Four car bombs explode just minutes apart outside neighboring four churches in central Baghdad and one car bomb explodes at a church in Mosul during Sunday evening services, killing 5 and injuring at least 46 people, witnesses say. The attacks appeared to be the first targeting churches during the 15-months of violent insurgency. (AP)CNN
The French Ambassador to Chad, Jean Pierre Bercot, says that France will deploy 200 soldiers to help secure Chad's eastern border with Sudan's conflict-torn Darfur region. The troops will also bring humanitarian aid to tens of thousands of Darfur refugees in Chad. (BBC)
World Trade Organization members agree on a revised draft deal that aims to revive stalled talks on freeing up trade between rich and poor nations. Key WTO members accept proposals to cut the subsidies wealthy countries give their farmers for exports. International non-governmental organizations (NGOs) denounced the results as a sell-out of poor countries and the environment. (BBC)(OneWorld.net)
Turkey's truckers' association says it will stop delivering goods to U.S. forces in Iraq, in what appears to be a direct response to insurgents' videotaped killing of a Turkish hostage. (Herald Sun)
Doom 3, the long-awaited second follow-up to the 1993 first-person shooting classic, is leaked online. (BBC)
A Philippine lawyer who helped recover millions of dollars stashed by late dictator Ferdinand Marcos and a doctor who exposed China's SARS outbreak are among this year's winners of the Ramon Magsaysay Award, a prestigious prize in Asia. (AP)
The government of Paraguay confirms that at least 275 people died in a supermarket fire in Asunción. The death toll is still expected to rise as a more thorough search is completed. (Seattle Post)(CNN)
The truce between Muqtada al-Sadr's militia and occupation troops ends as US troops surround his house in Najaf to arrest him. (BBC)
Reports state that information that led the US to raise the terror alert for five financial centers in New York City, northern New Jersey and Washington, D.C. was mainly three or four years old but had been updated as recently as January. Administration officials note, too, that al Qaeda is known for its planning, and that this information became available following the apprehension of a Pakistani member of the organization. (CNN)(Xinhuanet)
The death toll in the market fire in Asunción, Paraguay rises to 464. Six people, including the co-owner, are arrested for manslaughter on charges that they locked the doors after the fire started, in order to prevent looting. (The Scotsman)(ABC News)
The National Institutes of Health decides not to override drug patents to allow generic production of anti-AIDS drug Norvir in the United States, despite claims of price gouging by patients' groups and some members of Congress. (ABC)
A ceremony is held at London's Cenotaph to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the United Kingdom's entry into the First World War. Four of the 23 surviving British veterans of the war, aged between 103 and 108, are well enough to attend. (BBC)
Mary Kay Letourneau is released from a Washington prison after serving a sentence of over seven years for statutory rape. The former elementary school teacher became notorious for her sexual involvement with one of her male students, who was 12 years old when the illicit relationship began. She bore two children by the boy, who is now 21 years old. (FOX News)
Radical IraqiShia cleric Moqtada Sadr calls for a truce to be restored after a day of heavy fighting between his militia and U.S. troops in Najaf. (BBC)
The U.S. claims that over 300 of Sadr's fighters have been killed in two days of clashes. (Reuters)
Chess master Bobby Fischer, apparently seeking to avoid deportation to, and trial in the U.S., says he is renouncing his U.S. citizenship. (AFP)
U.S. intelligence officials and non-government experts conclude that diplomatic efforts to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons to Iran and North Korea have failed to slow their weapons development programs.
Fierce fighting continues between U.S. forces and backers of Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. Sadr threatens that he "will defend Najaf until my last drop of blood." According to the U.S. military, U.S forces have killed 300 supporters of Sadr in some of the most violent clashes since the fall of Baghdad. (democracy now!)
Scientists speaking at a news conference on natural disasters raise the alarm that the Cumbre Vieja volcano on La Palma, Canary Islands, could erupt at any time, sending a 250 km2. rock crashing into the Atlantic Ocean and producing a tsunami that could devastate the Atlantic's coastline, within hours. Very little seismological monitoring of the volcano is being carried out. (BBC)
Bombs explode at two small hotels and a gas plant in the Turkish city of Istanbul, killing two people and injuring at least nine. (BBC)
The U.S. deals a major blow to German prosecutors at the re-trial of MoroccanMounir al-Motassadek, one of the only 9/11 suspects to face justice to date, by refusing to allow an alleged al-Qaeda member to testify via videolink, citing security concerns and the need to protect secret information. (BBC)
Pakistan announces that it will soon release 449 Indian prisoners, a majority of them fishermen who were detained for allegedly entering the country's territorial waters. (Navhind Times)
New JerseyGovernorJim McGreevey resigns his post effective November 15, saying that his extramarital homosexual affair would leave the governor's office "vulnerable to rumors, false allegations and threats of disclosure.". (CNN)
Aides to rebel IraqiShia cleric Moqtada al Sadr report that he has been wounded in fighting in the holy city of Najaf; the government denies the reports. The Najaf offensive triggers pro-Sadr protests in cities all over Iraq. (BBC)(protest pictures – BBC)
US planes bomb the city of Samarra, north-west of Baghdad. In Najaf, a fragile ceasefire holds, with Muqtada al-Sadr making defiant statements but continuing negotiations. The Allawi government decides to withdraw from the negotiations in the afternoon. (BBC)(BBC)(BBC)
1,600 Palestinians in Israeli jails begin a liquids-only diet, which they are describing as a hunger strike to protest against their prison conditions. Israeli Internal Security Minister Tzahi Hanegbi comments: "As far as I'm concerned, they can strike for a day, a month, until death." (BBC)
India's Independence Day celebrations are marred by a bomb blast that kills some 18 people at a parade in Dhemaji, Assam. Immediate suspicion falls on ULFA separatists. (BBC)
Same-sex marriage in Canada: Three Nova Scotia couples have filed suit requesting that the provincial government be ordered to issue them marriage licences. Such a ruling would make Nova Scotia the fifth province or territory to recognize same-sex marriages. (365Gay.com)
After 60 mm (2.4 in) of rain in two hours, severe flash flooding at Boscastle in Cornwall, UK, results in buildings, roads, and over 50 cars swept away. Flood waters race through town at speeds up to 65 km/h (40 mph). Many have to leave their homes; helicopters airlift 150 people to safety. (BBC)(Reuters)
Same-sex marriage in Canada: Federal justice minister Irwin Cotler announces that the federal government will no longer resist court proceedings aiming to require provincial governments to issue same-sex marriage licences. (Toronto Star)
At the Non-Aligned Movement summit in Durban, South African President Thabo Mbeki calls for reform of the UN and other international institutions, saying that developing countries should not allow powerful nations to dictate the world on their own terms. (BBC)
Israel's prime minister, Ariel Sharon, vows to press on with his disengagement plan, despite it receiving another rejection from his Likud party. (BBC)
Nature magazine reveals that five new satellites and a further candidate moon have been discovered orbiting Neptune, bringing its tally to 13. (BBC)
Three individuals in the United States are arrested and charged with supporting the Palestinian militant group Hamas over a 15-year period. (Washington Times)
High-level American military leaders are said to be at least partly responsible for abuses of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison in a report written by an investigative panel headed by James Schlesinger. (Toronto Star)
French police launch a manhunt as Cesare Battisti, a wanted left-wing extremist who was facing extradition from France to Italy, goes missing. (BBC)
Astronomers announce the discovery of a third extrasolar planet orbiting Mu Arae. The planet may be the first rocky world detected orbiting a star other than the Sun.
Soft drinks company Rubicon announces the release of the Sensory Straw, which has four small holes rather than one large one, an innovation said to improve the drinking experience. (Marketing Magazine)
Chile's Supreme Court strips former military ruler Augusto Pinochet of his immunity from prosecution, allowing him to be prosecuted for alleged crimes including involvement in murder and torture. (BBC)
Between 5,000 and 6,000 participants take part in the Critical Mass bicyclist ride as part of the 2004 Republican National Convention protest activity. The monthly NYC Critical Mass ride usually attracts about 1500 riders. Police eventually arrested 264 people for deliberately blockading roads during the event. This is the first time the NYPD made any significant arrests of Critical Mass participants. (NYC-IMC)
Interbrew completes its merger with Ambev. Both were among the top five largest breweries in the world, and together they will become the largest, when measured by volume. The merged company will be called InBev(Bloomberg)
The FBI has launched a full espionage investigation into Larry Franklin after obtaining evidence pointing to a high-ranking spy in the Pentagon. According to CBS News, the spy has been giving classified secrets to Israel which could compromise U.S. national security. Israel denies the charges.
Following the intervention of Grand AyatollahAli al-Sistani, an agreement is found to end the standoff in Najaf. Although the terms are not clear, the deal requires both the al-Sadrmilitia and U.S. troops to leave the city, to be replaced by the police interim government. Responsibility for the Imam Ali Mosque goes to Sistani. (BBC) This resolution occurs two days before the one-year anniversary of the assassination of Sayed Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim, a prominent Shi'ite cleric from Najaf.
The Russian Federal Security Service announces that traces of the explosivehexogen have been found in the wreckage of the two Russia airliners which crashed on August 24, 2004. The Islamic group "the Islambouli Brigades" claims responsibility. (AP)
The Interior Minister of France announces that the number of anti-Semitic attacks in France this year is more than double that of the same period last year. (Reuters)Archived 2005-04-08 at the Wayback Machine
The Lebanese Cabinet, under Syrian pressure and despite widespread opposition, votes to modify the constitution to allow President Émile Lahoud a second term in office. Patriarch Sfeir states "we have completely lost sovereignty of our territory and our independence and freedom in choosing our rulers and deciding our own affairs." (NYT)
The British Royal Society, with 68 other organizations, urges the UN to ban reproductive but not therapeutic use of the technology in response to a US bid to ban human cloning altogether. (BBC)
Two amateur French Egyptologists claim to have discovered, using radar, a previously unknown corridor inside the Great Pyramid of Khufu. They believe the corridor would lead directly to Khufu's burial chamber, a room which – if it exists – is unlikely to have been accessed since the burial and may still contain the king's remains. (The Guardian)(AustBC)
Republic of China (Taiwan) President Chen Shui-bian cancels the annual Han Kuang live-fire exercises previously schedule for September 9 as a goodwill gesture to the mainland after the People's Republic of China reportedly halted its military drills at Dongshan Island on the Taiwan Strait. (VOA)(CNN)
In Iraq, the radical Islamist group, Army of Ansar al-Sunna, kill 12 Nepali civilians employed as cooks and cleaners, stating "We have carried out the sentence of God against 12 Nepalis who came from their country to fight the Muslims and to serve the Jews and the Christians ... believing in Buddha as their God" (Reuters)[permanent dead link]
