March_2005

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Other March 2005 events
World - Sci-Tech - Sports
Britain and Ireland - Canada - Hong Kong and Macao - India - US
Monthly events, 2005

Deaths in March 31 – Terri Schiavo 30 – Mitch Hedberg 29 – Johnnie Cochran 27 – Wilfred Bigelow 26 – Paul Hester 26 – James Callaghan 21 – Jeff Weise 21 – Bobby Short 19 – John De Lorean 18 – Gary Bertini 17 – George F. Kennan 17 – Andre Norton 17 – Czesław Słania 10 – Dave Allen (comedian) 9 – Chris LeDoux 8 – Aslan Maskhadov 6 – Hans Bethe 6 – Tommy Vance 4 – Yuri Kravchenko 3 – Rinus Michels Other deaths Election results 6: Moldovan parliamentary 12: Maltese Local Council Elections 13: Central African Rep. federal 13: Liechtenstein parliamentary

Events

March 1, 2005

• In Afghanistan, president Hamid Karzai appoints Abdul Rashid Dostum as his chief-of-staff. Dostum has been accused of involvement in human rights abuses. (Reuters) (Daily Times, Pakistan) (BBC)
• In Bangladesh, 15 suspected radical leaders of Islamic groups are charged with sedition (Reuters) (Matamat, Bangladesh)
• In Burundi, a referendum approves the new constitution, which is intended to end 12 years of civil war (Reuters AlertNet) (IAfrica) (BBC)
• Canada deports Holocaust denier Ernst Zündel to Germany, where he is arrested (CTV) (CNews) (Reuters AlertNet) (BBC)
• In the Democratic Republic of Congo, militia leader Floribert Ndjabu of Nationalist and Integrationist Front is reportedly arrested for the killing of nine Bangladeshi UN peacekeepers last week (Reuters AlertNet) (BBC)
• A French court in Angers prepares for a major child sex trial (BBC)
• In Italy, a court sentences Laura Proietti, a member of the Red Brigades, to life in prison for involvement in the murder of Massimo D\'Antona in 1999. A second member, Cinzia Banelli, receives 20 years (BBC) (Newsday)
• Protests break out in Indonesia over fuel price increases (Reuters) (Channel News Asia)
• In Lebanon, opposition leaders call for the protest to continue even when the government has resigned. New protests demand that all Syrian troops leave the country (Reuters) (BBC)
• Malaysia begins to round up illegal immigrants after a 4-month amnesty (Channel News Asia) (ABC Asia) (Reuters) (BBC)
• David Crane, the chief prosecutor of Sierra Leone\'s war crimes tribunal, will step down in July after three years (Reuters AlertNet) (AllAfrica) (BBC)
• Greenpeace in Switzerland accuses three chemical firms based in Basel of failing to clean up toxic waste (SwissInfo) (NZZ)
• Syrian president Bashar al-Assad states that Syria could withdraw all its troops from Lebanon in a couple of months (Reuters) (Jerusalem Post) Lebanese protestors destroy a statue of former Syrian president Hafez al-Assad in the southern village of Qana (Daily Star, Lebanon)
• President Saparmurat Niyazov of Turkmenistan orders the closure of all the hospitals in the country except those in the capital, Ashgabat. He also orders the closure of all rural libraries, as he believes that village Turkmen do not read. (BBC)
• The President of Ukraine, Viktor Yushchenko, announces that suspected killers of a journalist Georgiy Gongadze have been arrested (DVC, Ukraine) (Bloomberg) (Reuters) (BBC)
• In Uruguay, Dr. Tabaré Vázquez, the first leftist president in the country\'s 180-year history, takes office, announces his cabinet and restores diplomatic relations with Cuba. (Prensa Latina), (Bloomberg),(XinHua), (Globe&Mail), (BBC)
• In a major change to capital punishment in the United States, by a closely-divided vote, the US Supreme Court rules, in Roper v. Simmons, that imposition of the death penalty on persons convicted of capital crimes committed before they were 18 is unconstitutional. (BBC)(CSM)
• In the USA, New York Federal court hears a case of Vietnamese plaintiffs who demand compensation for effects of the Agent Orange during the Vietnam War. United States Justice Department and companies that manufactured Agent Orange demand that the federal judge dismiss the case.(Forbes) (Voice of Viet Nam) (International Herald Tribune) (BBC)

March 2, 2005

• In Pakistan, a bill proposing to strengthen the law against "Honour Killing" is defeated in Parliament, after the government sides with the Islamist opposition and deems the bill "un-Islamic". (BBC)
• Unpopular Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa of the former British colony of Hong Kong reportedly resigns, with reluctant approval from Beijing. (The Standard), (BBC),(CBC), (Globe&Mail), (Reuters), (CNN). (BBC).
• Banda Sea Earthquake: An earthquake measuring up to 7.5 on the Richter scale hits Darwin, Northern Territory in Australia (ABC News)
• The Israeli Defence Forces discover a Hamas bomb-lab near Jenin in a metal workshop. The lab contains what appeared to be a Qassam rocket in an initial state of production, and large quantities of other materials used for manufacturing bombs. (Haaretz)
• US company Titan Corporation agrees to pay a fine equivalent to US$28.5 million after they admit attempting bribery to get a military communications contract in Benin. The corporation allegedly gave US$2 million to the re-election campaign of president Mathieu Kérékou. (Reuters), (Financial Times), (BBC)
• Microsoft founder Bill Gates is awarded the title of Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II (which will entitle him to suffix the letters "KBE" to his name but not use the title of "Sir") for his contribution to enterprise in the United Kingdom and his efforts in poverty reduction around the world. (BBC)
• Windsor Tower, the building in central Madrid which was burnt down by a fire on February 12th, starts to be demolished. Technicians pay attention now to the wind, since it may make harder to control the cranes. (EiTB)

March 3, 2005

• In Belgium, Naïma Amzil, a Muslim woman leaves her job after her employer is targeted with a seventh death threat, sent by a group named New Free Flanders (Dutch: Nieuw Vrij Vlaanderen). She is targeted because she is Muslim and wears a headscarf at work. (BBC) (Middle East Online)
• Four officers of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police are shot dead while investigating a man suspected of stealing a pickup truck, west of Edmonton, Alberta. This is the largest single death toll for RCMP officers since the Northwest Rebellion. (CBC)
• Five men who had been sentenced to death for the rape of Mukhtar Mai, who was raped as punishment for another rape falsely attributed to her brother, are acquitted on appeal. A Pakistani tribal council allegedly ordered the rape of Mukhtar Mai in February 2002. (BBC)
• The People\'s Republic of China issues a report condemning the human rights record of the United States, three days after the United States issued a report condemning China\'s human rights record. (BBC) (People\'s Daily)
• In Indonesia, Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Bashir is found guilty of conspiracy for his involvement in the 2002 Bali bombing, but was found not guilty of all charges surrounding the 2003 bombing of the Marriott hotel in Jakarta. He received a two and a half year jail sentence. (BBC)(Jakarta Post) (Reuters)
• In China, a dynamite explosion in a home of a miner kills 20 people, most of them schoolchildren (Xinhua) (Reuters) (BBC)
• In Japan, Yoshiaki Tsutsumi, millionaire and chairman of Kokudo Corporation, is indicted in insider trading and false financial reports (Daily Yomiuri) (Asahi Shimbun) (Reuters)
• Steve Fossett\'s GlobalFlyer touches down at Salina, Kansas, completing his nonstop around-the-world flight. Fossett had overcome earlier fuel problems to become the first person to achieve the flight solo. (CNN)
• After 5 months in prison, Martha Stewart is released from Camp Cupcake at 12:30 EDT. (CNN)
• In South Africa, police look for three killers of Thulani Zulu, Zulu prince and ANC official. Thulani Zulu was killed in a drive-by shooting. IFP also condemns the act (SABC (IOL) (News24) (BBC)
• Zimbabwe intends to release 62 mercenaries connected to failed coup attempt in the Equatorial Guinea last year. Most of the suspected mercenaries are South African. (Reuters SA) (IAfrica) (BBC)
• FBI sends a special agent to Azerbaijan to help in the investigation of murder Elmar Huseynov. editor in chief of Monitor magazine. The magazine has often criticized the government of the country. (Baku Today) (IJNet) (BBC) (CASCFEN)
• World Trade Organization upheld a ruling that orders USA to stop subsidies to its cotton farmers. (Bloomberg) (New York Times) (BBC)
• Mexico allocates equivalent to US$ 2.7 million to compensate relatives of more than 300 women killed in Ciudad Juárez since 1993. (UN News Centre) (KLTV) (BBC)
• In Angers, France, 66 people go into trial for sexual child abuse and child prostitution of 45 victims of various ages. (Reuters) [] (Guardian) (BBC)
• In Naples, Italy, police has arrested at least 42 people during a large operation against Camorra. (AGI) (News.Com.Au) (BBC)
• Scientists at Florida State University conclude that Homo floresiensis is a separate species from Homo sapiens and belongs in the Homo genus through computer mapping of its brain. (Reuters), (CBC)
• At 18:17Z, a 3500-tonne freighter, M/V Karen Danielsen, crashes into the Western bridge of the Great Belt Bridge of Denmark, 800 m from Funen. All traffic across the bridge stopped, effectively separating Denmark in two. (News24)

March 4 2005

• Abducted Italian journalist Giuliana Sgrena, a reporter for Il Manifesto, is released in Iraq. An Italian secret service agent, Nicola Calipari, was killed and Sgrena wounded when a U.S. armored vehicle opened fire on her car after it allegedly failed to slow as it approached a checkpoint. (ABCNews - AP) (Reuters) (BBC)
• United Nations warns that about 90 million Africans could be infected by HIV in the future without further action against the spread of the disease. See AIDS in Africa. (Health24) (WHO) [1]
• President of India, APJ Kalam meets Syed Sibte Razi, governor of the northern state Jharkhand after opposition protests. Despite the hung elections in the assembly, the governor has appointed Jharkhand Mukti Morcha party member Shibu Soren as a chief minister. JMM is part of a political alliance backed by the Congress Party (NDTV) (BBC)
• Former interior minister of Ukraine, Yuri Kravchenko, is found dead in his country house, in an apparent suicide. He had been linked to the murder of journalist Georgiy Gongadze and was due to give evidence. (Reuters) (Scotsman) (BBC)
• The BSE Sensex breaches the 6,800-mark for the first time in its history, ending at 6,849, up 65 points over its previous close. The market rally has added about 160 billion Indian rupees (approx. 3.6 billion US$) to investor wealth with the BSE\'s market capitalisation at a record high of 17.65 trillion Indian rupees (approx. 400 billion US$). (Financial Express, India)
• President\'s rule is imposed in Goa and the Goa assembly is placed under suspended animation. (Deccan Herald) (Sify, India)

March 5 2005

• President Bashar al-Assad of Syria announces that Syria will withdraw all 14,000 troops in Lebanon to the Bekaa Valley area, on the Syrian-Lebanese border. (Reuters)
• Scientists flock to an area about 300 miles off the coast of U.S. state of Washington to study what appears to be an ongoing undersea volcanic eruption. Accompanying earthquakes measuring up to magnitude 4.0 have numbered thousands per day. (Seattle Times)
• The South African film director Zola Maseko wins the top prize at the 2005 FESPACO African film festival for his film Drum. (FESPACO site) (BBC)
• The Pakistani government is appealing to the Supreme Court of Pakistan after the Lahore High Court overturned the death sentences of five of the six men convicted for the alleged gang rape of Mukhtaran Bibi in a tribal feud. Daily Times, Pakistan
• In Niger, government cancels special ceremony that would have released about 7000 slaves because no slaves appeared. Local human rights group Timidra blames government threats against tribal leaders. (News24) (CNN) (Telegraph) (BBC)
• Chin Peng, leader of communist rebels during Malayan Emergency, asks Malaysian court to allow him to return. (Malaysian Star) (New Straits Times) (Reuters India)

March 6 2005

• Bolivian President Carlos Mesa announces his resignation, effective Monday. (Reuters)
• In Rabat, Morocco, some 30.000 protesters march to call for release of prisoners of war held by Polisario in Algeria. (Morocco Times) (Reuters SA)
• In Israel, police arrest 22 employees of Bank Hapoalim for suspected money laundering. (Haaretz) (Jerusalem Post) (BBC)

March 7 2005

• Prisoner Abuse in Iraq: American troops in Iraq filmed themselves kicking a gravely wounded prisoner in the face and making the arm of a corpse appear to wave, then titled the effort "Ramadi Madness" after the city where it was made. (Reuters via Yahoo)
• Former US President George H.W. Bush has praised his successor Bill Clinton after Clinton allowed Bush to sleep on the only Bed in the airplane the pair were using on their tour of tsunami-hit areas. (BBC)
• John R. Bolton is nominated by President George W. Bush to become the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. (CNN) (Fox News).
• Hans Bethe, Nobel Laureate in Physics, discoverer of stellar fusion, key participant in development of atomic and hydrogen bombs, outspoken critic of arms race and nuclear testing, died at age 98. wikinews Cornell University News Service
• A Vietnamese nurse is confirmed to have contracted the bird flu, raising the number bird flu patients in Vietnam to 22, since late 2004. (Xinhua) (Reuters) (Bloomberg)
• Irish singer Bono, of rock band U2, is nominated for World Bank presidency. (Guardian) (Business World) (Zaman)
• Sony Corporation announces that its current US operations chief, British-born Howard Stringer, is to become its first-ever non-Japanese Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. (Channelnewsasia)
• The People\'s Republic of China warns that it will not tolerate the United States and Japan including Taiwan in any security alliance. (AFP)
• In Moldova, ruling Pro-Western Communist Party of the Republic of Moldova wins a narrow majority in parliamentary elections but will be probably unable to elect a president without further political alliances with other parties (Reuters) (BBC) (CNN)
• 3-19 shooting incident: Police in Taiwan says that they have identified the man who shot at president Chen Shui-bian last year. Wife of unemployed man Chen Yi-hsiung says he confessed and committed suicide a few days later (CNA, Taiwan) (Reuters Alertnet) (Bloomberg) (BBC)
• Italy prepares a funeral for the agent Nicola Calipari who died in Iraq protecting released hostage Giuliana Sgrena. Sgrena disputes US Army account of the shooting (New York Post) (BBC) (BBC Sgrena interview)
• In South Korea, finance minister Lee Hun-jai resigns over allegations that his wife has made illegal property deals (Korea Times) (Bloomberg) (Reuters UK)
• German financial company Deutsche Börse AG withdraws its takeover of the London Stock Exchange (MarketWatch) (Bloomberg) (BBC)
• Malaysia and Indonesia agree to talks about the border dispute in Borneo over oil resources. Indonesia has deployed military units to the area (Channel News Asia) (Reuters) (Jakarta Post)
• Representatives of European Union meet with those of Turkey, a prospective new member. They also criticize Turkish police for violent handling of a demonstration that marked the International Women\'s Day in Istanbul. Turkish officials promise to investigate the case (Bloomberg) (IHT)
• Momčilo Perišić, former Yugoslavian army general, hands himself in to the United Nations war crimes tribunal in the Hague. He is charged with complicity of Serbian separatist war crimes in Bosnia and Croatia during the Yugoslav Wars. (Bloomberg) (B92) (BBC)
• Prison fire in the Dominican Republic claims 134 lives and injured 25. Fire started during a clash of prison gangs (Reuters) (BBC)
• In Spain, prosecutors of the case of Adolfo Scilingo, Argentinean naval officers accused of multiple counts of genocide, murder and terrorism, request a prison sentence of 9138 years (Prensa Latina) (BBC)
• In Norway, police recovers three paintings of Edvard Munch the day after they were stolen (CNN) (BBC)
• In Sierra Leone, three members of the former military government, Armed Forces Revolutionary Council, go on trial accused of crimes against humanity during the civil war. (Reuters) (AllAfrica) (ReliefWeb) (BBC)
• The day DeVahn asked out the Vanna(the love of his life)

March 8, 2005

• In Lebanon, almost one million people have flooded a Beirut square, in front of the United Nations building, in a rally showing their support for Syria, dwarfing previous anti-Syria demonstrations. (CNN) (BBC) (ABC)(Daily Star, Lebanon) (Reuters)
• A very high plume of ash and steam is seen coming from the direction of active volcano Mount St. Helens in the U.S. state of Washington. The plume is visible as far away as Portland, Oregon. (Wikinews) (ABCnews)
• In Northern Ireland the IRA issues an unprecedented statement that they made an offer to the family of murder victim Robert McCartney to shoot the members involved in his 31 January killing. The family made it clear that they wanted the people concerned prosecuted, not physically harmed. (BBC)
• Russian armed forces claim that Chechen separatist leader Aslan Maskhadov has been killed in a special forces operation. (Guardian)
• Kosovan Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj reports that he has been charged with war crimes by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and resigns. He will travel to The Hague of his own volition, although he maintains his innocence. (Reuters)
• Gianfranco Fini, the foreign minister of Italy has demanded that the U.S. "identify and punish" those responsible for the death of Nicola Calipari, the Italian intelligence agent killed by US soldiers in Iraq. (BBC)
• In Australia, 104-year-old Chinese widow Cui Yu Hu, who has lived in the country for 10 years, loses an appeal to receive a permanent visa. She has asked immigration minister Amanda Vanstone to intervene. (The Australian) (BBC)
• South Africa intends to change the name of the capital Pretoria to Tshwane (IOL) (BBC)

March 9, 2005

• Cyclone Ingrid diminishes to a category 3 storm, and is crossing the Cape York Peninsula in northern Queensland, Australia late on March 9, 2005 UTC. ABOM
• In Australia, immigration minister Amanda Vanstone grants Cui Yu Hu permanent residency (News.com.au) (Australian) (BBC)
• In Bolivia, Congress refuses to accept resignation of President Carlos Mesa and he withdraws it (Reuters) (BBC)
• Akhmed Zakayev, envoy of the killed Chechen separatist leader Aslan Maskhadov, states that Maskhadov\'s death does not end resistance to Russian rule and that his successor would be chosen in a couple of days (Bloomberg) (BBC)
• Colombia extradites captured FARC leader Omaira Rojas Cabrera, also known as Sonia, to USA to face drug trafficking charges (BBC)
• Conflict in Iraq: Iraqi police discover the bullet-riddled and/or headless bodies of 41 people at two sites, one near the Syrian border, the other just south of Baghdad. (AP)
• Israeli Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz and Palestinian head of the PNA Mahmoud Abbas have not agreed upon giving Jericho and Tulkarm to Palestinian security control, as early reports suggested, but talks continue. (Haaretz) (BBC)
• In Israel, an official report has revealed that Israeli state bodies have been diverting funds from state projects to fund the establishment of illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank. Former state prosecutor Talia Sasson has recommended that criminal investigations be launched. (BBC)
• Ramush Haradinaj, the former prime minister of Kosovo, flies to International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia in The Hague to answer for charges for his role as a former commander of Kosovo Liberation Army in 1998-1999. He goes there voluntarily. (OneWorld) /Reuters) (BBC)
• In the Philippines, 29 children from San Jose Elementary School die from food poisoning after eating cassava balls. (Reuters)
• Syria says its troops will leave Lebanon before parliamentary elections in May (BBC) (Reuters)
• In Costa Rica, bank robbers take hostages in the western town of Santa Elena de Monteverde. Three robbers, five hostages and a security agent are killed during the siege. Last robber surrenders (Reuters AlertNet) (San Jose Mercury News) (BBC)
• In South Africa, 5.3 Richter scale earthquake collapses Hartebeestfontein gold mine south of Johannesburg and traps 40 miners undersground. One miner is killed and 23 injured. Medics and volunteer miners rescue them in a 12-hour rescue operation (IOL) (Reuters) (BBC)
• In Spain, Alfredo Galán, a serial killer who left playing cards on the bodies of some of his victims, is sentenced to jail for 142 years (Reuters) (BBC)
• In Guinea, president Lansana Conté sacks three senior ministers, security minister Moussa Sampil, foreign affairs minister Mamadi Condé and mines minister Alpha Mady Soumah, to replace them with the members of his own Party of Unity and Progress. Journalists and students welcome sacking of Sampil because of his handling of an alleged assassination attempt against the president in January. (Reuters) (BBC)
• World Health Organization issues a warning that cases of malaria have increased to 500 million- much more than they anticipated (Reuters) (Scientific American) (BBC)

March 10 2005

• Paul Schäfer, former leader of Colonia Dignidad community in Chile, is arrested in Argentina accused of child sexual abuse. He has been on the run for 8 years. (Reuters) (BBC)
• USA withdraws from part of the Vienna Convention that gave the International Criminal Court the right to intervene in cases of foreigners held in death rows in US jails (CNN) (Reuters) (BBC)
• In Rwanda, traditional Gacaca community courts begin to judge cases of people accused of involvement in the Rwandan genocide in 1994 (Reuters AlertNet) (ReliefWeb) (AllAfrica)
• In Djibouti, Mohamed Daoud Chehem, the only opposition candidate in the forthcoming presidential elections, withdraws from the race. The incumbent President Ismail Omar Guelleh remains the only candidate in the elections of April 8 (BBC)
• Conflict in Iraq: At least 47 people have died following an apparent suicide bombing at a Shia funeral in the Iraqi city of Mosul. (BBC)
• A U.S. Judge has dismissed a case brought by Vietnamese plaintiffs over the use of Agent Orange during the Vietnam War. (BBC) (Judges Decision in Full)
• Lebanese President Émile Lahoud, reappoints Omar Karami as Prime Minister of Lebanon and asks him to form a new government, less than two weeks after Karami resigned in the face of anti-Syrian protests. (BBC)
• Israeli troops kill Mohammed Abu Hazneh, a member of Palestinian Islamic Jihad and an alleged plotter of the recent Tel Aviv "Stage" nightclub suicide bombing. After he killed a K9 dog, the troops bulldozed his house, crushing him to death. (BBC)
• The Chief Executive of Hong Kong, Tung Chee Hwa, announces he is to resign. He blames his poor health for the decision, while some believe that he may have been dismissed by the Chinese government. (Yahoo! Hong Kong)(BBC)
• 16 people die following an explosion in a mine in the Shanxi province of China. (IOL)
• A senior United Nations envoy has said far more people have died in Darfur during the two-year conflict than previously admitted.(BBC)
• Flags across the nation fly at half-mast as the largest police memorial in Canadian history is held in Edmonton, to honour the four Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) victims of the Mayerthorpe Incident. Attending were about 10,000 officers from North America, Canadian dignitaries and entertainers with songs of reflection and sorrow. (CBC) (Toronto Star)
• The Islamic Commission of Spain, that country\'s largest Muslim group, issues a fatwa against al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Ladin, ruling that his actions have made him an apostate, that he should not be regarded as a Muslim, and that his claim that the Qur\'an justifies his terrorist actions constitutes istihlal, the sin of making up one\'s own law. It is claimed to be the first fatwa to be pronounced against Bin Ladin, and to have the tacit support of Muslim leaders in several Islamic countries. (CBC)
• The Mozilla Foundation announces that the development of the Mozilla Internet Suite will no longer be ongoing. SeaMonkey will be the replacement.

March 11 2005

• A day of mourning is held in Spain to mark the first anniversary of the 11 March 2004 Madrid attacks. At noon, King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofía inaugurate the Forest of the Departed (Bosque de los Ausentes), a memorial park in Madrid where an olive or cypress tree has been planted for each victim of the tragedy. (BBC)