October 1, 2003
(
2003-10-01
)
(Wednesday)
October 2, 2003
(
2003-10-02
)
(Thursday)
- North Korea
claims to "have already
processed
" 8,000
fuel rods
from its
Yongbyon nuclear reactor
north of
Pyongyang
and is using the
plutonium
extracted during the process to make
atomic bombs
to boost its nuclear capabilities for
nuclear deterrent
force. Citing a "hostile policy" by the United States, Vice Foreign Minister
Choe Su Hon
states this is a means to safeguard the country's territory.
[1]
- Occupation of Iraq
: The
United Nations Security Council
discusses a new United States draft resolution on
Iraq
, which would enhance the
United Nations
' role in
Iraq
.
Secretary General
Kofi Annan
states draft did not go in the direction he recommended. A quicker transfer of
sovereignty
"
may change the dynamics on the ground, in terms of the security situation, and send a message
".
[2]
- Technology
?
Genome
: The genome chip arrived with several companies rushing to sell the known human genes. The products will allow scientists to scan all genes in a human tissue sample at once to determine which are active, with lower cost and increased speed.
[3]
- Sino-American relations
: The
United States Navy
blames China for the 2001
Hainan Island incident
. A report released to
Jane's Defence Weekly
under the
Freedom of Information Act
said that the pilot of the Chinese
jet fighter
made three passes at the U.S. propeller-driven
reconnaissance plane
over
international waters
. On the third pass, the Chinese fighter hit a propeller on the American plane.
[4]
- Ontario general election, 2003
:
Dalton McGuinty
becomes the new premier of
Ontario
when his party defeats
Ernie Eves
's incumbent
Tories
and
Howard Hampton
's
NDP
.
- J. M. Coetzee
wins
Nobel Prize for literature
.
[5]
- European Union
: United States draft legislation which urges
The Pentagon
to buy defence parts from American manufacturers has turned heads in Brussels, with some warning of yet another
trade dispute
at the
WTO
.
[6]
- European Union
: The first bilateral meeting between France and
Austria
since 1998 is marked by disagreements over the
European Constitution
. Austria heads the group of small countries seeking to make changes to the text, but France wants to leave the draft by
Valery Giscard d'Estaing
broadly untouched.
[7]
- Media
: A
Program on International Policy Attitudes
(PIPA) study conducted with
California
-based Knowledge Networks, titled "Misperceptions, the Media, and the Iraq War," is released. According to this study, misperceptions about the
2003 invasion of Iraq
are most common among consumers of
Fox News Channel
and supporters of President
George W. Bush
and least common among consumers of
PBS
and
NPR
and supporters of Democratic presidential candidates. The study also found that frequent viewers of Fox News are more likely to believe in the misconceptions than less frequent ones. One example misconception is the belief that
weapons of mass destruction
have already been found in Iraq.
[8]
October 3, 2003
(
2003-10-03
)
(Friday)
- Near-Earth asteroid
: Confirmation on the closest near-miss of a natural object ever recorded. The asteroid (designated
2003 SQ222
), about the size of a small house, flew past Earth at a distance of around 88,000 kilometres. It would have made a fireball had it entered the atmosphere.
[9]
- Iraq and weapons of mass destruction
: The world continues to digest David Kay's report that finds very little evidence of
Weapons of mass destruction
in
Iraq
, although the regime did intend to develop more weapons with additional capabilities. Such plans and programs appear to have been dormant, the existence of these were also concealed from the
United Nations
during the inspections that began in 2002. Weapons inspectors in Iraq do find clandestine "
network of biological
laboratories
" and a deadly strain of
botulinum
. The US-sponsored search for WMD has so far cost
$300 million
and is projected to cost around
$600 million
more.
[10]
[11]
- California recall
:
Arnold Schwarzenegger
denies admiring
Hitler
. Arnold Schwarzenegger's denial comes days before the vote for the next
governor
of
California
.
[12]
- General Wesley Clark
suggests that members of the
Bush
administration may be liable to criminal charges in connection with the
Iraq
war. Clark alleges that the plans for the
2003 invasion of Iraq
, and other interventions in the
Middle East
(possibly including
Lebanon
and
Syria
), pre-dated the inauguration of the President and that the reasons for the war were misleadingly presented to the US people.
- Evo Morales
said that
Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada
, president of
Bolivia
, may be preparing a
coup
.
[13]
(in Spanish)
- Polish soldiers of the United States-led Coalition discovered four advanced
missiles
around central
Iraq
in the Hilla region near a highway. The
Roland-type
French-made missiles (which are fired from a
mobile launcher vehicle
against low flying aircraft) were initially believed to have been manufactured earlier in 2003.
Arms exports
to Iraq had been barred by the United Nations after the 1990 invasion of
Kuwait
. France says it last shipped Roland missiles to Iraq in 1986. The Polish soldiers were later found to have misinterpreted markings that read 07-01-KND 2003 as a date on the missiles.
[14]
[15]
[16]
October 4, 2003
(
2003-10-04
)
(Saturday)
October 5, 2003
(
2003-10-05
)
(Sunday)
- Maher Arar
is reported to have been freed from a
Syrian
jail. The Canadian engineer was deported to Syria by the United States as he changed planes in New York, over a year ago.
[19]
He will arrive in
Montreal
the following afternoon.
[20]
- Ain es Saheb airstrike
:
Israeli
warplanes attack an alleged
Islamic Jihad
training base deep in
Syria
in retaliation for a
suicide bombing
at a Haifa restaurant that killed 19 people, the army said Sunday. Israeli media state this is the first Israeli attack on Syrian soil in more than two decades. An emergency session of the UN Security Council is scheduled to debate the action. France and Germany condemn the attack. The international community calls for restraint by all parties involved.
[21]
- Pope John Paul II
canonizes
Daniele Comboni
(1831?1881),
Arnold Janssen
(1837?1909) and
Josef Freinademetz
(1852?1908).
- Ireland on Sunday
claims that
Pope John Paul II
is suffering from terminal
stomach cancer
which has spread to his
colon
. The newspaper reports that the Pope has dictated a
living will
which gives instructions as to how the Roman Catholic Church is to be administered when the medical treatment he is receiving makes it impossible for him to function as pope. According to the paper,
Cardinals
have been told to be ready at a moment's notice to fly to
Rome
for a
Papal funeral
and
Papal conclave
.
October 6, 2003
(
2003-10-06
)
(Monday)
- 2004 U.S. Democratic Primaries
: Senator
Bob Graham
announces on
Larry King Live
that he is ending his
2004 presidential
campaign.
[22]
- Chechen Election
:
Moscow
's choice, the
Kremlin
-backed
Akhmad Kadyrov
swept presidential election in the Russian
republic of Chechnya
, winning 81 percent of the votes.
[23]
- SCO v. IBM
: In an open letter to the
Linux
community published by
Silicon Graphics
(SGI), SGI states it conducted a comprehensive comparison of the
Linux kernel
and the
UNIX System V
source code
owned by The
SCO Group
. According to the letter (authored by SGI
Vice President
of
Software
Rich Altmaier
), SGI's "
exhaustive comparison
" of the source codes turned up only "
trivial
" code segments that "
may arguably be related
" to SCO's software. The letter also disputed SCO's claims that SGI inappropriately contributed its
XFS
(eXtensible File System).
[24]
- Middle East
: Facing renewed threats from
Israel
, Palestinian leader
Yasser Arafat
, declares a
state of emergency
in Palestinian areas and installs a new
government
by decree.
Ahmed Qurei
is appointed
prime minister
and head of the eight-member emergency cabinet.
[25]
- Israel
: In his first public comments since the Israeli attack on Syria, President Bush says that Israel has the right to defend its homeland; at the same time Mr. Bush asks Prime Minister Sharon to avoid any further actions that might destabilize the region.
- Paul Lauterbur
and Sir
Peter Mansfield
are jointly awarded the
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
for their discoveries concerning
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
.
[26]
- Occupation of Iraq
: Some in the international community have rejected a revised United States draft
United Nations Security Council resolution
concerning
Iraq
(calling for a multinational force of peacekeeping troops in Iraq under American command; transferring power gradually to elected civilian rule [though there is no handover timetable for sovereignty]). The resolution is being supported by the United Kingdom. France, Germany, and Russia (which opposed the
2003 invasion of Iraq
) have joined
Kofi Annan
in opposing the resolution. Annan states that the
United Nations
itself will not become heavily involved unless there are early moves toward passing sovereignty to the Iraqi people. Annan's stance is similar to that of
Pope John Paul II
and some members of the
European Union
.
[27]
[28]
[29]
[30]
[31]
- Attempts by the
Republic of Ireland
's government to ban smoking in
pubs
, restaurants and hotels run into more trouble as a government minister who will have responsibility for enforcing the ban,
Frank Fahey
, refuses to deny that he is critical of the plan and wants a compromise that would allow smoking in some areas to continue. A former
Mayor of Galway
and
Fianna Fail
councillor who has links with the pub industry resigns from a health authority in protest at the refusal of the Fianna Fail-
Progressive Democrat
government to compromise on the proposed ban. This follows an earlier announcement that publicans in
County Kerry
will refuse to obey the new law and indications of growing popular opposition to the ban.
[32]
- Former
Sky News
correspondent James Furlong, who resigned over allegations that he had faked a report during the Iraq War, is found dead. Furlong, aged 44, had served as Sky News' Defence and Royal Correspondent. He had previously worked for
ITN
.
[33]
- A
United Nations
report says that almost
1 billion
people worldwide are living in
slums
. By 2050
3 billion
, out of a world urban population of
6 billion
, may be living in slums, unless radical policies are implemented, according to the UN. Dr Anna Tibaijuka of the UN says the persistence of the slums should shame the whole world.
[34]
October 7, 2003
(
2003-10-07
)
(Tuesday)
- California recall
: The state of California held a special election to decide whether to recall
Governor
Gray Davis
, and, if so, who to replace him with. Also on the ballot:
Proposition 53
, the "California Twenty-First Century Infrastructure Investment Fund," and
Proposition 54
, the "Racial Privacy Initiative."
- The
Nobel Prize in Physics
is awarded jointly to
Alexei Abrikosov
,
Vitaly Ginzburg
and
Anthony Leggett
for their work on the theory of
superconductors
and
superfluids
.
[35]
- United Nations
envoy and Special Coordinator for the
Middle East peace process
,
Terje Roed-Larsen
, condemns attack from
Lebanese territory
that killed an
Israeli
soldier across the southern withdrawal line and urges
Beirut
to control the use of force everywhere in its jurisdiction. Roed-Larsen, states the attack "constitutes a clear violation of the Blue Line and Security Council resolutions and could escalate tension between Israel and its northern neighbours" and he calls on all sides to use
diplomacy
and take no action that "could increase the already high level of tension in the region".
[36]
- UN spokesman states that a
peacekeeping operation
in the
Democratic Republic of the Congo
(DRC) has discovered 65 bodies, mostly children, apparently massacred.
[37]
- Occupation of Iraq
: The
Turkish Parliament
votes (358-to-183) to approve the dispatch of
peacekeepers
to
Iraq
, in a major victory for United States efforts to broaden foreign involvement in Iraq. In
Baghdad
,
Iraqi Governing Council
officials state that they would oppose any new foreign troop deployment to Iraq. No formal decision had been made by the Council and leaders of the council have stated they would support this if the United States requested this.
[38]
- The
South African
government announce they would not prosecute the five policemen accused of killing
Steve Biko
in 1977, citing insufficient evidence to support a murder charge.
[39]
- The
Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN) announces its intention to form a single-market "Asian Community" by 2020.
October 8, 2003
(
2003-10-08
)
(Wednesday)
October 9, 2003
(
2003-10-09
)
(Thursday)
- Time
magazine reports that
Yassir Arafat
, whose health has led to confused reporting over the past days, with him variously reported as having had flu and having had a heart attack, in actuality has
stomach cancer
.
[47]
- Pakistan
successfully
test fires
a medium-range,
nuclear
-capable
missile
, the second such
test
in less than a
week
, the
Pakistan army
states. The
Hatf-4 missile
, also known as the
Shaheen 1
, was fired off, according to the
army
. The missile has a range of 435 miles, meaning it can hit most major targets in India. The test followed a similar launching on Friday of the short-range
Hatf-2 Ghaznavi
after which Pakistan said it was in the middle of a series of such tests. Pakistani army
spokesman
Major General
Shaukat Sultan
said India had been told of each of the launches beforehand and he states the tests should not affect the
international relations
between the two neighbors.
[48]
- Israeli-Palestinian conflict
: Defense Minister
Shaul Mofaz
ordered dispatches of
Israeli
troop
reinforcements to the
Palestinian Areas
,
West Bank
and
Gaza Strip
, and weighed a call-up of reserves, citing new warnings about planned attacks by Palestinian militants. The Israeli military also extended a two-
week
lockdown
on Palestinians' travel within the West Bank and Gaza in what it states as a bid to prevent further attacks.
[49]
Meanwhile, prime minister Ahmed Qurei is reported to have declined to form a government and told President Yasser Arafat he wants to quit his post.
[50]
- Occupation of Iraq
: Twin attacks in
Baghdad
killed a Spanish
diplomat
(by gunshot) and, in the other, at least ten people following an attack on a
police
station in Baghdad's main
Shi'ite
neighbourhood, exactly half a year since
Coalition troops
occupied the Iraqi city.
[51]
[52]
October 10, 2003
(
2003-10-10
)
(Friday)
- Shirin Ebadi
,
Iranian
human rights lawyer, is awarded the
Nobel Peace Prize
.
[53]
- In
Iraq
two more soldiers are killed and four wounded in an ambush in the Sadr district of Baghdad. The troops are lured into the ambush by civilians in what could be a new tactic by hostile forces in Iraq.
[54]
- Camp X-ray
: The United States' policy of detaining up to 600 people in
Guantanamo Bay
comes under fierce attack from the
Red Cross
and a group of American former judges, diplomats and military officers who are asking the
Supreme Court of the United States
to review the situation. The Red Cross criticises the policy of holding detainees without legal representation and in contravention of legal conventions; it reports a worrying deterioration in the mental health of detainees.
[55]
- Israeli-Palestinian conflict
:
Israeli
military officer states Palestinian militants are feared to be using a tunnel to smuggle
anti-tank missiles
and portable
anti-aircraft missiles
, though no tunnels had been found yet. The
army
states it is encountering strong resistance from
Palestinians
using dozens of homemade
bombs
,
rocket-propelled grenades
and other
grenades
and
automatic weapons
. One
Palestinian
child and four adults killed in overnight attack on
Rafah
refugee camp in
Gaza
.
[56]
- Rugby union
: The
2003 Rugby World Cup
, with 20 countries competing for the
William Webb Ellis
Trophy over a seven-week period, starts after a spectacular opening ceremony at the Telstra Stadium,
Sydney
, Australia, with Australia defeating
Argentina
24?8 in the opening match.
[57]
- Prince Johan-Friso of the Netherlands
, second son of Queen Beatrix and second in line of succession to the throne will lose his succession rights when he marries Mabel Wisse Smit without the Dutch Parliament's permission. Government assent was refused because the couple had been less than candid about the bride's interactions with gangster Klaas Bruisma in the late 1980s.
[58]
October 11, 2003
(
2003-10-11
)
(Saturday)
- Israeli-Palestinian conflict
: Israeli troops pull back in
Gaza
. Israel will continue to demolish tunnels. The Israeli army states it discovers three tunnels in the camp, but no weapons have been found. A Palestinian teenager is shot dead and up to 10 homes were demolished and later
electricity facilities
were hit.
Palestinian
militants were seeking to smuggle from
Egypt
shoulder-fired missiles that could be used against tanks, helicopters, and
fighter jets
.
[59]
- President
George W. Bush
proposes a change in
United States Fish and Wildlife Service
regulations which would allow American citizens to travel abroad to capture, kill, and import
endangered species
. The regulation would not allow Americans to do the same to endangered species inside the United States.
[60]
- German magazine
Der Spiegel
reports that
Israel
is preparing an attack on
Iranian
atomic plants.
[61]
- Syria
says that it will retaliate if attacked by Israel again. A week after Israel's attack the two countries continue to exchange insults; the
United Nations Security Council
is unable to agree on a resolution condemning Israel's attack.
[62]
- Occupation of Iraq
: The
Organisation of the Islamic Conference
(OIC), a grouping of Muslim nations meeting in Malaysia, calls on the US to quit Iraq as soon as possible and to hand over to the UN; the OIC also pledges support to Syria.
[63]
- The
House of Representatives
of the
Diet of Japan
is dissolved by the Prime Minister
Koizumi Junichiro
and the election will take place on November 9, 2003. See
Japan general election, 2003
for more.
[64]
- The Spanish rail company
RENFE
opens its second
AVE
high-speed line, serving
Madrid
,
Guadalajara
,
Calatayud
,
Zaragoza
, and
Lleida
. It is expected to reach
Barcelona
by 2005. (Another line is being built from Madrid to
Valladolid
, and others to
Valencia
and
Lisbon
are planned.)
[65]
October 12, 2003
(
2003-10-12
)
(Sunday)
- Cricket
:
New Zealand
prevents India from snatching victory in the first
Test cricket
at
Ahmedabad
.
[66]
- Relations between Syria and the United States fall to a low point as Syria criticizes the US for its failure to censure Israel.
[67]
- China confirms that it will launch its first
manned space mission
between October 15 and 17. The
spacecraft
plans to
orbit
Earth 14 times before landing in an undisclosed location. (See
Shenzhou 5
)
[68]
[69]
- The operation to separate two-year-old
Egyptian
twins joined at the head is going well in
Dallas
; the two boys have been separated and no troublesome complications have arisen. The next steps are to reconstruct the boys' skulls including the skin.
[70]
- India, Thailand, and China press ahead with efforts and a study group aimed at creating a
Free Trade Area
.
[71]
- 2003 occupation of Iraq
: A huge explosion occurs in the center of
Baghdad
, possibly caused by car bomb. A number of fatalities are reported. The blast takes place in
Baghdad Hotel
.
[72]
- [Researchers announced that they have discovered the detailed relationship between the
Ras v12
gene,
polarity genes
, and
metastasis
of
cancer
in
fruit flies
.
[73]
- Liberia drops diplomatic relations with the
Taiwan
and re-establishes ties with
China
. This move was seen largely as a result of China's lobbying in the
United Nations
, which is planning to deploy a peacekeeping force to Liberia. Taiwanese Foreign Minister Eugene Chien offers to resign as a result.
[74]
October 13, 2003
(
2003-10-13
)
(Monday)
- 2003 occupation of Iraq
: New draft resolution being circulated at the
United Nations
aims at getting international aid. The resolution sets a deadline for initial steps, if only for a transitional step, toward restoring
Iraqi
sovereignty
, giving the
Iraqi Governing Council
until December 15 to develop a timetable for writing a
constitution
and holding
elections
. The
Bush administration
proposes that the United Nations recognize the Iraqi Governing Council as a unit that "will embody the sovereignty" of Iraq until the country returns to self-rule.
[75]
[76]
- Israeli-Palestinian conflict
:
Israeli
incursion leaves 1,240
Palestinians
homeless
, UN agency finds. The Israeli demolition of
refugee shelters
in
Rafah
camp on the southern
Gaza Strip
last week has left 1,240 people homeless,
United Nations
relief workers state.
[77]
- The
Taoiseach
,
Bertie Ahern
, and the
British Prime Minister
,
Tony Blair
, have begun talks in
Downing Street
on a possible restoration of devolved government in
Northern Ireland
.
[78]
- 2003 occupation of Iraq
: Three more US soldiers have been killed in separate incidents.
[79]
- The
Public Library of Science
commences publication of an
open-access
scientific journal
,
PLoS Biology
and its website is immediately overwhelmed by traffic.
[80]
October 14, 2003
(
2003-10-14
)
(Tuesday)
- RTE
's
Prime Time
current affairs programme reports that
Cahal Daly
, Bishop of Down and Conor, refused to accept allegations passed on to him by students of improper sexual conduct by Monsignor
Micheal Ledwith
, then head of
St Patrick's College, Maynooth
, Ireland's major
seminary
. According to the programme Daly became aggressive, telling students "go back and say your prayers". The TV programme confirms that Daly, and his predecessor, Cardinal
Tomas O Fiaich
, were centrally involved in efforts to silence critics of Ledwith, including forcing the resignation of one dean of students who informed them of allegations that Ledwith was making sexual advances against student priests. Ledwith subsequently left the college after paying damages to an
under-age
teenager to whom he allegedly made sexual advances. Ledwith, once an internationally famous
Roman Catholic
theologian
tipped to become Catholic
Archbishop of Dublin
, is now associated with an American
New Age
organization. Having been tracked down by the programme, Ledwith refuses to comment 'for legal reasons'.
- Liberia
: The Inauguration of a new government takes place. The rebels are expected to disarm.
- Sniper
?
Terrorism
: Trial of
John Allen Muhammad
, who is suspected of being the Washington DC serial sniper, begins. He pleads not guilty.
[81]
- The
BBC
reports that dissident
IRA
groups are supplying the weapons that have led to a recent surge in UK gun crime.
[82]
- Microsoft
chatrooms
close today. Free unmoderated chatrooms outside the US are closed in what Microsoft claim is an attempt to safeguard children.
[83]
- Israeli-Palestinian conflict
: Israel orders the expulsion of 15 Palestinian detainees from the West Bank to the Gaza Strip.
[84]
- British
Conservative Party
leader,
Iain Duncan Smith
, is being investigated by Parliamentary Standards Commissioner Sir
Philip Mawer
over allegations that he paid a secretarial salary to his wife without her doing sufficient work to warrant the payments.
[85]
- A British
HIV
carrier is found guilty of causing grievous bodily harm after infecting two lovers.
[86]
October 15, 2003
(
2003-10-15
)
(Wednesday)
- 2003 occupation of Iraq
: U.S. concessions to proposals from Russia, the China and
Pakistan
ensure their support for a
United Nations Security Council
resolution to provide greater international legitimacy to the occupation force and the
Iraq Interim Governing Council
. The resolution draft, legitimizing US military and political control over Iraq's political future, was already supported by
United Kingdom
,
Spain
,
Cameroon
,
Bulgaria
,
Angola
,
Mexico
,
Chile
and
Guinea
. Russia agrees to act as a mediator to achieve support for the compromise also from Germany and France.
[87]
[88]
- Israeli-Palestinian conflict
: Four people die in a bomb attack on a convoy of US diplomatic vehicles in the
Gaza Strip
. Palestinian Authority head
Yasser Arafat
calls the bombing "dirty and shameful" in an exclusive interview on
BBC News
.
Secretary of State
Colin Powell
urges
Prime Minister
Ahmed Qurei
in a
telephone
call "
to take action to put an end to violence and terrorism
," according to a Palestinian official.
[89]
[90]
- China launches its first
astronaut
,
Yang Liwei
into orbit aboard a
Shenzhou
spacecraft,
Shenzhou 5
. The 21-hour trip is planned to circle the planet 14 times.
[91]
[92]
- 2003 occupation of Iraq
: Japan offers
$1.5 billion
aid to Iraq in what could be the first tranche of a total of
$5 billion
.
[93]
- The
Supreme Court of the United States
agreed to hear
Elk Grove Unified School District v. Newdow
- The Irish-based Australian novelist
D.B.C. Pierre
(real name Peter Finlay) wins the 2003
Booker prize
with his first novel,
Vernon God Little
, a satire on a Texas high-school massacre.
[94]
- Anglican
leaders from around the world meet in
Lambeth Palace
in an attempt to avoid a
schism
on the issue of
homosexuality
in the clergy. The
Church of Ireland
Archbishop of Armagh
,
Robin Eames
says that the
Anglican Communion
is moving towards a "consensus situation" on the issue of
homosexuality
and the clergy at its meeting in
Lambeth Palace
.
[95]
[95]
- Israeli-Palestinian conflict
: The United States
vetoes
a
United Nations Security Council
resolution condemning the
Israeli West Bank barrier
.
[96]
- The
Canadian Alliance
and
Progressive Conservative Party of Canada
strike a deal to merge. The deal creating the
Conservative Party of Canada
must be ratified by each party's membership before December 12.
[97]
- Azerbaijan
: Presidential elections.
[98]
- Steven Gerrard
becomes captain of Liverpool Football Club.
October 16, 2003
(
2003-10-16
)
(Thursday)
- Occupation of Iraq
: The
UN Security Council
unanimously approves a new US resolution on
Iraq
. Russia, Germany and France back the resolution but will not provide troops or money.
[99]
A survey indicates poor morale amongst the US troops serving in Iraq.
[100]
- President Bush re-affirms his intention to pressure China and Japan into fair policies re their exchange rates.
[101]
China's trade surplus is shrinking as imports surge.
[102]
At the same time India is wrestling with the implications of the sustained appreciation of the rupee against the dollar.
[103]
- Tens of thousands of Catholics attend
Mass
celebrating the 25th anniversary of
Pope John Paul II
in Rome. The Pope will beatify
Mother Teresa
on Sunday, October 19, and install 30 new
Cardinals
on Tuesday, October 21.
[104]
- In a surprise move,
Monsanto Company
announce their intention to quit the European cereal business. Citing lack of success, the company has decided to cut costs.
[105]
- Israeli-Palestinian conflict
: European Commissioner for External Relations,
Chris Patten
has questioned
Israel
's commitment to a two-states resolution to the conflict with the
Palestinians
.
[106]
- China's first astronaut,
Yang Liwei
returns to earth safely aboard a Shenzhou spacecraft,
Shenzhou 5
. During the 21-hour trip, he circled the planet 14 times.
[107]
- Apple
launches its iTunes Music Store, an online download music store, for the
Microsoft Windows
platform. The iTunes software can be downloaded from
apple.com
for free.
October 17, 2003
(
2003-10-17
)
(Friday)
October 18, 2003
(
2003-10-18
)
(Saturday)
October 19, 2003
(
2003-10-19
)
(Sunday)
- A new biography, reported in
The Sunday Times
, claims that the prosecution of
Oscar Wilde
for
sodomy
was ordered by the then
Liberal
government, in a deal with the
Marquess of Queensberry
, the father of
Lord Alfred Douglas
, to prevent his exposure of a homosexual relationship between another of his sons, Viscount Drumlanrig, and
British Prime Minister
Lord Rosebery
. According to reports, future prime minister
H. H. Asquith
played a key role in negotiating the deal, which led to the imprisonment of the Irish writer.
[
citation needed
]
- British Prime Minister
Tony Blair
is rushed to hospital with
heart problems
. An
irregular heart-beat
is diagnosed. Blair is given a
cardioversion
in hospital, where he stays for four or five hours before going back to
Number 10 Downing Street
, and is ordered by his doctors to take 24 hours complete rest.
[119]
- Pope John Paul II
beatifies
Mother Teresa
. Hundreds of thousands attend the ceremony in
St. Peter's Square
. Mother Teresa, who founded the
Missionaries of Charity
, is now one step from sainthood.
[120]
- South Korea
and the United States are reported to be discussing the possible withdrawal of thousands of US troops.
[121]
- North Korea crisis
: The United States says it is willing to give
North Korea
security assurances in exchange for a
nuclear
standdown. U.S.
President Bush
rules out a
non-aggression treaty
demanded by
Pyongyang
.
[122]
- Bomb
blows up a
pickup truck
on a dirt road in Afghanistan's eastern
Kunar Province
, killing four people, and two Afghan soldiers are killed in a separate
land mine
explosion in the country's south. The explosions come two days after the
Taliban
allegedly
distributed pamphlets warning against working with the post-
Taliban
government of President
Hamid Karzai
.
[123]
- Israeli-Palestinian conflict
:
Palestinian
gunmen attack an
Israeli
army foot patrol near a
West Bank
village, kills three soldiers and wounds a fourth, rescue services and security sources state. Gunfire attacks near the Palestinian village of
Ein Yabrud
, east of the town of
Ramallah
, not far from the
Israeli settlement
of
Ofra
.
[124]
- Occupation of Iraq
: A
Fallujah
roadside attack on a military
convoy
leaves an American
armored car
and
munitions truck
burning wrecks. No one was reported killed.
Iraqis
nearby were reportedly cheering. Emerging series of threats.
[125]
October 20, 2003
(
2003-10-20
)
(Monday)
- Canadian
Prime Minister
Jean Chretien
indicates that during an informal meeting between him and
Vladimir Putin
, the Russian president indicated that he was tentatively in favour of signing the
Kyoto Protocol
. Russia's signature is absolutely necessary for the protocol to acquire the force of law.
[126]
- United States deficit
: The United States posts a record budget deficit of
$374.2 billion
in the
fiscal year
ending September 30. The figure broke the previous record of
$290 billion
, set in 1992. The number was actually better than the U.S. government's own forecast of
$455 billion
.
[127]
- United States: The publicist of
Robert De Niro
announces that the actor has prostate cancer.
[128]
- Early results in
Swiss elections
show larger-than-predicted gains for the right-wing
Swiss People's Party
.
[129]
- An Italian archaeologist claims to have found a carved two-faced head over 200,000 years old. The carving is possible the work of
Homo erectus
.
[130]
- [The
Soyuz TMA-3
spacecraft docked with the
International Space Station
bringing a new crew of three from Russia, the United States, and
Spain
.
[131]
October 21, 2003
(
2003-10-21
)
(Tuesday)
October 22, 2003
(
2003-10-22
)
(Wednesday)
- India launches a peace initiative to normalise relations with
Pakistan
. Formal talks are conditional on
Islamabad
ending
Kashmiri
cross-border terrorism
initiatives.
[147]
- Mahathir bin Mohamad
, outgoing
prime minister
of
Malaysia
, accuses leading democratic nations of terrorising the world. He seemed to be referring to the US,
Israel
, and Australia.
[148]
- Occupation of Iraq
: The commander of US ground forces in
Iraq
says that
Al-Qaeda
is now operating in Iraq as witnessed by increasingly sophisticated attacks on US troops.
[149]
- European Union
and
Guantanamo Bay
: Leaders of the European Union parliament urge the EU to take action over 26 Europeans being held indefinitely by the US without charges, without trial, without legal representation at Guantanamo Bay. The detainees are experiencing increasing psychological problems.
[150]
- Human Rights Watch
(HRW) releases a report about
mentally ill
inmates of United States
prisons
. It concludes that mentally ill offenders are frequently physically abused, punished by staff for self-destructive behavior and not given the treatment they need.
[151]
- Top British runner
Dwain Chambers
tests positive for the drug
tetrahydrogestrinone
(THG). The
steroid
was previously believed to be undetectable but an anonymous source provided a used syringe containing traces last week.
[152]
October 23, 2003
(
2003-10-23
)
(Thursday)
- Luis A. Ferre
, the third Democratically Elected
Governor of Puerto Rico
, dies at age 99.
- Canada:
Dalton McGuinty
is sworn in as the
24th premier
of
Ontario
.
[153]
- Occupation of Iraq
: There is every sign that the international conference in Madrid at which pledges to re-build Iraq are hoped for will disappoint and e.g.
Paul Bremer
seeks to lower expectations.
[154]
[155]
- United States Supreme Court
: Before a conservative legal organization, Supreme Court Justice
Antonin Scalia
ridicules the recent Supreme Court decision overturning anti-sodomy laws in
Texas
, saying that the Court had "held to be a constitutional right what had been a criminal offense at the time of the founding and for nearly 200 years thereafter." According to news reports, Scalia adopted a mocking tone to read from the court's ruling.
[156]
- Kuwait
AL Arabi football club beat Qadsia in the Kuwait derby 2?0.
October 24, 2003
(
2003-10-24
)
(Friday)
- 49
miners
are trapped in a Russian mine as water began seeping into the mine, disabling electrical systems.
[157]
- Israeli-Palestinian conflict
: The body of the Hamas militant killed in the attack on an Israeli military camp (that killed three Israeli soldiers) is returned to his family in their refugee camp.
[158]
- 2003 invasion of Iraq
: The US Senate Committee on Intelligence finalizes its report on pre-war intelligence and is highly critical of
George Tenet
and the quality of US intelligence about Iraq's weapons.
[159]
- Earth is hit by the
Halloween Solar Storm
, disrupting some
satellite communications
but not
electric power transmission grids
as was predicted. Canada, the northern US northern Europe were treated to an exceptional display of
aurora borealis
.
[160]
[161]
[162]
- The final flights of
Concorde
, from New York, Edinburgh, and a loop around the Bay of Biscay, touch down at
Heathrow International Airport
around 1600 BST, marking the end of 27 years of commercial supersonic flight.
[163]
- Three same-sex couples in
Spain
, including a
Madrid
city councilman, apply for marriage licenses. They state that if the registry judge does not grant them the licenses, they will appeal to Spain's constitutional court, and as far as the
European Court of Human Rights
if necessary. They describe their actions as inspired by
the recent rulings on same-sex marriage
in Canada.
[164]
October 25, 2003
(
2003-10-25
)
(Saturday)
October 26, 2003
(
2003-10-26
)
(Sunday)
- Wildfires
start to rage in
Southern California
. The scheduled
NFL
Monday Night Football
game between the
San Diego Chargers
and
Miami Dolphins
is relocated from
San Diego
, California, to
Tempe
, Arizona, as a consequence of the fires.
[171]
- Occupation of Iraq
: The
Al-Rashid Hotel
in
Baghdad
where US deputy defense secretary
Paul Wolfowitz
was staying has been evacuated after several rockets were fired at it in the morning. one US Colonel was killed and fifteen individuals wounded (three seriously) in the attack.
[172]
[173]
Two more explosions occurred near Al Rashid hotel later towards the evening. Further investigations confirm that Iraq had no active nuclear program, but did not relinquish nuclear ambitions or technical records.
[174]
[175]
- The President of Syria says that Iran and Syria, which are increasingly close allies, are capable of neutralizing conspiracies of foreign powers (implicitly referring to the US and Israel).
[176]
- Mikhail Khodorkovsky
, Russia's wealthiest businessman, has been arrested and is being held in
Moscow
facing charges of fraud and tax evasion.
[177]
October 27, 2003
(
2003-10-27
)
(Monday)
October 28, 2003
(
2003-10-28
)
(Tuesday)
- The United States
Federal Reserve
leaves its key
interest rate
unchanged at today's meeting, saying that rates will be kept low for a considerable period.
[181]
- Halloween solar storms, 2003
. The
sun
emits another
coronal mass ejection
directly toward the
Earth
, the third largest
solar flare
on record. The effects are projected to affect Earth on the 29th.
[182]
[183]
- Wildfires
are largest in California history; 1,500 homes are destroyed, 16 people killed and 600,000 acres (2,400 km
2
) burned. Evacuations are ordered from parts of cities in
Los Angeles
and
San Diego
counties.
[184]
The conflagration also spreads across the border into the Mexican state of
Baja California
, where two deaths are reported.
- The UK Conservative Party
's
1922 Committee
announces that leader
Iain Duncan Smith
will face an immediate
vote of confidence
in his leadership on the following day, after at least 25
backbenchers
formally request it.
[185]
- The campaign for
Japan general election, 2003
starts, lasting until a voting date, Nov 9.
[186]
October 29, 2003
(
2003-10-29
)
(Wednesday)
- The US
FDA
approves Risperdal Consta (
Risperidone
long-acting injection) for the treatment of
schizophrenia
. Although already approved in several other countries, it is the first long-acting,
atypical antipsychotic
medication
to be approved by the FDA.
- British
Conservative Party
leader
Iain Duncan Smith
loses a
vote of confidence
in his parliamentary party by 90 votes to 75 and, in accordance with party rules, resigns from the leadership. A new leadership election is called. Shadow Deputy Prime Minister
David Davis
, previously tipped as a future leader, surprises Westminster by announcing that he will not seek the leadership and endorses former
Home Secretary
Michael Howard
, who is now seen as the frontrunner to assume the leadership. Other leading politicians endorse Howard, once famously described by
a colleague
as having "something of the night about him."
[187]
[188]
- Occupation of Iraq
: The International
Red Cross
announces that it is to scale back its commitments to Iraq.
[189]
Two more GIs are killed, bringing the total killed since May 1 to 115.
[190]
- Halloween Solar Storms
. The Earth's
magnetosphere
is hit by the recent
solar flare
causing a brief but intense
geomagnetic storm
, provoking unusual displays of
Northern Lights
.
[191]
October 30, 2003
(
2003-10-30
)
(Thursday)
October 31, 2003
(
2003-10-31
)
(Friday)
- The trial of
Shoko Asahara
, accused of involvement in the 1995 sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway, ends in Japan with final statements from lawyers. The next court session is to be held in mid-February 2004.
[202]
- The furor surrounding
Yukos
deepens with an outspoken statement from the Russian
Prime Minister
expressing deep concern about the freezing of Yukos shares.
[203]
- Kenneth Clarke
has ruled himself out of the contest to lead the UK
Conservative Party
and the field is left potentially clear for
Michael Howard
to be elected unopposed.
[204]
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