grimes' Liberals are seeking reelection against the Tories, NDP, and the Labrador
Party. [23]
- Medicine: An experimental treatment given to a British man has halted the progress of brain damage caused by Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease. [34]
- SCO vs IBM: International Business Machines Corp. files
new counterclaims against SCO Group Inc. involving the Linux operating system according to a memo sent
to the IBM sales force. [35]
- Israeli-Palestinian conflict: A
Palestinian gunman enters a home in Negohot (an Israeli settlement in the West Bank, near Hebron), murders 7-month-old Shaked Avraham and
27-year-old Eyal Yeberbaum, and injures both of the baby girl's parents as they were celebrating the Jewish New Year. The shooter was later killed by Israeli security forces. The
Palestinian Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility
for the attack.[36]
- Road map for peace: 'Quartet' urges Israel and Palestinians to do more to revive Middle East peace
plan. Voicing "great concern" at recent Israeli and Palestinian attacks that have stalled the Middle East peace
process, a high-level meeting of the diplomatic Quartet of the United
Nations, United States, Russian Federation and European Union call on
both sides to take immediate action to revive the Road map for
peace. [37] [38]
- Iraq - Constitution: Secretary of State Colin Powell, responding to a rapid timetable self-rule demands from France (and
others), states the United States would set a deadline of six months for
Iraqi leaders working under the coalition occupation to produce a new constitution. The constitution would clear the way for
elections and the installation of a new leadership next year. [39] [40]
- Iraq - Terrorism: Mortar rounds hit killing at least seven civilian Iraqis in the town square of Baquba. At least 20 civilian were wounded. Also, Akila al-Hashemi, a member of
Iraq's Governing Council, was buried in Najaf a day after she died from wounds inflicted
by an unidentified gunmen. [41]
- Media: The two leading cable news networks, Fox News and CNN, have engaged in a public battle over phone numbers. Fox
publicizes CNN commentator's home number after talk host gives out FNC's phone. [42]
- Entertainment: Movie trailer of The Matrix
Revolutions is released. [43] [44]
- International relations: Brazilian president Lula da Silva makes his first
official visit to Cuba. In meetings with president Fidel Castro, he plans to affirm the friendship between the two countries and to increase bilateral ties.
Reporters Without Borders had previously called
on the Brazilian president to intercede on behalf of 30 journalists currently imprisoned on Cuba. [45] , [46]
- Terrorism: FBI probes Hamas-linked
'criminal enterprises' associated with the radical Islamic group Hamas that has taken responsibility for a string of bombings in
Israel. Hamas also declares the organization would not participate with other Palestinian
groups in a proposed cease-fire nor join the next Palestinian government. Sheik Ahmed Yassin states "the enemy is continuing his aggression, killing, and
settlement activities." [47] [48]
- Shariah: Nigerian "adulteress" escapes stoning [49]
.
An Islamic appeals court in
northern Nigeria has acquitted single mother Amina Lawal facing death by stoning for adultery. The five-judge panel
rejected Amina Lawal's conviction under Shariah in March 2002, saying she was not given "ample opportunity to defend herself". [50]
- Business: Kodak has said that it will
no longer make major investments in conventional photographic film. [51]
- WMD: An early draft of an interim report by the inspectors for banned weapons in Iraq says his team has not found any of the unconventional weapons cited by President George W. Bush as a principal reason for going to war. CIA stresses report is not final and inspectors are still getting data. [52]
- Natural disaster: An earthquake of magnitude 8.0 struck near the island of
Hokkaido in Japan at 19:50:07 (UTC). A
7-foot tall tsunami was generated off the coast of Hokkaido as a result of the quake
and tsunami warnings have been issued for most of the Pacific Rim, including
Japan, Russia's eastern coast, Alaska, and Hawaii. [53]
- Technology : Electronic paper reaches video speed. Paper capable of playing
videos has been invented at the Philips
Research laboratory in Eindhoven, the Netherlands. The ink can be rearranged electronically fast enough to show video movies. [54]
- Science - Space: Europe gets set for Moon mission. Rocket operators clear the Smart 1 probe to begin its lunar adventure on
an Ariane 5 rocket from the Kourou spaceport in French Guiana. Smart 1 will
test a novel type of propulsion system on its mission and map lunar surface features.
[55]
- Occupation of Iraq: Nine
rebels in north Iraq are killed. Coalition troops
kill nine guerrillas, the biggest toll for more than a month, in scattered action over northern Iraq in the past 24 hours.
Major Josslyn Aberle states "The enemy are becoming more desperate as we pursue them." [56]
- The U.S. District Court in Denver rules that the National Do Not Call Registry would violate the
First Amendment since it contains exceptions for certain unsolicited
calls. Thus, the Federal Trade Commission is
currently prohibited from implementing the registry.
- Terrorism: United
States taking measures to deprive dollars from Hamas' hands. [57]
- Swedish police arrests a new suspect in the murder of Anna Lindh. Per-Olof Svensson is no longer
a suspect and has been released.
- Belgium's highest court, Cour de Cassation, throws out case against Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Israeli General Amos Yaron. Also, a case against former
U.S. President George H. W. Bush (for war
crimes in Iraq) and Secretary of State Colin Powell is dismissed.
[58] [59]
- Israeli-Palestinian conflict: A protest
letter by a group of 27 Israeli pilots to the Israeli air force
is publicized. In the letter, the pilots announce their refusal to fly further missions to bomb leaders of Palestinian terrorist
groups in civilian areas. The pilots' letter calls the attacks "illegal and immoral". It draws quick condemnation from
commentators, from politicians and from military leaders, with calls for severe punishment including jail, although a dismissal
is considered the most likely result. The pilots' protest is a reaction to attacks like the one on Hamas leader Salah
Shehade in July 2002, which killed Shehade, his bodyguard and 15 civilians, among them nine children. [60] , [61] , [62]
- Computer and Communications Industry Association report, written by a
handful of security experts, Microsoft's dominance in key technologies poses security risk and threatens the national
infrastructure. Computer and Communications Industry Association states reliance on a single technology, such as the Windows operating system, threatens economic security and critical infrastructure. The paper warns that many
security improvements planned by Microsoft are likely designed to deter customers from switching to another operating system.
[63]
- After several postponements the European Parliament
finally passes a directive concerning the "patentability of computer-implemented inventions". The final text differs substantially from the original proposal and is seen
as going a long way in addressing the concerns that it would legalize patents on software and business methods. The directive should now be under review by the Council of the European Union. [64] [65]
- A federal judge ruled that the national "do-not-call" list against telemarketers is illegal. [66]
- Islam in France: Two French muslim girls are excluded from school today over the wearing of the
Islamic veil in schools. [67] [68]
- California recall: A federal appeals court
overturns a three-judge panel's ruling and reinstates the original date for the recall election, October 7, 2003. The ACLU, whose suit
was responsible for the original decision, will not appeal to the United States Supreme Court. [69]
- United Nations: World Heads of State and Government convened at
United Nations Headquarters in New York City for the start of the General
Assembly's annual high-level debate. President of the United States George
W. Bush urges the international community to help Iraq rebuild itself into a democracy
with the "great power to inspire the Middle East." President Bush states a
transformed Middle East would also benefit the entire world "by undermining the ideologies that export violence to other lands."
President Bush also calls on the Security Council to adopt new
anti-proliferation resolution "calling on all members of the UN to criminalize the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction,"
enacting strict export controls, and securing all sensitive material. [70]
- Iraq: A new Gallup poll shows
majority of Iraqis expect better life in 5 years. After foreign military occupation and the removal of Saddam
Hussein, around two-thirds of Baghdad residents state the Iraqi dictator removal
was worth the hardships they've been forced to endure. [71]
- Iraq: A US-led coalition backed Iraqi Governing Council member, Iyad Allawi,
announces restrictions of the operations of TV networks al-Jazeera and al-Arabiya. The networks are barred from reporting on official activities and news
conferences and from entering ministries and office buildings for the next two weeks. The council claims they incited
anti-occupation violence (by airing statements from resistance leaders; specifically broadcasting a video of "terrorists
terrorizing Iraqis"), increased ethnic and sectarian tensions and were supportive of the lawless resistance. Allawi hopes the ban
sends a "very clear message" to other stations. Al-Jazeera responds that it is trying to give a balanced view of the current
situation in Iraq and that it considers its ethical standards to be similar to western ones. The Coalition Provisional Authority has not
responded to inquiries about the announcement. [72] , [73] ,
[74] , [75]
- The Methuselah
Foundation launches the Methuselah mouse
contest, offering a prize to the team which can extend mouse lifespan the longest.
The aim is to promote research which can offer insights into human longevity.
- Blackout: A power shortcut lays the southern part of Sweden and the eastern part of Denmark dead from midday, leaving
traffic chaos and other disruptions throughout the area. About 2-3 million people are affected. From 4 PM Copenhagen has power again. A Swedish nuclear power plant abruptly stopped producing power.
- Space Shuttle program : Entire NASA flight safety panel resigns. All nine members of a panel formed to advise on space flight
safety resigned. [76]
- Galileo probe: After 14 years of flight time and 8 years of service
in the Jovian system, Galileo's mission was terminated by sending the probe into Jupiter's crushing atmosphere at a speed of
nearly 50 kilometres per second to avoid any chance of it contaminating local moons.
- Espionage: The Washington Times reveals the arrest of U.S. Army Captain James Yee, an Islamic chaplain at the Guantanamo Bay naval base, for espionage. Law enforcement
officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, state that FBI agents discovered classified
documents carried by Yee and were questioning him before handing him over to the military. [80] [81]
- Terrorism - 9/11: Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, mastermind of the September 11 attacks, tells
interrogators he first discussed the plot with Osama bin Laden in
1996. The original plan, and its evolution, are told to an interrogator, along with the
answers to several questions over the attacks. [82] [83]
- United Nations: Leaders of the United Nations are concerned if
change can give it the freedom it needs to survive. Kofi Annan will outline
plans for reform at the United Nations
General Assembly next week. Annan states that only "radical" revisions will likely preserve it. [84]
- Iraq: To open up its economy, the Iraq leadership council unveils sweeping free market reforms permitting foreign investment and imposes income taxes - but
keeps oil under government control.
[85]
- Embargo: China voices opposition to
United States sanctions over the alleged sale of advanced missile technology to an unnamed country.
[86]
- Germany: State elections in the state of Bavaria show a great success for the governing CSU of Edmund Stoiber, scoring
over 60%. The nationally governing SPD is down to 19%, a historic low point.
- Peace: United Nations Secretary General Kofi
Annan rings the Japanese Peace Bell, marking International Day
of Peace at United Nations Headquarters in New York, cautioning that for some, the direst threat to peace was terrorism and weapons of mass
destruction, while for others it was poverty, disease, deprivation, and civil war. [97]
- Occupation of Iraq:
Iraq's former defense minister, Sultan Hashim Ahmed, surrenders to Coalition troops. He
was seen at Saddam Hussein's side in what is thought to have been the
ousted dictator's last public appearance as Baghdad fell. He is number 27 on the
most-wanted list of former top
officials under Saddam Hussein (also eight of hearts). The ex-minister surrendered at a house in the northern Iraqi city of
Mosul and was being taken to Baghdad. [98] [99]
- Hurricane Isabel: Isabel, now a tropical storm, moves through
western Pennsylvania before heading to Ontario, Canada. The storm leaves more than 4.3 million residents along
the East Coast of the United States without power.
- Canadian Liberal Leadership Race: Balloting
begins in delegate-selection meetings across Canada which will determine the outcome of
the Liberal leadership convention this November.
Paul Martin is expected to easily secure enough votes to beat
opponent Sheila Copps. This all-but guarantees Martin will replace his
longtime rival Jean Chrétien as the next Prime Minister of Canada.[100]
- Email virus: Email users are swamped by a new fast-spreading
computer virus circulating through email that purports to be security software from Microsoft, but
actually tries to disable security programs that are already running. The worm, dubbed "Swen" or "Gibe," takes advantage of a
two-year-old hole in Internet Explorer and affects systems that
have not installed a patch for that security hole.
- Nuclear Weapons: Secretary of the Guardians Council Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, a leading hardline Iranian cleric, calls for
Iran to withdrawal from Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty because of the compliance protocols referred to by the International Atomic Energy Agency and not consent to unfettered inspections of its
nuclear facilities. "The treaty has been denounced by a number of countries. Although Iran has inked the Nuclear
Non-Proliferation Treaty, it is free to withdraw from it anytime". "North
Korea withdrew from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. Many countries have not even signed it. It would have been better if
Iran had not signed it." [101] [102]
- International Atomic Energy
Agency: Iranian officials gave signals that they do not intend to comply with a
resolution passed by the United Nations's nuclear watchdog giving
Tehran until the end of next month to come clean on its atomic programme.
Parliamenetary speaker Mehdi
Karrubi, a close ally of President Mohammad Khatami, said the IAEA resolution was "political" and that "the Iranian people will not accept
giving in to the logic of force." [103]
- Hurricane Isabel makes landfall on the east coast of the
United States near Kill
Devil Hill, North Carolina.
- Canadian gay couple's marriage is not recognized in border crossing: Kevin Bourassa and Joe Varnell, two men married in
Ontario, are prevented from using a family customs declaration form when attempting to board a plane at Pearson International Airport. The two gay men,
on their way to a human rights conference in Georgia, abandoned their trip rather than use two separate forms for unmarried
people. It is one of the first cases of practical discord between the same-sex marriage laws in Canada and the lack of same in
the United States, and possibilities for legal or diplomatic action are being examined. [104] (See gay rights, same-sex
marriage).
- A passenger aboard a South African Airways jet tries
to break into the cockpit during a flight from Cape Town to Atlanta. The passenger, James Drake, is arrested upon arrival. He had
also been arrested in 1987 after trying to break into another airplane's cockpit.
- China formally acknowledges that it has transferred guard duties along the Korean
border from the police to the army. They did not formally report the number of troops deployed, which independent media estimate
have placed at 150,000.
- VeriSign Inc introduces a wildcard DNS entry for all non-existent .net and .com domain names which redirect users to a VeriSign
website with information about VeriSign products and purchases links to "partner" sites.
- 2003 California recall: The 9th
U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San
Francisco rules unanimously that the California recall election be postponed because several large counties, including
Los Angeles County, have not upgraded
their voting machines to replace the punch card ballot systems which
have consistently resulted in a significant number of uncountable votes (and thus unrepresented citizens).[112]
- Weather: Hurricane
Isabel is now predicted to hit the Mid-Eastern U.S. Coast with winds up to 110mph. [113] [114]
- Iraq: Shiite cleric's killer held. A former Baath Party official arrested in
connection with the killing of Ayatollah Mohammad Baqir
al-Hakim last month has confessed to planning the operation that killed the senior Shiite cleric. [115]
- Terrorism: German neo-Nazi threat 'rising'. Interior
Minister Otto Schily has warned a new quality and new level of neo-Nazi
terror has emerged. The discovery of a suspected plot to bomb a Munich Jewish centre during a visit by the German president has "dramatically confirmed" the danger to
society. [116]
- Terrorism: A powerful truck bomb has
exploded near the local headquarters of Russia's Federal Security
Service in Ingushetia, which borders separatist Chechnya. Reports say three people were killed and more than 20 injured. [117]
- War on Terrorism : As the United States remembers the
deadliest terrorist attack ever on its shores, the State Department warns that it is seeing "increasing indications that
al-Qaida is preparing to strike United States interests abroad." The State
Department issues a worldwide warning of possible al-Qaida attacks against United States interests. The United States State
Department urges U.S. citizens and employees overseas to take special caution on the second anniversary of the September 11 Terrorist Attacks
amid growing indications that al-Qaida is planning bigger attacks, "possibly involving nonconventional
weapons such as chemical
or biological agents." [129] [130] [131]
- Swedish Foreign Minister Anna Lindh has died in hospital from stab wounds inflicted while she was shopping in a
department store in the centre of Stockholm. In the wake of the incident, both
the Yes and No Euro campaigns suspended their activities. [132]
- Israeli-Palestinian conflict: The
Israeli Security Cabinet votes in principle to expel Yasser Arafat, the chairman of the Palestinian Authority, from the West Bank. According
to one source, the cabinet decided to ask the Israeli Defense
Force to draw up a plan to expel Arafat. No timeline was specified, and Israeli government sources say that the decision was
not to expel him immediately. The United States State Department criticises such a move as "unhelpful". Thousands of
Palestinians travel to the presidential compound in Ramallah to protest at the
Israeli decision. The Palestinian prime minister-designate, Ahmed Qurei,
announces in response to the Israeli decision that he is halting efforts to form a government. Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov states an international force may be needed to end spiraling violence in the Palestinian
territories.
[133]
[134] [135]
- Scientists at MIT have achieved the lowest temperature ever recorded, half a billionth of a kelvin (0.5
nanokelvin) above absolute zero, in sodium gas. At that speed, atoms move about 12 cm/second.[136]
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