President George W. Bush begins his Middle East trip today, beginning with Egypt. He is in talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders. He promises to work for the goal of Israel and a Palestinian state being able to live side by side without any bloodshed.
Thousands of Iraqi soldiers threaten to begin suicide attacks against U.S. troops as leaders of Iraq's tribes tell the Americans that they could face war if they do not leave.
Israel says it will dismantle only some of the more than 100 West Bank settlement outposts since violence began in that area 32 months ago.
In Zimbabwe, opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai is first arrested, then released. This coincides with the start of a week of protests against the government, who have put Tsvangirai on trial for treason. He is due to appear in court later today.
A US Department of Justice internal audit is released which asserts that the government systematically abused the civil rights of individuals detained after the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attack, engaging in "a pattern of physical and verbal abuse".
U.S. PresidentGeorge W. Bush meets with Arab leaders, and says that their summit is making progress on the US-backed "road-map" to Israeli-Palestinian peace. The Arab leaders announce their support for the "road map" and promise to work on cutting off funding to "terrorist groups".
The United States agrees to dismantle its bases and withdraw American forces from positions they have occupied near the DMZ, which separates North and South Korea, for decades.
For the first time in more than two months, no new deaths were reported yesterday from SARS, the latest indication that the epidemic is subsiding, the World Health Organization said.
NASA investigators cracked a reinforced carbon fiber wing by shooting it with a piece of insulation, providing more evidence that falling insulation may have caused the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster.
After several days of violence and confusion in Mauritania, Pro-Israeli President Maaouiya Ould Taya appears to have defeated the uprising against him.
The Polishreferendum on EU enlargement entrance finishes today; 78% of the voters voted to join the EU, with approximately 59% turnout.
The presence of the monkeypoxvirus in the United States is confirmed with four cases in Wisconsin, sparking the first discovery of the virus in the Western Hemisphere. Dozens of suspected cases have appeared across three Midwest states, where pet enthusiasts came into contact with infected domestic prairie dogs, which caught the disease from the Gambian giant rat.
Same-sex marriage in Canada: The Ontario Appeals Court rules that the law restricting marriage to heterosexual couples contravenes the equality provisions in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The court does not permit the province any grace time to bring its law in conformity with the ruling. This appears to mean that Ontario has become the first jurisdiction in North America to recognize same-sex marriages. Toronto announces that its city clerk will begin to issue marriage licences to same-sex couples, and two same-sex couples who filed suit have their marriages retroactively recognized.
Masquerading as an Orthodox Jew, a suicide bomber blows up a bus in Jerusalem, Israel, killing at least sixteen people. An Israeli helicopter attack in the Gaza Strip kills at least seven.
Same-sex marriage in Canada: The attorney general of Ontario announces that his government will conform to yesterday's court ruling legalizing same-sex marriage in that province.
US baseball: Six Houston Astros pitchers combine to pitch a no-hitter against the New York Yankees. The game sets several records, including the most pitchers to combine for a no-hitter in Major League Baseball history, and a record for the Yankees for the most sequential games without being no-hit.
A mass grave in Ulan Bator, Mongolia, dating back to the Stalinist purges in the 1930s, is discovered containing at least 575 victims. Ninety percent of the dead were found with the remains of yellow and red garments and religious items usually worn by Buddhist monks. The number could top 1,000, investigators said.
The United States occupation forces north of Baghdad kill 27 Iraqis in a pitched battle.
Israel announces intention to kill high-ranking Hamas members, including Sheikh Ahmed Yassin despite an opinion poll showing that more than two-thirds of Israelis want the campaign of assassinations to stop.
United States troops shoot dead two former Iraqi soldiers who were protesting that they had not been paid since their country was occupied.
Following an international outrcy, the Romanian government retracts an official statement that no holocaust occurred on its territory during the Second World War.
Linus Torvalds announces that he will take a leave of absence from his job at Transmeta to work full-time at OSDL on the Linux kernel.
Same-sex marriage in Canada: The Canadian government announces that it will not appeal the Ontario appeals court ruling that permitted same-sex marriage. Instead, Prime Minister Jean Chrétien indicates that his government will introduce legislation to change the definition of marriage but protect the rights of churches to decide which marriages they will solemnize.
Two months after becoming Finland's first female prime minister, Anneli Jäätteenmäki resigns amid accusations she lied about the leak of sensitive political information about Iraq discussions with George W. Bush during the election campaign.
The Angolan government announces a Boeing 727has been stolen from Luanda's International Airport. The FAA asks all control towers in the United States to watch for any unscheduled aircraft as a consequence.
Hundreds of US troops raid Iraqi homes in the town of Ramadi, fired up by the Ride of the Valkyries coming through loudspeakers, in a scene which Reuters reporter Alistair Lyon describes as "a bizarre musical reprise from Vietnam War film Apocalypse Now." Meanwhile, a group identifying itself as the Iraqi National Front of Fedayeen announces to increase attacks on US troops if they refuse to leave the occupied country.
The U.S. Supreme Court issues opinions in Grutter v. Bollinger and Gratz and Hamacher v. Bollinger, challenges to the affirmative action admissions policies at the University of Michigan. In Grutter, the Court held that the University of Michigan Law School's admissions policy, which considered race as one of a number of "soft" admissions factors on a case-by-case basis, was constitutional. In Gratz, the Court held that the undergraduate affirmative action admissions policy, which was based on a point system and was more rigid than the Law School's, was unconstitutional.
In Peekskill, New York, a 10-month-old baby girl survives a seven story fall. Her father, Willie Williams, takes her to the hospital, where she was treated for bruises and cuts, but Mr. Williams is later arrested on charges of attempted murder.
Under pressure from members of Congress and human rights activists, officials in the administration of United States President George W. Bush publicly pledge for the first time that the United States will not torture terrorism suspects.
The United States Federal Trade Commission opens the National Do Not Call Registry. This registry gives consumers an opportunity to limit the telemarketing calls they receive. On October 1, 2003, when the National Do Not Call Registry became enforced, most telemarketers were required to remove the numbers on the registry from their call lists. See http://donotcall.gov/ or call 1-888 382-1222 for registration.,
The Boston Red Sox establish a new Major League Baseball record by scoring 10 runs before recording their first out of the game against the Florida Marlins in Boston. Marlins pitcherKevin Olsen was injured by a line-drive hit and taken to a local hospital, where he was admitted in good condition. The Red Sox beat the Marlins, 25–8.
