Timeline 2005 January - March
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2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 1,
Europe’s 7,000 listed companies adopted int’l. financial reporting
standards (IFRS), replacing the mishmash of 25 local accounting
regimes with one set of rules. Over 90 countries began switching to
a new int’l. accounting standards.
   (WSJ, 12/9/04, p.C1)(Econ, 6/18/05, p.73)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 1, A new California
law took effect giving gay couples who register as domestic partners
nearly the same responsibilities and benefits as married spouses.
   (AP, 1/1/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 1, Shirley Chisholm
(80), advocate for minority rights, died. She became the first black
woman elected to Congress and later the first black person to seek a
major party's nomination for the US presidency.
   (AP, 1/3/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 1, Robert Matsui (63),
13-term California Democratic congressman, died. On April 13 US
Representatives voted to name the federal courthouse in Sacramento
in his honor.
   (SFC, 1/3/05, p.A1)(SFC, 4/14/05, p.B3)
2005      Jan 1, Australia’s
free trade agreement with the US became effective.
   (Econ, 5/7/05, Survey p.10)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 1, The 1974
Multi-Fiber Arrangement (MFA), which had restricted Chinese textile
exports, ended. This forced Cambodia to face fierce competition from
rival exporters. This led to the loss of some 30,000 jobs in
Mauritius.
  Â
(www.ers.usda.gov/AmberWaves/February06/Features/feature2.htm)(Econ,
2/19/05, p.42)(Econ, 10/18/08, p.58)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 1, A deal to eliminate
import tariffs between Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda came into force,
marking the first major step toward integrating the East African
nations into a single economic and investment block.
   (AP, 1/1/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 1, Indonesia was
forecast for 4.8% annual GDP growth with a population at 227.1
million and GDP per head at $1,230.
   (Econ, 1/8/05, p.91)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 1, In Indonesia
desperate, homeless villagers on the tsunami-ravaged island of
Sumatra mobbed American helicopters carrying aid as the U.S.
military launched its largest operation in the region since the
Vietnam War.
   (AP, 1/1/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 1, Al-Qaida's arm in
Iraq released a video showing its militants lining up five captured
Iraqi security officers and executing them in the street.
   (AP, 1/1/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 1, Ireland's 2nd city
of Cork became the European capital of culture for 2005, offering up
a program of theatre, music, art, literature as well as sporting and
other events.
   (AFP, 1/1/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 1, Jamaica's embattled
police commissioner Francis Forbes resigned following record number
of homicides in 2004. The island nation of 2.6 million people,
reported a record 1,145 homicides for 2004, compared with 975 the
year before.
   (AP, 1/2/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 1, Japan pledged up to
$500 million in grant aid for tsunami disaster relief.
   (AP, 1/1/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 1, Japan’s currency
opened at 102.41 yen to the dollar. Rising oil prices pushed it down
in April to 108.91 to the dollar.
   (WSJ, 4/7/05, p.C16)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 1, In Norway a new law
went into effect to allow foreign hunters to hunt seals. The
legislation raised the seal kill quota to 2,000.
   (SFC, 11/27/04, p.A10)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 1, In southern Peru
Antauro Humala, retired army major, led a nationalist group that
seized a police station ambushed a police vehicle responding to the
scene, killing four officers and two reservists. Antauro Humala was
later sentenced to 25 years in prison. In 2011 his sentence was
reduced to 19 years. Antauro’s brother, Ollanta, was elected
president in 2006.
   (AP, 1/2/05)(Econ, 1/8/05, p.38)(AP, 9/7/11)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 1, Romania enacted a
law forbidding int’l. adoptions except to biological grandparents in
an effort to help it win EU membership.
   (WSJ, 1/3/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 1, In Saudi Arabia 2
men, a Pakistani and an Iraqi, were beheaded for smuggling in drugs.
   (AP, 1/1/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 1, A new Swiss law
took effect that legalized the production of absinthe.
   (SFC, 11/4/04, p.A2)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 1, Taiwan was forecast
for 4.8% annual GDP growth with a population at 22.9 million and GDP
per head at $14,560.
   (Econ, 1/8/05, p.92)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 1, Taiwan’s Statement
of Financial Standards No. 35 took effect.
   (WSJ, 4/6/05, p.C18)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 1, The New (yeni)
Turkish Lira (YTL), will begin circulating, wiping out six zeroes
from the current money. The old lira will keep circulating until Dec
31.
   (AP, 9/23/04)(Econ, 8/28/04, p.67)(SSFC, 12/5/04,
p.F2)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 1, Uganda President
Yoweri Museveni said the army will resume all-out war on rebels in
northern Uganda, charging that the insurgents rejected a cease-fire
deal that had been expected to open the way for political talks on
ending the 18-year civil war.
   (AP, 1/1/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 2, US professional
football teams (NFL) joined Venus Williams, Maria Sharapova and
other sports figures around the world in assisting the relief
mission for the tsunami-earthquake catastrophe in southern Asia.
   (AP, 1/2/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 2, The death toll from
the Dec 26 Tsunami was expected to hit 150,000.
   (AP, 1/2/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 2, In El Dorada, Ark.,
firefighters evacuated hundreds of residents as they fought a blaze
in a hazardous waste warehouse.
   (WSJ, 1/3/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 2, H. David Dalquist
(86), creator of the aluminum Bundt pan (1950), the top-selling cake
pan in the world, died at his home in Edina, Minn. He founded St.
Louis Park-based Nordic Ware, which has sold more than 50 million
Bundt pans.
   (AP, 1/5/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 2, In western
Afghanistan a US soldier and a former Afghan militia leader were
killed when American troops clashed with gunmen while searching the
leader's compound.
   (AP, 1/2/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 2, Canada confirmed
that a 2nd case of mad cow disease has been discovered, just days
after the United States said it planned to reopen its border to
Canadian beef.
   (AP, 1/3/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 2, In Croatia Pres.
Stipe Mesic won about 49 percent of the votes, compared with 20
percent for his closest rival, conservative government minister
Jadranka Kosor, the popular incumbent narrowly failed to win the
absolute majority required for a first-round victory. Voters will
return to the polls later this month for a presidential runoff.
   (AP, 1/3/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 2, A suicide attacker
detonated a car bomb north of Baghdad, killing at least 22 Iraqi
soldiers. 10 Iraqis were killed in attacks elsewhere.
   (AP, 1/2/05)(WSJ, 1/3/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 2, Some 1,500 people
inhabited the artificial Maldive island of Hulhumale. Some $60
million had already been spent on its creation and completion was
expected in 2040.
   (SSFC, 1/2/05, p.A10)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 2 Shin Dong-hyuk
(b.1982) escaped from a prison camp in North Korea and made his way
to China. In 2012 former Washington Post journalist Blaine Harden
authored "Escape from Camp 14," an account of Shin’s escape. In 2015
Shin apologized for misleading people after changing key parts of
his story.
   (Reuters, 1/18/15)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 2, Thailand's
confirmed death toll from the Dec 26 tidal wave disaster approached
5,000, including more than 2,400 foreign holidaymakers.
   (AP, 1/2/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 3, President Bush
tapped his father, former President Bush, and former President
Clinton to help raise tsunami relief funds.
   (AP, 1/3/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 3, The third-ranked
Auburn Tigers limped to a 16-13 victory over No. 9 Virginia Tech in
the Sugar Bowl.
   (AP, 1/3/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 3, Heavy snow shut
down a major highway north of Los Angeles and slowed post-holiday
travel in the Sierra Nevada as Californians grappled with a 2nd week
of stormy weather.
   (AP, 1/3/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 3, Will Eisner
(b.1917), comic book pioneer, died in Fla. In 1978 he wrote and drew
his graphic novel “A Contract With God.” It was the 1st of a trilogy
that included “A Life Force” (1983) and “Dropsie Avenue” (1995).
   (SFC, 1/4/05, p.A2)(Econ, 1/15/05, p.81)(SSFC,
12/25/05, p.M3)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 3, In eastern
Afghanistan a US soldier was killed and three others wounded in a
clash with militants.
   (AP, 1/3/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 3, The Algerian
Interior Ministry said security forces had arrested the leader of
the Armed Islamic Group, the radical insurgency movement responsible
for brutal village massacres several years ago, and killed his
replacement. The arrest of Nourredine Boudiafi and the killing of
Chaabane Younes were near-fatal blows to the seriously weakened GIA,
as the movement is known. Islamic extremists killed 18 people in an
ambush of an army convoy south of the capital Algiers.
   (AP, 1/4/05)(AFP, 1/5/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 3, Thousands of
Argentines angered over safety lapses at a nightclub where a fire
killed 183 people, many of them teenagers, marched through capital
streets holding pictures of the victims and demanding the
resignations of key city officials.
   (AP, 1/4/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 3, Honduras Pres.
Ricardo Maduro said that police have arrested the alleged mastermind
of an attack on a public bus that left 28 passengers dead two weeks
ago. The suspect was identified as Juan Carlos Miralda, 24, one of
the leaders of the violent Mara Salvatrucha criminal gang.
   (AP, 1/4/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 3, India’s death toll
from the Dec 26 tsunami was expected to top 15,000.
   (AP, 1/3/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 3, J.N. Dixit (68),
India’s national security advisor, died in New Delhi.
   (SFC, 1/6/05, p.B7)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 3, In Iraq 3 suicide
car bombs, including one that exploded near the Iraqi prime
minister's party headquarters in Baghdad, along with a roadside
explosion, rifle fire and an explosive rigged to a dead body killed
at least 20 people.
   (AP, 1/3/05)(SFC, 1/4/05, p.A3)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 3, Jewish settlers
clashed with Israeli troops who came to tear down two structures at
an unauthorized West Bank outpost, and a soldier was arrested for
encouraging comrades to refuse to evacuate the settlement.
   (AP, 1/3/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 3, Russian President
Vladimir Putin stripped many of the duties of his top economic
adviser, an outspoken critic who has accused the Kremlin of trying
to muzzle voices of dissent and civil society in Russia.
   (AP, 1/3/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 3, Ukraine gave in and
agreed to pay Turkmenistan a third more for natural gas following a
shut-off.
   (WSJ, 1/4/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 4, The 109th US
Congress convened and took up tsunami aid. The Republican edge was
55 to 45.
   (WSJ, 1/5/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 4, In the Orange Bowl
#1 Southern California overwhelmed #2 Oklahoma 55-19.
   (AP, 1/4/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 4, Wade Boggs was
elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of
eligibility, and Ryne Sandberg made it with just six votes to spare
on his third try.
   (AP, 1/4/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 4, Kelbessa Negewo
(54), an Ethiopian immigrant suspected of torturing and murdering
more than a dozen political opponents of the Ethiopian government in
the 1970s, was arrested at his home near Atlanta. Negewo has lived
in the US since fleeing Ethiopia in 1987.
   (Reuters, 1/4/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 4, Robert Heilbroner
(b.1919), author of the 1953 economics classic “Worldly
Philosophers,” died.
   (WSJ, 1/11/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 4, Cuban Foreign
Minister Felipe Perez Roque said the island nation was renewing
contacts with France, Britain, Germany, Italy, Austria, Greece,
Portugal and Sweden after an EU panel recommended that member states
stop inviting dissidents to their National Day celebrations at their
embassies in Havana.
   (AP, 1/4/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 4, Diplomats said the
U.N. atomic watchdog agency has found evidence of secret nuclear
experiments in Egypt that could be used in weapons programs.
   (AP, 1/4/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 4, Doctors at Haiti's
largest public hospital extended a weeklong strike to protest
overdue paychecks.
   (AP, 1/4/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 4, Insurgents
assassinated the highest-ranking Iraqi official in eight months,
gunning down the governor of Baghdad province and six of his
bodyguards. A suicide truck bomber killed 10 people at an Interior
Ministry commando headquarters. 5 US soldiers were killed in
assaults elsewhere.
   (AP, 1/4/05)(WSJ, 1/5/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 4, Two Israeli tank
shells slammed into a field in response to Palestinian mortar fire,
killing seven Palestinians youths working in a strawberry field.
   (AP, 1/4/05)(SFC, 1/4/05, p.A3)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 4, In Peru the leader
of an armed nationalist group that seized a remote police station,
took 10 officers hostage and allegedly killed four others was
detained while most of his 125 followers were rounded up.
   (AP, 1/4/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 4, Polish PM Marek
Belka arrived in Tripoli for a two-day visit that will include talks
on cooperation in the oil sector and a meeting with Libyan leader
Moamer Kadhafi.
   (AFP, 1/5/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 4, Portugal’s national
meteorology office said many regions, including the southernmost
province of Algarve, the country's main tourism center, are facing
their worst drought in over a decade.
   (AP, 1/5/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 4, Venezuela's
left-leaning government promised to grant poor farmers at least
100,000 plots of land carved from either state property or large
private holdings, a step toward implementing a controversial
agrarian reform law.
   (AP, 1/4/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 5, President Bush
opened a new drive for caps on medical malpractice awards,
contending the limits would lower health care costs.
   (AP, 1/5/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 5, Cpl. Wassef Ali
Hassoun, a Marine charged with desertion in Iraq after mysteriously
disappearing from his post was again declared a deserter, this time
for failing to report to his U.S. base.
   (AP, 1/5/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 5, It was reported
that PolyMedix, a research firm in Philadelphia, was targeting
bacteria with synthetic molecules that prevented the development of
resistance.
   (WSJ, 1/5/05, p.B2A)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 5, Julius Axelrod, NIH
neuroscientist, died in Rockville, Md. He shared a 1970 Nobel Prize
with 2 others for work on neuro-transmitters.
   (SFC, 1/6/05, p.B7)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 5, Australian PM John
Howard pledged $765 million over five years to Indonesian tsunami
reconstruction and development due to the Dec 26 disaster.
   (AP, 1/6/05)(Econ, 1/15/05, p.38)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 5, The head of the
IAEA said Iran has agreed to give U.N. inspectors access to a huge
military site that the United States alleges is linked to a secret
nuclear weapons program.
   (AP, 1/5/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 5, Iraq's intelligence
chief said as many as 30,000 well-trained terrorists are actively
operating throughout Iraq at the behest of former regime leaders
based in Syria.
   (AP, 1/6/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 5, A car bomb exploded
outside a police academy south of Baghdad during a graduation
ceremony, killing at least 20 people. Hours earlier, another car
bomb killed two Iraqis in Baghdad. A 2nd car bomber killed five
Iraqi policemen in Baqouba.
   (AP, 1/5/05)(AP, 1/6/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 5, The bodies of 18
young Iraqi Shiites taken off a bus and executed in December 2005
were found in a field near Mosul.
   (AP, 1/5/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 5, A group calling
itself "The Free People of the Galilee" claimed that it abducted
Dana Bennet, an Israeli-American woman, in Aug 2003, and demanded
that Israel release 1,000 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for
information about her fate.
   (AP, 1/5/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 5, Two homemade
Palestinian rockets fell into an army base in southern Israel,
wounding 12 people, one of them seriously.
   (AP, 1/5/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 5, In western Nepal
soldiers backed by helicopters raided a communist rebel hideout,
killing at least 30 guerrillas and foiling a planned attack on an
army base.
   (AP, 1/5/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 5, The UN said that
camps for up to 500,000 tsunami refugees will be built on devastated
Sumatra island, while world leaders headed to Indonesia to discuss
how to distribute billions of dollars in aid.
   (AP, 1/5/05)
2005 Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 6, The US Congress
certified President Bush's re-election.
   (AP, 1/6/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 6, US Attorney
General-nominee Alberto Gonzales, under scorching criticism at his
confirmation hearing, condemned torture as an interrogation tactic
and promised to prosecute abusers of terror suspects.
   (AP, 1/6/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 6, Andrea Yates'
murder conviction for drowning her children in the bathtub on June
20, 2001, was overturned by a Texas appeals court. On July 26, 2006,
after three days of deliberations, Yates was found not guilty by
reason of insanity, as defined by the state of Texas.
   (AP,
1/6/06)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrea_Yates)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 6, Edgar Ray Killen
(b.1925) was arrested in Philadelphia, Miss., as a suspect in the
1964 abduction and killing of 3 voter-registration volunteers. He
was found guilty on June 21, 2005, the 41st anniversary of the
murders, along with Cecil Price (deputy sheriff of Neshoba at the
time), of three counts of manslaughter and gathering the group of
men who hunted down and killed two Jewish New Yorkers: Andrew
Goodman (20) and Michael Schwerner (24), and one black
Mississippian, James Chaney (21).
   (SFC, 1/7/05,
p.A1)(www.cnn.com/2005/LAW/06/21/mississippi.killings/)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 6, The Chicago-based
Pritzker family settled a family suit giving both Matthew (22) and
Liesel Pritzker (20) control of $450 million. The family fortune was
estimated at over $15 bil.
   (WSJ, 1/7/05, p.B1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 6, In South Carolina a
freight train carrying chlorine gas struck a parked train, killing
eight people and injuring more than 240 others, nearly all of them
sickened by a toxic cloud that at nightfall persisted over the small
textile town of Graniteville.
   (AP, 1/7/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 6, In Bangladesh a
fire at the Sun Knit garment factory in Siddhirganj killed 22
people. Most of the exits were found locked.
   (SFC, 1/8/05, p.A3)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 6, A baby boy
delivered in Beijing became China's 1.3 billionth citizen.
   (AP, 1/6/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 6, Chinese authorities
bulldozed Silk Alley, a 20-year-old landmark in Beijing. Traders
felt the motive was to eliminate competition for a new indoor
complex soon to open next to the alley, to be named Xiushui, which
was the name of the old market.
   (Econ, 1/15/05, p.39)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 6, A tsunami aid
conference convened in Jakarta, Indonesia, and the UN asserted
control over the massive relief campaign.
   (WSJ, 1/7/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 6, In Iraq 7 US
soldiers were killed in Baghdad when their Bradley hit a car buried
bomb. 2 Marines were killed in western Iraq.
   (WSJ, 1/7/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 6, President Vicente
Fox announced that all Mexican children with cancer will receive
free treatment as long as they need it.
   (AP, 1/6/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 6, In Ciudad Juarez,
Mexico, 10 alleged gang members were convicted in the killings of 12
women, some of the hundreds who have been found slain there in
recent years. The Los Toltecas members were arrested in 1999, after
the reputed leader of their group, Jesus Manuel Guardado, alias "El
Tolteca," was identified by a 14-year-old girl as the man who
sexually assaulted and tried to kill her.
   (AP, 1/7/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 6, In South Africa
former Pres. Nelson Mandela announced that his son, Makgatho
Mandela, had died of illness related to AIDS.
   (SFC, 1/7/05, p.A10)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 7, A military jury at
Fort Hood, Texas, acquitted Army Sgt. Tracy Perkins of involuntary
manslaughter in the alleged drowning of an Iraqi civilian, but
convicted him of assault in the January 2004 incident.
   (AP, 1/7/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 7, The nuclear
submarine USS San Francisco ran aground 350 miles off the Pacific
Ocean territory of Guam, injuring about 20 crew members. One died
the next day.
   (AP, 1/8/05)(AP, 1/9/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 7, Conservative
columnist Armstrong Williams was dropped by a major syndication
service because he'd accepted a payment from the Bush administration
to promote the No Child Left Behind law.
   (AP, 1/7/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 7, Brad Pitt and
Jennifer Aniston announced they were separating after four years of
marriage.
   (AP, 1/7/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 7, Rosemary Kennedy
(86), the mentally retarded oldest sister of President Kennedy and
the inspiration for the Special Olympics, died at a Fort Atkinson,
Wis., hospital.
   (AP, 1/7/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 7, Congo’s electoral
commission hinted that elections scheduled for June would be
postponed.
   (Econ, 1/22/05, p.44)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 7, Authorities raised
Indonesia's death toll by 7,000, bringing the overall total killed
by the disaster to more than 147,000.
   (AP, 1/7/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 7, In northern Italy a
passenger train and a freight train collided in thick fog on the
Bologna-Verona line, killing 17 people and injuring dozens.
   (AP, 1/7/05)(WSJ, 1/10/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 7, In
Indian-controlled Kashmir police said militants stormed a government
building, setting it on fire with 70 employees still trapped inside.
Three people were killed in the fighting.
   (AP, 1/7/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 7, Palestinian
militants attacked a group of Israeli civilians outside the West
Bank city of Nablus, wounding four people, including one who was in
critical condition.
   (AP, 1/7/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 8, The official death
toll from the Dec 26 tsunami rose above 150,000.
   (AP, 1/8/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 8, An Army platoon
sergeant who ordered his soldiers to throw Iraqis into the Tigris
River was sentenced to six months in military prison; the jury in
Fort Hood, Texas, also reduced the rank of Army Sgt. 1st Class Tracy
Perkins by one grade.
   (AP, 1/8/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 8, Richard P.
Rodriguez (29) stabbed to death Angela M. Smith (51) in Tucson, Az.
Rodriguez was found dead of a gunshot wound the next day in Blythe,
Ca., near the Arizona border. He had grown up in the evangelical sex
cult “Children of God” also known as the Family. Smith, a member of
the cult, was involved in his upbringing. The cult was later linked
to the San Diego based Family Care Foundation. In 2007 Don Lattin
authored “Jesus Freaks: A True Story of Murder and Madness on the
Evangelical Edge.”
   (SFC, 1/11/05, p.B8)(SSFC, 2/6/05, p.A1)(SSFC,
10/20/07, p.M1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 8, Hurricane-force
winds swept across northern Europe, leaving at least 13 dead
including 3 in Carlisle, England, 4 in Denmark and 6 in Sweden.
   (AP, 1/9/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 8, Indian security
forces killed the last rebel holed up inside a government office in
Kashmir, ending a two-day battle during which guerrillas took over
the building and set it on fire with dozens of employees inside.
   (AP, 1/8/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 8, In Iraq officials
said Militants had abducted three senior Iraqi officials, beheaded a
man who worked for the U.S. military and killed at least four
others.
   (AP, 1/8/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 8, The US military
acknowledged 5 people were killed when it bombed the wrong house
during a search operation in northern Iraq. The owner of the house,
Ali Yousef, said 14 people were killed when the 500-pound GPS-guided
bomb hit at about 2 a.m. in the town of Aitha, 30 miles south of
Mosul. An Associated Press photographer at the scene said seven
children and seven adults died.
   (AP, 1/9/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 8, Nigerian President
Olusegun Obasanjo flew to Sudan's troubled Darfur region to assess
the crisis there following talks with his Sudanese counterpart Omar
al-Beshir.
   (AP, 1/8/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 8, In northern
Pakistan at least 11 people were killed, including six family
members who were burned alive, during sectarian unrest after riots
broke out following the shooting of a popular Shiite leader.
   (AP, 1/8/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 8, In Pakistan’s SW
Baluchistan province assailants fired rockets at wells and a gas
pipeline, killing a woman and wounding 14 other people. The attacks
followed the rape of Dr. Shazia Khalid (31) a week earlier by a
government soldier.
   (AP, 1/9/05)(SFC, 3/22/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 8, Former Democratic
presidential candidate John Kerry met with Syria's president and
said he was hopeful that strained U.S.-Syrian relations could be
improved.
   (AP, 1/8/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 8, Russian troops
killed 5 alleged militants hiding in a house in the city of Nazran,
Ingushetia, in a firefight.
   (AP, 1/8/05)(SSFC, 1/9/05, p.A3)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 8, Venezuela
government officials escorted by troops and police descended on a
privately owned cattle ranch to determine whether some lands may be
turned over to poor farmers as part of an agrarian reform. The owner
of the 32,000 acre El Charcote Ranch, Agropecuaria Flora C.A., is a
subsidiary of the British-owned Vestey Group Ltd. and a major beef
producer. The company insists that it can prove ownership back to
1830. A 1998 census found that 60 percent of Venezuelan farmland was
owned by less than 1 percent of the population.
   (AP, 1/8/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 9, More heavy rain
spread across parts of California and snow piled deeper in the
mountains as the state sat under a storm system that left at least 7
dead.
   (AP, 1/9/05)(SFC, 1/10/05, p.B1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 9, American troops
opened fire after their convoy was struck by a roadside bomb at a
checkpoint south of Baghdad, killing at least 8 people.
   (AP, 1/9/05)(SFC, 1/10/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 9, In Iraq 7 Ukrainian
soldiers and one Kazakh serving with the U.S.-led coalition were
killed in an explosion while loading bombs that could be used by
warplanes.
   (AP, 1/9/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 9, Stanley Fischer,
Zambian-born vice-chairman of Citigroup, accepted the nomination to
be the next governor of the Bank of Israel.
   (Econ, 1/15/05, p.69)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 9, A French officer
serving with U.N. peacekeepers in Lebanon was killed by Israeli
shelling, shortly after a Hezbollah bomb attack killed an Israeli
soldier and wounded three others near the southern border.
   (AP, 1/9/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 9, At least five
Maoist rebels fighting to overthrow Nepal's constitutional monarchy
were killed, three days before a deadline for the guerrillas to
begin peace talks.
   (AP, 1/10/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 9, Palestinians held
their 1st presidential election in nine years, choosing a successor
to longtime leader Yasser Arafat. Mahmoud Abbas was elected
Palestinian Authority president by a landslide, giving the
pragmatist a mandate to resume peace talks with Israel.
   (AP, 1/9/05)(AP, 1/10/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 9, Saudi police killed
four terrorists believed linked to al-Qaida after the militants fled
their desert tent while throwing hand grenades at surrounding
forces.
   (AP, 1/9/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 9, Sudan's VP Ali
Osman Mohammed Taha and John Garang, the country's main rebel
leader, signed a comprehensive peace agreement to end Africa's
longest-running conflict. The treaty said: The 10 states in southern
Sudan will be secular, while the north will practice Islamic law;
Former rebels will hold 30 percent of national posts, the south will
be autonomous; Oil revenues from the south will be split 50-50
between the north and south: The south will vote on independence in
2011; U.N. observers will monitor a cease-fire and demobilization of
troops.
   (AP, 1/9/05)(AP, 1/10/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 9, In Basel,
Switzerland, central bankers, joined by commercial counterparts and
financial regulators from around the globe, opened a 2-day meeting
to discuss ways to ensure smooth economic growth amid worries over
widening U.S. deficits.
   (AP, 1/10/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 9, In Thailand a
6-story building caught fire and collapsed in Bangkok, trapping five
firefighters inside the wreckage.
   (AP, 1/9/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 9, The Zimbabwe
Standard reported that a maize-meal shortage has become acute.
  Â
(http://allafrica.com/stories/200501100537.html)(Econ, 1/15/05,
p.44)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 10, CBS issued a
damning independent review of mistakes related to a "60 Minutes
Wednesday" report, aired by Dan Rather, on President Bush's National
Guard service and fired three news executives and a producer for
their "myopic zeal" in rushing it to air.
   (SFC, 1/11/05, p.A1)(AP, 1/10/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 10, Gov.
Schwarzenneger proposed an $85.7 billion California state budget
with cuts in programs to the poor, elderly and disabled to help
close a $9.1 billion deficit.
   (SFC, 1/11/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 10, Randall W. Harding
pleaded guilty to money laundering and wire fraud charges as part of
a scam that authorities say bilked investors from Palm Springs to
Orange County, including church members at Crossroads Christian
Church in Riverside, Ca.
   (SFC, 8/14/06,
p.A2)(http://tinyurl.com/qhm4u)(http://home.att.net/~fcwriter/news29.htm)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 10, A mudslide at La
Conchita in Ventura County, Ca., crushed over 15 homes and killed 10
people.
   (SFC, 1/12/05, p.A1)(SFC, 1/13/05, p.A3)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 10, GlaxoSmithKline
PLC said that Bayer Healthcare AG has paid more than 200 million
euros ($260 million) for sole marketing rights outside the United
States for the erectile dysfunction drug Levitra.
   (AP, 1/10/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 10, The African
Union's (AU) Peace and Security Council wrapped up its inaugural
meeting unexpectedly quickly here with a series of resolutions on
the continent's main flashpoints, including Ivory Coast, Democratic
Republic of Congo and Sudan's Darfur region.
   (AFP, 1/11/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 10, Canada and Nigeria
agreed to terms under which the Canadian International Development
Agency is to provide 24.9 million Canadian dollars (20.4 million US)
for health projects in the west African country.
   (AP, 1/11/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 10, Congo security
forces fired bullets and tear gas at demonstrators burning tires in
Congo's capital, killing at 4 people among thousands protesting a
government decision to delay upcoming national elections.
   (AP, 1/10/05)(Econ, 1/22/05, p.44)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 10, Cuba said it was
resuming formal ties with all of Europe, ending a deep freeze in
relations following a 2003 crackdown on dissidents and the
firing-squad executions of three men who tried to hijack a ferry.
   (AP, 1/10/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 10, India’s Supreme
Court granted bail to Jayendra Saraswathi, one of Hinduism's most
venerated clerics, after he spent nearly two months in jail in
connection with the murder of a temple official. Former monastery
official Sankaraman, said to be a bitter critic of the top cleric,
was hacked to death in an ancient temple in Kanchi in September.
   (Reuters, 1/10/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 10, A bus driver
apparently lost control of his vehicle and it plunged into a canal
killing 57 people in southern India.
   (AP, 1/10/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 10, In Iraq gunmen
assassinated Baghdad's deputy police chief and his son. A huge
roadside bomb in southwestern Baghdad destroyed a U.S. armored
vehicle and killed two American soldiers.
   (AP, 1/10/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 10, New Italian
legislation went into effect to stop smoking in restaurants and
bars. Officials extended the initial Jan 1 date for the benefit of
New Year revelers.
   (SFC, 12/21/04, p.A7)(WSJ, 1/10/05, p.A10)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 10, In Kuwait a
shootout killed two policeman and a suspect they were chasing in a
suburb of the capital.
   (AP, 1/10/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 10, Ukraine's Election
Commission declared Viktor Yushchenko the winner of the presidential
vote.
   (AP, 1/10/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 10, Venezuela's
President Chavez declared that farmland nationwide would be
inspected and some of it given to the poor, expanding agrarian
reforms with a pledge to fight "the large estates."
   (AP, 1/11/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 11, Pres. Bush named
Michael Chertoff, longtime prosecutor, to take over as head of
Homeland Security.
   (WSJ, 1/12/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 11, LeapFrog
Enterprises displayed a $99 digital pen that talks, corrects
spelling and answers math problems. Sales were to begin in the Fall.
   (WSJ, 1/12/05, p.B1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 11, Spencer Dryden
(66), former drummer for the Jefferson Airplane (1967-1970), died in
Petaluma, Ca. Dryden also played with the Grateful Dead (1971-1978),
whose albums included “The Adventures of Panama Red” (1973).
   (SFC, 1/13/05, p.B6)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 11, James Griffin
(61), founding member of 1970s pop group Bread, died in Franklin,
Tenn.
   (AP, 1/11/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 11, At least eight
people were killed in a wildfire that raced through southern
Australia’s Eyre Peninsula, forcing terrified residents to leap into
the sea to avoid the flames.
   (AP, 1/11/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 11, A strike by
workers and a demonstration that drew hundreds of thousands of
people paralyzed Santa Cruz as Bolivia's largest city joined an
anti-government protest that has elicited a pledge from the
president to resign if things turn violent. The protests forced the
government to cancel water concessions to a foreign firm.
   (AP, 1/12/05)(WSJ, 1/12/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 11, Gunmen on a
motorbike in northern Colombia killed Julio Hernando Palacios, a
radio journalist known for his tough talk against corruption.
   (AP, 1/11/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 11, Costa Rica Pres.
Abel Pacheco signed a decree of national emergency after 3 days of
heavy rains forced nearly 13,000 people from their homes and killed
at least one person. Panama reported 2 dead.
   (AP, 1/11/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 11, The EU and the US
agreed to settle their dispute over subsidies to Airbus SA and
Boeing Co. through bilateral talks rather than asking the WTO to
resolve it.
   (AP, 1/11/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 11, Indonesia's
military chief extended a new cease-fire offer to rebels in the
tsunami-stricken Aceh province, and residents in Sri Lanka were told
not to rebuild near the coast.
   (AP, 1/11/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 11, PM Allawi
acknowledged that parts of Iraq will not be safe enough for people
to vote on Jan 30. A roadside bomb that missed a passing U.S.
military convoy killed 7 Iraqis and wounded one south of Baghdad. A
suicide car bomb at police headquarters in Tikrit killed 6.
Insurgent attacks across Iraq left 19 people dead.
   (AP, 1/11/05)(SFC, 1/12/05, p.A1)(SFC, 1/12/05,
p.A10)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 11, Mudslides in
Tijuana, Mexico, killed 3 children and damaged 140 homes.
   (SFC, 1/13/05, p.A3)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 11, Palestinian
militants in the Gaza Strip launched a barrage of homemade rockets
and mortar rounds at Jewish towns and settlements, hours after newly
elected Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas extended his hand in peace
to Israel.
   (AP, 1/11/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 11, Russia's Federal
Statistics Service said inflation was 11.7 per cent in 2004, slower
than the 12 per cent rate for 2003 but still above government's
target.
   (AP, 1/11/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 11, The Ukrainian
parliament called for an immediate withdrawal of the nation's
peacekeepers from Iraq. The vote was non-binding but reflected
growing national dismay over the mission.
   (AP, 1/11/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 11, Fighting raged on
in Sudan's western Darfur region where despite a peace accord ending
a separate conflict in southern Sudan.
   (AP, 1/12/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 12, The US Supreme
Court ruled that federal sentencing guidelines enacted 2 decades ago
are unconstitutional. The decision was not retroactive.
   (WSJ, 1/13/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 12, New US government
Dietary Guidelines suggested 30 minutes of daily physical activity
to reduce risk of chronic disease; 60 minutes to maintain a healthy
weight; and 90 minutes to lose weight.
   (SFC, 1/13/05, p.A4)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 12, Democrat Christine
Gregoire, winner of the extremely close Washington governor’s race,
was inaugurated.
   (AP, 1/12/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 12, It was reported
that researchers had synthesized a DNA molecule of 14,500 chemical
units with 21 genes used by a harmless laboratory bacterium.
   (SFC, 1/12/05, p.A2)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 12, NASA launched its
Deep Impact spacecraft from Cape Canaveral, Fla. It was scheduled to
launch an 820-poind impactor vehicle at Comet Tempel-1 on July 4.
   (WSJ, 1/13/05, p.D8)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 12, In southern
Afghanistan gunmen kidnapped six government soldiers in a former
Taliban stronghold and dumped their bullet-ridden bodies in a canal.
   (AP, 1/13/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 12, Firefighters
brought Australia's deadliest bushfires in 20 years under control
after 9 people died in the blazes in the Eyre Peninsula.
   (AP, 1/12/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 12, Britain’s Prince
Harry apologized after a newspaper published a photograph of the
young royal wearing a Nazi uniform to a costume party.
   (AP, 1/12/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 12, The European
Parliament gave its overwhelming endorsement to the European Union's
first-ever constitution and urged EU governments to quickly follow
suit.
   (CP, 1/12/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 12, Maud Fontenoy, a
French woman (26), set out in a row boat on a 4,900-mile solo voyage
to Polynesia, hoping to trace Thor Heyerdahl's epic 1947 Pacific
crossing aboard the balsa raft Kon-Tiki.
   (AP, 1/14/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 12, German police
arrested 14 people during raids of apartments and mosques in five
states in a crackdown on an Islamic extremist organization suspected
of aiding terrorists.
   (AP, 1/12/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 12, Indonesia demanded
that all foreign troops providing disaster relief leave the country
by Mar 31.
   (SFC, 1/13/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 12, Insurgents
launched a string of attacks in the northern city of Mosul killing
two Iraqi National Guardsmen and wounding two others in a car
bombing. Sheik Mahmoud Finjan was shot to death as he headed home
after evening prayers in a mosque at the town of Salman Pak
southeast of Baghdad. Attackers also killed Finjan's son and four
bodyguards. Sunni Muslim militants claimed responsibility.
   (AP, 1/12/05)(AP, 1/14/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 12, Islamic militants
detonated a bomb near a Jewish settlement in the southern Gaza
Strip, killing an Israeli civilian and wounding three soldiers.
   (AP, 1/12/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 12, Nigeria made
public plans to build a second $6-billion liquefied natural gas
(LNG) plant in the southwestern state of Ondo.
   (AFP, 1/13/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 12, A US-sponsored
study estimated that one million Russians were infected with the
AIDS virus.
   (WSJ, 1/13/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 13, US baseball owners
and players agreed to a more stringent drug policy. It would suspend
first-time offenders for 10 days and randomly tested players
year-round.
   (SFC, 1/13/05, p.A1)(AP, 1/13/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 13, The FBI said it
may have to scrap a costly computer system overhaul.
   (WSJ, 1/14/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 13, The European-built
space probe Huygens entered the atmosphere of Saturn's largest moon,
Titan.
   (Reuters, 1/14/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 13, A Black Hawk
helicopter crashed during a counternarcotics mission in the jungles
of southwest Colombia, killing all 20 soldiers aboard.
   (AP, 1/13/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 13, Sir Mark Thatcher
pleaded guilty to unwittingly helping to finance a foiled coup plot
in oil-rich Equatorial Guinea, accepting a $506,000 fine and
suspended jail sentence.
   (AP, 1/13/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 13, In Iran a
malfunctioning heater in an Iranian school ignited a barrel of
kerosene, touching off a blaze that killing 13 children.
   (AP, 1/13/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 13, In Iraq gunmen
opened fire on a minibus picking up a Turkish businessman from the
Bakhan Hotel in central Baghdad, killing six Iraqis and kidnapping
the Turk, who reportedly ran a construction company that worked with
U.S.-led occupation authorities.
   (AP, 1/13/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 13, In Iraq's western
Anbar province 2 U.S. Marines were killed in action, and a soldier
died near the restive northern city of Mosul. Gunmen killed three
officials of a leading Kurdish political party in an ambush in the
volatile northern city of Mosul.
   (AP, 1/14/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 13, In Iraq 28
prisoners held by Iraqi authorities for common crimes escaped as
they were being transported by bus from the Abu Ghraib prison to
another facility. 10 were quickly recaptured.
   (AP, 1/14/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 13, Israel's foreign
minister said the planned sale of advanced Russian missiles to Syria
will disrupt regional stability and Moscow should call off the deal.
   (AP, 1/13/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 13, Nepal's PM Sher
Bahadur Deuba said he would call elections and intensify a crackdown
against Maoist rebels after they turned down his offer of peace
talks.
   (AP, 1/13/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 13, Palestinian
militants killed six Israeli workers at a Gaza crossing. 3
Palestinian attackers were also killed.
   (AP, 1/14/05)(SFC, 1/14/05, p.A3)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 13, In Poland an
anti-terrorism law that allows authorities to shoot down hijacked
planes as a last resort took effect, part of efforts to protect the
country from attacks similar to those of Sept. 11.
   (AP, 1/13/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 13, A Russian
passenger plane with 10 people on board went missing on a flight
over Siberia.
   (AP, 1/13/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 13, Saudi judicial
officials said a religious court has sentenced 15 Saudis, including
a woman, to as many as 250 lashes each and up to six months in
prison for participating in a protest against the monarchy.
   (AP, 1/14/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 13, In Spain an
explosion killed seven workers at a warehouse in the northern city
of Burgos. A gas leak was suspected.
   (AP, 1/13/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 14, The US Justice
Department's Office of the Inspector General released an
unclassified summary of its investigation into the March, 2002,
termination of Sibel Edmonds. She had discovered and reported
several problems inside the FBI, including shoddy translation work,
a large backlog of untranslated documents and employees with
questionable alliances. The report concluded that Edmonds was fired
for reporting serious security breaches and misconduct in the
agency's translation program, and that many of her allegations were
supported.
   (www.fbi.gov/pressrel/pressrel05/011405.htm)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 14, Army Specialist
Charles Graner Jr., the reputed ringleader of a band of rogue guards
at the Abu Ghraib prison, was convicted at Fort Hood, Texas, of
abusing Iraqi detainees. He was later sentenced to 10 years in
prison.
   (AP, 1/14/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 14, Oracle Corp.
announced that it would fire some 5,000 employees of PeopleSoft
following the recent $10.3 billion merger.
   (SFC, 1/15/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 14, In Park City,
Utah, 5 people were feared buried by a massive avalanche.
   (AP, 1/15/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 14, Charlotte MacLeod
(82), mystery writer, died in Lewiston, Maine.
   (AP, 1/14/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 14, The European space
probe Huygens landed on Saturn's moon Titan, sending back images of
what scientists were calling the strangest landscape in the solar
system. Pictures showed a pale orange surface covered by a thin haze
of methane and what appears to be a methane sea complete with
islands and a mist-shrouded coastline.
   (AP,
1/14/06)(http://huygens.esa.int/science-e/www/object/index.cfm?fobjectid=36280)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 14, Brian Blackburn
(62), a retired British policeman who killed his terminally-ill wife
in a suicide pact, walked free with a suspended jail sentence after
the court called him a "loving husband."
   (AP, 1/14/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 14, A mentally
disturbed soldier killed five of his fellow troopers during a
shooting spree at an army base in southwest Colombia.
   (AP, 1/14/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 14, A strike brought
the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo to a standstill as
public transport shut down and businesses remained closed in protest
at the possible postponement of elections.
   (AFP, 1/14/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 14, Prague Mayor Pavel
Bem got a close-up look at how the city's notorious taxi drivers
operate this week when he went undercover for a ride and was
overcharged by some 500 percent.
   (Reuters, 1/14/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 14, Assailants robbed
and severely beat two reporters for Haiti's largest newspaper while
the journalists were covering a cleanup effort by U.N. peacekeepers
in a slum.
   (AP, 1/15/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 14, An Iraqi bus
collided with a U.S. tank that was on patrol, killing six of the bus
passengers and injuring eight.
   (AP, 1/14/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 14, Attackers fired on
a bus carrying Iraqi national guard members west of Baghdad,
kidnapping 15 guardsmen and leaving the bus in flames.
   (AP, 1/14/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 14, Israel sealed off
the Gaza Strip but signaled it will hold off on harsh retaliation
for an attack by Palestinian militants.
   (AP, 1/14/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 14, In Kosovo a
Nigerian UN peacekeeper was killed when his car exploded as he drove
to work.
   (WSJ, 1/14/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 14, Over 750 Mexican
federal police and soldiers seized control over the nation's
top-security prison amid reports of a planned escape, possible
murder plots and a jailhouse alliance between two reputed drug
trafficking kingpins.
   (AP, 1/14/05)(SFC, 1/15/05, p.A3)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 14, Nicaragua’s
feuding leaders vowed to try to solve a political crisis, a day
after Congress passed a law restricting the powers of President
Enrique Bolanos.
   (AP, 1/15/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 14, A Rwanda official
estimated 1 million Rwandans, an eighth of the population, are
expected to be tried in traditional "gacaca" village courts for
alleged participation in the 1994 genocide.
   (AP, 1/16/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 14, President Hugo
Chavez said that diplomatic and commercial relations with Colombia
would be put on hold until it apologizes for paying bounty hunters
to abduct a rebel leader from inside Venezuela.
   (AP, 1/14/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 15, A military court
at Fort Hood, Texas, sentenced Army Specialist Charles Graner Jr. to
10 years behind bars for physically and sexually mistreating Iraqi
prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison. Graner (42) was released from prison
In Leavenworth, Kansas, on Aug 6, 2011.
   (AP, 1/15/06)(SSFC, 8/7/11, p.A10)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 15, Michelle Kwan won
her ninth title at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships; earlier,
Johnny Weir won his second straight men's title.
   (AP, 1/15/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 15, Andre Combs (16)
stabbed his aunt, Kimberly Renee Johnson (37), to death at her home
in East Palo Alto, Ca. Her body, hidden under a mattress in the
backyard, was not found until Feb 3. In 2006 Combs pleaded
self-defense but was convicted of second-degree murder. He was
sentenced 15 years to life in prison.
   (SFC, 6/24/06, p.B7)(SFC, 6/27/06, p.B3)(SFC,
11/29/06, p.B5)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 15, Dan Lee (35),
Pixar animator, died in Berkeley, Ca. His work included the design
of Nemo in Pixar’s animated film “Finding Nemo.”
   (SFC, 2/1/05, p.B7)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 15, Ruth Warrick (88),
stage and screen actress and the inveterate busybody on "All My
Children," died in NY. She played Phoebe Tyler Wallingford in the TV
soap opera that debuted in 1970.
   (AP, 1/18/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 15, Visiting
Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown revealed that Britain has
decided to cancel Mozambique's total debt to it of 150 million
dollars (114 million euros) to help the southern African country
combat poverty. He said: "We've also agreed to pay 10 percent of
Mozambique's multilateral debt."
   (AP, 1/15/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 15, China and Taiwan
agreed to allow the first direct flights since 1949.
   (AP, 1/15/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 15, Gunmen shot and
killed three police officers as authorities stormed a house in
Kaspiisk, a port on the Caspian Sea in the Russian province of
Dagestan. Riot police and other security forces besieged a house in
the provincial capital, Makhachkala, where gunmen were hiding and
one officer was killed.
   (AP, 1/16/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 15, Denmark’s
waterfront opera house opened in Copenhagen. Arnold Maersk McKinney
Moeller put up $440 million for the project.
   (SFC, 4/17/12,
p.C4)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copenhagen_Opera_House)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 15, Sami Mohammed Ali
Said al-Jaaf, also known as Abu Omar al-Kurdi, was arrested during a
raid in Baghdad. On Jan 24 authorities announced the arrest of
Al-Jaaf, an al-Qaida figure allegedly behind the vast majority of
the car bombings in Baghdad.
   (AP, 1/24/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 15, In Kashmir
separatist guerrillas stormed a government building in Srinagar,
triggering a gunbattle with security forces days ahead of Republic
Day celebrations.
   (AP, 1/15/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 15, Police and
militants fought a gun battle in a small Kuwaiti town near a US
military logistics center, leaving one Saudi gunman dead and two
policemen wounded.
   (AP, 1/15/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 15, Mahmoud Abbas was
sworn in as Palestinian Authority president. 46 members of the
Palestinian election commission, including top managers, resigned
saying they were pressured by Mahmoud Abbas' campaign and
intelligence officials to abruptly change voting procedures during
the Jan. 9 presidential poll.
   (AP, 1/15/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 15, Massive
demonstrations across Russia posed a major challenge to President
Vladimir Putin, and Moscow authorities bowed to the demands of
protesting retirees by restoring some of their state benefits, such
as free public transportation and subsidized medicine.
   (AP, 1/15/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 15, Savo Todovic (52),
a Bosnian Serb wanted by the U.N. war crimes tribunal for crimes he
allegedly committed during the 1992-95 war, surrendered to Bosnian
Serb police.
   (AP, 1/15/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 15, Opera singer
Victoria de los Angeles (81) died in Barcelona, Spain.
   (AP, 1/15/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 16, At the 62nd annual
Golden Globe Awards winners included “The Aviator” for best drama
picture with Leonardo DiCaprio as best actor. Hillary Swank won the
best actress award for her role in “Million Dollar Baby.”
   (SFC, 1/17/05, p.D2)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 16, Acclaimed prison
journalist Wilbert Rideau spent his first full day of freedom after
being released from prison, where he'd spent nearly 44 years for the
1961 killing of Louisiana bank teller Julia Ferguson. During his
time in prison Rideau received national fame for his work editing
the prison newspaper, the Angolite. In 2010 Rideau authored “In the
Place of Justice: A Story of Punishment and Deliverance.”
   (AP, 1/16/06)(SSFC, 5/2/10, p.F2)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 16, Marjorie Williams
(b.1958), American journalist and political writer, died of liver
cancer. In 2008 her husband Timothy Noah published “Reputation:
Portraits in Power,” an anthology of her work.
   (WSJ, 10/3/08,
p.W5)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marjorie_Williams)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 16, The US military
freed 81 Afghan prisoners, and the Afghan government was negotiating
the release of hundreds more from American custody.
   (AP, 1/16/05)(WSJ, 1/17/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 16, Algeria's
government signed an agreement to end years of conflict with the
restive Berber minority, pledging to accept long-standing demands
including greater recognition of the Berber language.
   (AP, 1/16/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 16, Australian born
and bred Charlie Bell (44), the first non-American to head the
McDonald's chain of 30,000 burger restaurants in 119 countries, died
in Sydney from cancer.
   (AP, 1/17/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 16, Croatians returned
to the polls for presidential runoff. Pres. Stipe Mesic won a 2nd
term in the runoff election with 66% of the vote.
   (AP, 1/17/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 16, Indonesia
increased its tsunami death toll by 5,000, raising the overall
number of people who died in the Dec. 26 disaster to more than
162,000.
   (AP, 1/16/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 16, In Iraq a total of
17 people were killed in the Baghdad area, including three Iraqi
policemen and three Iraqi National Guard soldiers killed in separate
attacks. As mourners gathered for the policemen's funeral, a suicide
bomber killed another seven people.
   (AP, 1/17/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 16, A 25-hour
stand-off between Islamic guerrillas and Indian forces in Srinagar,
Kashmir, ended after two militants holed up inside an indoor stadium
were killed by troops.
   (AP, 1/16/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 16, The first Kuwaiti
released from Guantanamo Bay was taken into government custody after
he arrived home.
   (AP, 1/16/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 16, A top PLO
decision-making body called on Palestinian militants to halt attacks
against Israel, charging that the violence gives Israel an excuse to
carry out military operations.
   (AP, 1/16/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 16, Qatar Gas
Transport planned the country’s largest share flotation. They
recently unveiled a large LNG project with Exxon.
   (Econ, 1/8/05, p.54)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 16, A 66-year-old
Romanian woman became the world's oldest woman recorded to give
birth when she delivered a daughter by cesarean section.
   (AP, 1/17/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 16, In Russia protests
by retirees against the loss of welfare benefits swept President
Vladimir Putin's home city for the second straight day.
   (AP, 1/16/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 16, The armed Basque
separatist group ETA threw its weight behind an initiative by its
political wing to open dialogue with the Spanish government on
solving the Basque problem.
   (AP, 1/16/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 16, The Sudanese
government and an alliance of opposition groups reached a tentative
agreement on Sudan's political future that builds on a peace accord
already signed with southern rebels.
   (Reuters, 1/16/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 17, SF and other US
cities held parades honoring Martin Luther King.
   (SFC, 1/18/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 17, Virginia Mayo
(b.1920), film actress, died in LA. Her over 40 films included
“White Heat” (1933) and “Best years of Our Lives” (1946).
   (SFC, 1/18/05, p.B4)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 17, British Treasury
chief Gordon Brown called on wealthy nations and international
institutions to write off Africa's debt, saying debts incurred by
past generations are keeping the continent poor.
   (AP, 1/17/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 17, Chinese news
reports said authorities have arrested dozens of government
officials and others accused in a scheme to steal 7.4 billion yuan
($900 million) from a state bank through fraudulent loans.
   (AP, 1/17/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 17, Zhao Ziyang (85),
former Chinese leader (1980-1987), died after 15 years under house
arrest. He was ousted as China's Communist Party leader after
sympathizing with the 1989 Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests.
In 2009 a secret recording of his insights regarding the 1989
protests were translated edited and published by Bao Pu: “Prisoner
of the State: The Secret Journal of Premier Zhao Ziyang.”
   (AP, 1/17/05)(SFC, 1/17/05, p.B4)(Econ, 1/22/05,
p.82)(Econ, 5/23/09, p.88)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 17, Iranian President
Mohammed Khatami arrived in Zimbabwe to a red carpet welcome from
his counterpart Robert Mugabe with whom he is due to hold talks over
two days.
   (AP, 1/18/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 17, Iraqi expatriates
in 14 countries began registering to vote in Iraq's Jan. 30
elections.
   (AP, 1/17/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 17, Gunmen killed 8
Iraqi National Guardsmen at a checkpoint northeast of Baghdad, and 8
people died in a suicide car bombing at a police station outside the
capital. Two Iraqi government auditors were shot to death after
armed gunmen stopped their car in an area southeast of Baghdad. In
Ramadi, officials found four bodies, three civilians and one Iraqi
soldier. They bore handwritten signs declaring them collaborators.
   (AP, 1/17/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 17, Israeli warplanes
attacked suspected Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon after the
guerrillas said they blew up an Israeli bulldozer in a disputed area
near the border, reportedly causing casualties.
   (AP, 1/17/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 17, Palestinian leader
Mahmoud Abbas ordered his security forces to try to prevent attacks
against Israel and to investigate a shooting at a Gaza Strip
crossing that killed six Israeli civilians last week.
   (AP, 1/17/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 17, Russian police
stopped angry retirees from blocking traffic, the third day of
protests in President Vladimir Putin's hometown against welfare
benefit cutoffs.
   (AP, 1/17/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 17, In Thailand a
collision on Bangkok’s new subway injured 200 and suspended service
for a week. A crew error was blamed.
   (WSJ, 1/18/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 17, Singapore said its
exports expanded by 17 percent to a record high in 2004, reflecting
strong demand from China for oil and commodities and solid sales of
electronics and pharmaceuticals to the United States and European
Union.
   (AP, 1/17/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 18, Secretary of State
nominee Condoleezza Rice, at her Senate confirmation hearing,
insisted the United States was fully prepared for the Iraq war and
its aftermath and refused to give a timetable for U.S. troops to
come home.
   (AP, 1/18/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 18, Oscar Sanchez,
owner of a family restaurant in Dallas, was kidnapped in what police
believed was a stage car wreck. His body was found a week later.
Jose Felix, a former teacher, and Edgar "Richie" Acevedo, a
waiter at the restaurant, were responsible for the kidnapping and
slaying. Within weeks Felix was captured in Chicago. In October
Mexican federal authorities captured Edgar "Richie" Acevedo in Cabo
San Lucas.
   (AP, 10/15/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 18, More than 900
right-wing paramilitary fighters surrendered their weapons, but a
leading international rights group criticized the demobilization
process and said the Colombian government is letting war criminals
off the hook.
   (AP, 1/19/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 18, Cuba's National
Gazette published a new resolution by the Commerce Ministry that
beginning on Feb. 7, smoking will be prohibited in theaters, stores,
buses, taxis and other enclosed public areas.
   (AP, 1/18/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 18, In France Airbus
unveiled the 840-passenger A380, the world's biggest passenger jet,
in a glitzy ceremony in which the leaders of France, Britain,
Germany and Spain hailed Europe's victory over the US as the new
king of the commercial skies.
   (AP, 1/18/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 18, In Iraq a suicide
bombing killed three people outside the offices of a leading Shiite
political party. Insurgents released a video showing 8 Chinese
workers held hostage by gunmen who claim the men are employed by a
construction company working with U.S. troops, in the latest
abduction of foreigners in Iraq. 2 US soldiers died elsewhere.
   (AP, 1/18/05)(WSJ, 1/19/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 18, U.S. soldiers
opened fire on a car as it approached their checkpoint in northern
Iraq, killing 2 civilians in the vehicle's front seats. 6 children
riding in the backseat were unhurt.
   (AP, 1/19/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 18, A tsunami
conference began in Japan with calls to expand warning systems.
   (WSJ, 1/19/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 18, Palestinian leader
Mahmoud Abbas summoned militant leaders to cease-fire talks in the
Gaza Strip and said he is hopeful he can persuade them to halt
attacks on Israel.
   (AP, 1/18/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 19, Previewing his
second inauguration, President Bush pledged to seek unity in a
nation divided by political differences, saying, "I am eager and
ready for the work ahead."
   (AP, 1/19/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 19, Condoleezza Rice
won strong but not unanimous endorsement as secretary of state from
a Senate panel.
   (AP, 1/19/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 19, It was reported
that the FBI had shelved its surveillance technology, once know as
Carnivore and later renamed DCS-1000, and switched to unspecified
commercial software to eavesdrop on computer traffic.
   (SFC, 1/19/05, p.A3)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 19, Norma McCorvey,
the “Roe” of Roe vs. Wade, asked the Supreme Court to overturn the
abortion ruling. Lower courts already blocked her twice.
   (WSJ, 1/20/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 19, The US Bureau of
Labor Statistics reported that the consumer price index rose 3.3% in
2004, the largest gain since 2000.
   (WSJ, 1/20/05, p.A2)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 19, The American
Cancer Society reported that cancer had passed heart disease as the
top killer of Americans age 85 and younger.
   (AP, 1/19/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 19, Donald Beardslee
(61) became the 11th prisoner to be executed in California since the
death penalty was reinstated in 1997.
   (AP, 12/13/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 19, Walter Wriston
(85), longtime head of Citicorp and an advisor to Pres. Reagan, died
in NY.
   (WSJ, 1/21/05, p.A1)(Econ, 1/29/05, p.83)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 19, Brazil raised its
reference lending rate for a 5th consecutive month by a half point
to 18.25% in an effort to curb inflation.
   (WSJ, 1/20/05, p.A12)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 19, PM Tony Blair said
the military would not tolerate any abuse of Iraqi prisoners as new
graphic photos depicting alleged mistreatment of detainees blared
across the front pages of British newspapers.
   (AP, 1/19/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 19, In Canada 2 houses
in Vancouver, BC, were completely destroyed and at least three
people were missing after a mudslide caused by heavy rains swept
down a hillside.
   (CP, 1/19/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 19, The Chinese
government ordered a halt to construction at 30 big construction
projects, including two at the massive Three Gorges Dam, due to
alleged violations of environmental protection regulations and other
concerns.
   (AP, 1/19/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 19, Strikes over job
cuts and pay disrupted French rail service and hospitals.
   (AP, 1/19/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 19, The US State
Department issued a warning asking Americans to defer travel to
Guyana because of flooding that has killed at least two people there
over the past week.
   (AP, 1/19/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 19, Indonesia's Health
Ministry raised the country's death toll from the Dec. 26 tsunami to
166,320, pushing the total number of people killed in the disaster
around the region above 225,000.
   (Reuters, 1/19/05)(SFC, 1/20/05, p.A4)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 19, A wave of car
bombings shook the Iraqi capital, killing 26 people. Other attacks
were reported north and south of the capital. The al-Qaida in Iraq
terror group claimed that it carried out a truck bombing at the
Australian Embassy in Baghdad that killed two people. A militant
group posted a video on the Web showing gunmen killing
execution-style two Iraqis said to have set up an Internet system in
northern Iraq. American soldiers on patrol in Mosul killed three
insurgents who fired on them from a car. A British security worker
and an Iraqi colleague were killed in an ambush near the Beiji power
station complex. Joao Jose Vasconcellos (50), a Brazilian engineer,
was kidnapped in Baghdad. His remains were returned to Brazil in
2007.
   (AP, 1/19/05)(SFC, 1/20/05, p.A10)(AP,
1/20/05)(AP, 6/14/07)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 19, In Nigeria a fuel
tanker crashed into two buses and burst into flames on a road in
Lagos, killing at least 30 people.
   (AP, 1/20/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 19, The Polish
government signed a deal with US defense contractor Lockheed Martin
Corp. paving the way for the transfer of technology and investment
to a Polish weapons producer.
   (AP, 1/19/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 19, Russia’s finance
minister, Alexei Kudrin, said the government plans to compensate
pensioners for lost benefits using windfall from oil receipts.
   (WSJ, 1/20/05, p.A12)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 20, The inauguration
ceremony for Pres. Bush was held in Washington DC. Chief Justice
William H. Rehnquist, ill with thyroid cancer, delivered the oath of
office. Anti-Bush demonstrators jeered the president's motorcade
during the inaugural parade. The event was expected to cost $40
million the administration asked DC to use 11.9 million of its
federal homeland security funds to help pay costs. Pres. Bush
pledged to spread democracy and support democratic movements
worldwide. Thousands of people in dozens of cities across the US
walked out of work and school, held mock coronations, intoned the
names of the Iraq war dead and held candlelight vigils to show their
disapproval of President Bush.
   (SFC, 1/20/05, p.A12)(AP, 1/21/05)(SFC, 1/21/05,
p.A1)(AP, 1/20/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 20, It was reported
that the global car industry had an annual excess capacity of some
24 million vehicles.
   (WSJ, 1/20/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 20, Delta Airlines
reported a record $5.2 billion loss for 2004.
   (SFC, 1/21/05, p.C1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 20, Alzheimer’s
scientists said they had reversed brain-cell damage in mice by
clearing plaque with antibodies.
   (WSJ, 1/21/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 20, Brazil’s central
bank said Brazil posted a current-account surplus of $11.7 billion
for 2004, its 2nd straight annual surplus.
   (WSJ, 1/21/05, p.A7)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 20, Chile, the world's
biggest copper producer, and India, the world's biggest grains
producer, agreed to launch talks to reduce import tariffs on some
goods to boost bilateral trade.
   (AP, 1/20/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 20, Estonia's Jewish
community broke ground on a new synagogue to replace the house of
worship destroyed by bombing in World War II.
   (AP, 1/20/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 20, North of Baghdad 3
Iraqi army soldiers were killed by a roadside bomb in the city of
Samarra. US troops launched Mosul raids. 5 suspected insurgents were
killed.
   (AP, 1/20/05)(WSJ, 1/21/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 20, Israeli officials
accepted a Palestinian plan to deploy hundreds of police officers
along the Gaza-Israel frontier Jan 21, in the first act of security
cooperation with Israel under Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas.
   (AP, 1/20/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 20, In Mexico 6 prison
workers were shot to death and left outside their lockup in
Matamoros, following a federal crackdown against drug gangs at
lockups across the nation.
   (AP, 1/20/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 20, It was reported
that a Zimbabwe government crackdown on dissent is deepening a
climate of fear ahead of parliamentary elections due in March.
President Robert Mugabe appointed a new electoral commission to run
parliamentary polls due in March under a law which the opposition
says does not guarantee a free and fair vote.
   (AP, 1/20/05)(Reuters, 1/20/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 21, The US Bureau of
Land Management (BLM) posted a decision to open thousands of acres
on Alaska’s North Slope for exploratory oil drilling.
   (SFC, 1/22/05, p.A5)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 21, Michael Powell, US
chief of the FCC, said he will step down in 2 months.
   (SFC, 1/22/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 21, The body of Megan
Leann Holden (19) was found near Stanton, Texas. Her abduction from
a Wal-Mart parking lot 2 days earlier was captured on surveillance
videotape. Johnny Lee Williams (24), the suspect in her murder, was
arrested at an Arizona hospital after he shot during a robbery
attempt.
   (SFC, 1/22/05, p.A3)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 21, In Belize a 2-day
strike ended to protest a lawmakers vote to approve tax hikes
opposed by a majority of the country's 250,000 people. Some 500
protesters clashed with police in front of Belize's House of
Representatives.
   (AP, 1/22/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 21, Bulgarian
President Georgy Parvanov told parliament that he would like to see
Bulgaria's 450-strong troop contingent out of Iraq before the end of
the year.
   (AFP, 1/21/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 21, A German policeman
was stabbed in the neck with a pair of scissors and another taken
hostage when a man they were trying to arrest turned violent.
   (AP, 1/21/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 21, A car bomb
exploded outside a Shiite mosque in Baghdad where worshippers were
celebrating a major Muslim holiday, killing at least 14 people and
wounding 40. A suicide bomber left 7 people dead at a Shiite wedding
party near Youssufiya.
   (AP, 1/21/05)(SFC, 1/22/05, p.A10)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 21, Hundreds of armed
Palestinian police deployed across the northern Gaza Strip on Friday
to prevent rocket fire on Israeli communities.
   (AP, 1/21/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 22, Donald Trump (58)
married Slovenian model Melania Knauss (34) with all the glamour,
glitz and gold that money and star power can buy.
   (AP, 1/23/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 22, On the 32nd
anniversary of Roe vs. Wade rival sides of the abortion issue staged
dueling marches on Market St. in SF. Some 6,000 antiabortion
activists were jeered by some 3,000 advocates for abortion rights.
   (SSFC, 1/23/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 22, Rose Mary Woods
(87), President Nixon's former secretary, died in Ohio.
   (AP, 1/22/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 22, In India actress
Parveen Babi, who played the siren in dozens of Bollywood films, was
found dead at her suburban Bombay apartment. Babi, famed for her
unconventional western looks, starred in more than 50 Hindi films
mostly in the 1970s and early 1980s.
   (AP, 1/22/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 22, Iran's state-run
television reported that the hard-line constitutional watchdog has
decided that women can run for president in June elections.
   (AP, 1/22/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 22, Insurgents said
they had executed 15 kidnapped Iraqi National Guardsmen for
cooperating with U.S. forces. Insurgents decided to release 8
Chinese construction workers taken hostage in Iraq after China
pledged to discourage its citizens from traveling to Iraq.
   (AP, 1/22/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 22, In Italy a war
within the Camorra, the regional mafia of Naples, was reported to
have claimed 35 lives over the last 4 months.
   (Econ, 1/22/05, p.46)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 22, In Japan the
world's nations ended their tsunami conference and agreed to work
together to better guard their people against natural disasters.
   (AP, 1/22/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 22, Maldivians cast
votes to elect a parliament, three weeks after the election was
postponed because of the Indian Ocean tsunami. Police arrested 20
opposition backers.
   (AP, 1/22/05)(WSJ, 1/24/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 22, Consuelo Velazquez
(84), whose song "Besame Mucho" became a standard in many languages
and styles of music, died in Mexico City.
   (AP, 1/25/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 22, Nepali troops
killed at least nine Maoist guerrillas including four women in
weekend gunbattles in the west of the revolt-torn Himalayan kingdom.
   (Reuters, 1/23/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 22, Thousands of poor
Russians demonstrated across Russia as part of a campaign of protest
against abolition of some benefits that has dented Pres. Putin's
popularity.
   (Reuters, 1/22/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 22, Somalia's
government vowed to bring to justice militiamen who exhumed hundreds
of skeletons from an Italian colonial-era cemetery and dumped them
near Mogadishu's airport.
   (Reuters, 1/22/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 22, South Sudan leader
John Garang arrived in his southern bastion for the first time since
a peace accord ended Africa's longest-running civil war.
   (Reuters, 1/22/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 22, Turkey’s large
debt was reported to amount to about 74% of its GDP.
   (Econ, 1/22/05, p.47)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 23, The Philadelphia
Eagles defeated the Atlanta Falcons 27-10 to win the NFC
championship game; the New England Patriots won the AFC championship
by beating the Pittsburgh Steelers, 41-27.
   (AP, 1/23/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 23, Travel was slowed
to a crawl at best across wide areas of the Northeast US and Canada
as a huge snowstorm whipped up blizzard conditions with wind gusting
to 60 mph, making highways treacherous, canceling hundreds of
airline flights and slowing trains.
   (AP, 1/23/05)(WSJ, 1/24/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 23, Johnny Carson
(b.1925), the 30-year host of the "Tonight Show," died. Carson's
death was the result of complications from emphysema.
   (AP, 1/24/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 23, Sir William Deakin
(91), a historian who founded St. Antony's College at Oxford
University, helped Winston Churchill write about World War II, and
led the first British mission to Marshal Tito's partisans in
Yugoslavia, died in Var, France.
   (AP, 1/25/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 23, Police said
suspected leftist rebels ambushed a candidate for the legislature in
India's eastern state of Bihar, killing him and three supporters.
Maoist rebels in Bihar have called for a boycott of next month's
vote.
   (AP, 1/23/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 23, Indonesia raised
its death toll from the Dec 26 disaster by as many as 7,000 people.
It confirmed 96,000 dead and 132,000 presumed dead.
   (AP, 1/23/05)(WSJ, 1/26/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 23, Iran's hard-line
leadership ruled out allowing women to run for president in June
elections, denying reports in the state-run media that it had
decided to allow female candidates for the first time.
   (AP, 1/23/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 23, In Iraq fire swept
through the general hospital in Nasiriyah, killing 14 people and
injuring 75.
   (AP, 1/23/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 23, Israeli leaders
said it willing to suspend military operations against Palestinian
militants if they call off attacks.
   (AP, 1/23/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 23, Lebanon's finance
minister played down the transfer by Iraq's Defense Ministry of $500
million in cash to a financial institution in Beirut, saying he
would expect such a transfer to be legal if it was made by the Iraqi
government. Iraqi officials in early January sent some $300 million
on a charter jet to Lebanon to purchase weapons from int’l. arms
dealers.
   (SFC, 1/22/05, p.A10)(AP, 1/23/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 23, Viktor Yushchenko
was sworn in as president of Ukraine.
   (AP, 1/23/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 24, Jeffrey Royer,
former FBI agent, and Anthony Elgindy, Internet penny stock advisor,
were convicted for mining government computers for confidential
information to manipulate stocks.
   (SFC, 1/25/05,
p.E3)(http://asensioexposed.com/elgindytrial.htm)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 24, China's vice
president expressed a strong desire to increase economic and
diplomatic cooperation with Mexico while meeting with Mexican
lawmakers.
   (AP, 1/24/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 24, China and India
opened a first round of "strategic dialogue", as their regional and
international influence surges despite a nagging border dispute.
   (AFP, 1/24/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 24, In India P.
Ravindra, former state minister and TDP leader, was gunned down
outside the party office in Anantpur town. Mobs torched nearly 100
state-run buses and hurled stones at government buildings in Andhra
Pradesh after an opposition politician was shot dead.
   (AP, 1/24/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 24, A suicide driver
detonated a car bomb outside the prime minister's party
headquarters, injuring at least 10 people in a blast claimed by the
al-Qaida affiliate in Iraq.
   (AP, 1/24/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 24, Authorities in
Iraq said Sami Mohammed Ali Said al-Jaaf, an al-Qaida lieutenant in
custody, had confessed to masterminding most of the car bombings in
Baghdad.
   (AP, 1/24/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 24, Militant groups
have agreed to suspend attacks as they near a formal truce deal with
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and await Israel's response.
   (AP, 1/24/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 24, In Thailand a
tourist boat returning from Pa Ngan island capsized and at least 7
people were dead. Another 20 were missing.
   (WSJ, 1/25/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 24, Ukraine President
Viktor Yushchenko, visiting Moscow on a trip to mend relations after
a bitter election campaign, appointed top ally Yulia Tymoshenko as
prime minister.
   (AP, 1/24/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 24, The United Nations
broke with years of protocol and commemorated the 60-year
anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi death camps, directly
linking its own founding with the end of the Holocaust in some of
the strongest language ever.
   (AP, 1/24/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 25, The US
Congressional Budget Office predicted the government will accumulate
another $855 billion in deficits over the next decade.
Administration officials detailed President Bush's request for $80
billion to pay for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan this
year.
   (AP, 1/25/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 25, SF and dozens of
other US cities undertook a tally of their homeless competing for
nearly $1.5 billion in federal funds to care for the homeless.
   (WSJ, 2/1/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 25, Legislators in San
Francisco, Ca., voted 8-3 to ban smoking in public parks, becoming
the first major American city to embrace such an expansive ban on
tobacco use.
   (Reuters, 1/26/05)(SFC, 1/26/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 25, The Bill and
Melinda Gates Foundation pledged $750 million over 10 years to
support the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization.
   (WSJ, 1/25/05, p.D6)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 25, Georgina Mace told
a meeting of zoologists in London that 0.5% of the area of natural
habitats on land is lost each year, largely due to conversion to
farmland.
   (Econ, 2/5/05, p.74)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 25, Philip Johnson
(b.1906), architect, died in Conn. His buildings included 101
California St. in SF and the AT&T building in NYC.
   (SFC, 1/27/05, p.A2)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 25, Ethiopia’s
government said it has began giving free doses of life-prolonging
drugs to about 14,000 HIV-infected Ethiopians in a US-funded
program.
   (AP, 1/25/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 25, Paris' new
memorial to the Holocaust was inaugurated, with President Chirac
bowing before the wall inscribed with the names of 76,000 Jews sent
to Nazi death camps from France.
   (AP, 1/25/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 25, In western India
thousands of Hindus panicked during a religious procession, when
fire broke out in roadside stalls. The resulting stampede killed at
least 258 people near the village of Wai.
   (AP, 1/25/05)(AP, 1/26/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 25, In Iraq gunmen
assassinated a senior judge. Roy Hallums, an American hostage
kidnapped in November, pleaded for his life with a rifle pointed at
his head in a newly released video. Hallums was rescued by coalition
troops on Sept. 7, 2005. 11 Iraqi police died in clashes. 6 US
soldiers died, including 5 in a vehicle crash north of Baghdad.
   (WSJ, 1/26/05, p.A1)(AP, 1/25/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 25, Irish Prime
Minister Bertie Ahern prepared to meet with Sinn Fein leaders, in
his first talks with the IRA-linked party since the Dec 20 bank
theft.
   (AP, 1/25/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 25, The top Hamas
leader said his militant group is prepared to suspend attacks if
Israel stops targeting militants and agrees to release thousands of
Palestinian prisoners.
   (AP, 1/25/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 26, Condoleezza Rice
was sworn in as secretary of state, following her confirmation by
the Senate.
   (AP, 1/26/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 26, In Glendale, Ca.,
a Metrolink commuter train struck a vehicle, derailed and sideswiped
another train, killing 11 people and injuring about 180 others. Juan
Manuel Alvarez (25) left his SUV on a railroad track after changing
his mind about committing suicide. Alvarez was convicted in 2008 on
11 counts of murder and was sentenced to 11 consecutive life terms
in prison. In 2009 Metrolink agreed to pay some $30 million to
settle most of the lawsuits related to the derailment.
   (AP, 1/27/05)(SFC, 1/27/05, p.A1)(SFC, 8/21/08,
p.A3)(SFC, 10/14/09, p.A6)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 26, In Ohio an
employee at the Toledo North Assembly Jeep plant shot 3 co-workers,
killing one, before taking his own life.
   (SFC, 1/27/05, p.A3)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 26, Afghan President
Hamid Karzai started a two-day visit to Iran mainly focused on
boosting economic relations and inaugurating a new cross-border
highway.
   (AFP, 1/26/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 26, China’s central
bank said a nationwide personal credit database will be available
across the country by the end of the year. The database was launched
in January, 2006, and included records of 340 million individuals.
   (WSJ, 1/27/05, p.A10)(WSJ, 1/17/06, p.A15)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 26, A US military
transport helicopter crashed in bad weather in Iraq's western
desert, killing 31 people, all believed to be Marines. Insurgents
killed five other American troops.
   (AP, 1/26/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 26, A suicide car
bomber attacked an office of a major Kurdish party, killing or
injuring at least 20 people.
   (AP, 1/26/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 26, Israel and the
Palestinian Authority resumed diplomatic contacts after a two-week
freeze, and Israel agreed to suspend targeted killings of
Palestinian militants.
   (AP, 1/26/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 26, At his first
public hearing prosecutors said Mohammed Bouyeri (26), the alleged
killer of Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh, ignored his victim's pleas
for mercy and calmly shot him at close range before slitting his
throat.
   (AP, 1/26/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 26, A South Korean
semiconductor maker said it had pioneered an innovation that will
allow energy efficient light-emitting diodes to light homes (LED for
AC).
   (AP, 1/26/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 26, The Sudanese air
force bombed villagers in South Darfur, observers from the African
Union reported, and an international aid organization said
casualties were inflicted. The UN said renewed fighting in Sudan's
Darfur region may have killed up to 105 civilians and displaced more
than 9,000 last week.
   (AP, 1/26/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 26, The World Economic
Forum, the global business meeting that attracts world leaders and
Hollywood stars, opened in Davos, Switzerland. A Chinese economist
said that China has lost faith in the stability of the US dollar and
would seek to broaden the exchange rate for the yuan to a more
flexible basket of currencies.
   (AP, 1/26/05)(SFC, 1/27/05, p.C1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 26, The 5th annual
World Social Forum opened in Porto Alegre, Brazil. Activists from
some 4,000 non-governmental organizations and 112 countries gathered
under the theme “Another World Is Possible.”
   (SFC, 1/29/05, p.A6)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 27, Condoleezza Rice,
in her first day as Secretary of State, reached out to European
allies and partners in the war on terrorism and echoed President
Bush's inaugural charge to promote liberty across the globe.
   (AP, 1/27/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 27, P&G announced
a $55 billion deal to buy Gillette Corp.
   (SFC, 1/28/05, p.C1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 27, An Afghan soldier
opened fire inside a US base and killed 5 of his comrades.
   (SFC, 1/28/05, p.A3)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 27, In northeastern
Bangladesh a bomb exploded at an opposition rally, killing two
people and wounding at least 30.
   (Reuters, 1/27/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 27, Egypt admitted to
failing to signal a "number of research experiments" to the IAEA,
after diplomats said the agency was investigating an Egyptian lab
that could be used to make plutonium, a nuclear weapons material.
   (AFP, 2/14/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 27, In Poland frail
survivors and humbled world leaders remembered the victims of the
Holocaust as they marked the 60th anniversary of the liberation of
the Nazi death camp Auschwitz.
   (AP, 1/27/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 27, India has decided
to open the main airport in disputed Kashmir to international
flights to draw more tourists to the scenic Himalayan region.
   (Reuters, 1/27/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 27, Indonesian Pres.
Yudhoyono rebels in Aceh amnesty and greater autonomy in exchange
for a cease-fire on the eve of new peace talks I Helsinki. Japanese
troops arrived in Aceh to take over aid tasks from US forces.
   (SFC, 1/28/05, p.A10)(WSJ, 1/28/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 27, Eleven Iraqis and
one US Marine were killed as insurgents clashed with US troops and
blew up a school slated to serve as a polling center. Authorities
found the bodies of four Iraqi National Guardsmen who had been shot
dead in Ramadi, capital of the troubled Anbar province.
   (AP, 1/27/05)(AP, 1/28/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 27, It was reported
that Japan’s trade with China in 2004 exceeded its trade with the US
for the 1st time. This included figures for Hong Kong.
   (WSJ, 1/27/05, p.A10)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 27, Jordan’s King
Abdullah II said he would introduce some limited democratic reforms
in his kingdom.
   (AP, 1/27/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 27, Pakistani police
arrested 23 Afghans in raids in the border city of Quetta on
suspicion of links with Taliban and Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida
network.
   (AP, 1/28/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 27, The Palestinian
leadership banned civilians from carrying weapons, its latest step
aimed at reigning in militant violence.
   (AP, 1/27/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 27, In southern Russia
hundreds of police and soldiers stormed an apartment building in
Nalchik, the regional capital of the province of
Kabardino-Balkariya, killing seven suspected Islamic extremists
linked to Chechen rebels after a two-day standoff.
   (AP, 1/27/05)(Econ, 2/12/05, p.21)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 27, Taiwan formally
severed ties with Grenada after accusing the tiny Caribbean island
of trying to exploit the rivalry between China and Taiwan to get
more financial aid.
   (AP, 1/27/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 28, Senate Democrats
criticized President Bush's plan to add personal accounts to Social
Security and accused his administration of improperly using the
Social Security Administration to promote the idea.
   (AP, 1/28/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 28, Procter &
Gamble, under CEO Alan G. Lafley (b.1947), announced the largest
acquisition in its history, agreeing to buy Gillette in a $57
billion deal. Gillette CEO James Kilts stood to reap over $153
million.
   (WSJ, 1/31/05, p.A1)(WSJ, 6/1/05, p.A16)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 28, According to an
insider's written account, female interrogators tried to break
Muslim detainees at the US prison camp in Guantanamo Bay by using
techniques such as sexual touching, wearing a miniskirt and thong
underwear.
   (AP, 1/28/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 28, Bolivia’s Pres.
Mesa agreed to allow Santa Cruz residents to elect their own local
leaders and hold a national referendum that could extend greater
autonomy to other provinces.
   (AP, 1/28/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 28, In Chile Retired
Gen. Manuel Contreras, the chief of the feared security service of
former dictator Gen. Augusto Pinochet, was forcefully arrested at
his home and sent to prison with four of his top aides after being
convicted in an emblematic human rights case.
   (AP, 1/28/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 28, Colombia and
Venezuela announced a settlement in a bitter dispute over the
capture of a Colombian rebel on Venezuelan soil.
   (AP, 1/29/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 28, India took a major
step to reform its financial sector and boost the country's stock
markets by allowing non-government pension funds to invest up to 5
percent of their portfolios in equities.
   (AP, 1/28/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 28, Iraq battened down
for the 1st free balloting in half a century, imposing a 7 p.m.-6
a.m. curfew and closing Baghdad Int’l Airport. 5 US soldiers were
killed in the capital and insurgents blasted polling stations across
the country. Iraqis overseas began three days of voting in 14
nations.
   (AP, 1/28/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 28, Authorities in
Iraq said they have arrested three close associates of Abu Musab
al-Zarqawi. In southern Iraq a roadside bomb hit an Iraqi police
vehicle, killing one officer. 2 American soldiers were killed in two
separate incidents in Baghdad.
   (AP, 1/28/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 28, Israel's army
chief ordered troops to halt operations in the Gaza Strip and to
scale back raids in the West Bank, as hundreds of Palestinian police
deployed in the volatile central and southern parts of the
territory.
   (AP, 1/28/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 28, In Nicaragua
Eugenio Hernandez, who served as mayor of El Ayote from 1990 to
2000, was sentenced to 25 years in prison in the Nov 9 slaying of
Maria Jose Bravo (26), a reporter who was investigating an electoral
dispute.
   (AP, 1/29/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 28, Election officials
said the Hamas won an overwhelming victory in local elections in
Gaza towns in a setback for the Fatah Party of Palestinian leader
Mahmoud Abbas.
   (AP, 1/28/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 29, Clint Eastwood won
the Directors Guild prize for his boxing saga “Million Dollar Baby.”
   (SSFC, 1/30/05, p.A2)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 29, Ashley McElhiney,
the first female coach of a men's pro basketball team, was fired
after an on-court dispute with Sally Anthony, co-owner of the
Nashville Rhythm of the ABA.
   (AP, 1/29/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 29, Nine Afghan
soldiers died and another was seriously injured when a mine exploded
near their vehicle as they traveled close to the Pakistani border.
   (AP, 1/29/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 29, Chinese jetliners
touched down in Taiwan, completing the first nonstop flights between
the rivals since a bloody civil war split the two sides 56 years
ago.
   (AP, 1/29/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 29, In Colombia
government troops discovered one of the biggest FARC rebel munitions
factories in the jungles of southern Guaviare state.
   (AP, 2/2/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 29, A UN spokesman
said militiamen armed with guns and machetes killed 16 people and
kidnapped at least 34 girls in attacks this week on a remote area of
eastern Congo.
   (AP, 1/29/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 29, In insurgency-hit
Indian Kashmir voters turned out in big numbers to cast ballots in
the first leg of municipal polls to be held in over a quarter of a
century.
   (AFP, 1/29/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 29, In northern Kenya
fighting over the last 2 weeks between the Garre and Murule clans
forced 30,000 people to flee and left 30 people dead. Recent
fighting between Masai and Kikuyu left 10-30 people dead.
   (Econ, 1/29/05, p.46)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 29, A suicide bomber
attacked a police station in a Kurdish town, killing 8 people, and
insurgents blasted polling places in several cities on the eve of
landmark elections.
   (AP, 1/29/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 29, Libya granted its
first oil exploration licenses in over four decades, awarding 15
permits to foreign companies, with US companies taking the lion's
share. PM Shukri Ghanem said Libya has opted for a policy of open
communication with total transparence."
   (AP, 1/29/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 29, In Russia the
fragmented opposition gathered pace as thousands of communists,
liberals and radical youth activists joined forces to protest
against the loss of Soviet-era benefits.
   (Reuters, 1/29/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 29, In Sudan police
clashed with rioting tribesmen in the Red Sea coastal city of Port
Sudan, leaving at least 17 people dead and 16 injured. A tribal
representative claimed 23 people were dead and 100 others were
wounded.
   (AP, 1/29/05)(Econ, 10/1/05, p.43)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 30, In Georgia more
than 300,000 customers had no electricity as crews worked to repair
power lines snapped by an ice storm.
   (AP, 1/30/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 30, SBC Communications
agreed to acquire AT&T in a $16 billion transaction.
   (WSJ, 1/31/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 30, Researchers at the
University of Wisconsin in Madison reported that they've whipped up
a new recipe that could someday treat spinal cord injuries or
provide a cure for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, better known as
Lou Gehrig's disease.
   (AP, 1/31/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 30, In much of
Bangladesh traffic ground to a halt and shops closed as a nationwide
strike, protesting a deadly grenade attack on the main opposition
party, entered a 2nd day.
   (AFP, 1/30/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 30, In Colombia a
126-member unit of the United Self-Defense Forces (AUC) disbanded in
Ciudad Bolivar, 155 miles northeast of Bogota, bringing to at least
4,700 the number of fighters who have demobilized in the past two
years.
   (AP, 1/30/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 30, Iraqis voted to
elect 275 members of a transitional national assembly, which will
write a constitution; 111 members of the Kurdish legislature; and
local councils in Iraq’s 18 provinces. Insurgents struck polling
stations with a string of suicide bombings and mortar volleys,
killing at least 44 people, including 9 attackers. 5 people were
killed and 17 injured when a suicide attacker blew himself up aboard
a minibus bound for a polling station in central Iraq. 260 attacks
left 34 people dead. Security problems in Mosul kept some 15,000
from polls.
   (AP, 1/30/05)(SFC, 2/1/05, p.A1)(WSJ, 2/8/05,
p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 30, A British C-130
military transport plane crashed north of Baghdad in Iraq killing 10
troops. An Iraqi insurgent group claimed responsibility for shooting
down the plane in an Internet statement.
   (AP, 1/31/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 30, More than 100,000
demonstrators gathered in Jerusalem to protest PM Ariel Sharon's
plan to evacuate all 21 Jewish settlements from Gaza and four from
the West Bank, demanding it be put to a national referendum.
   (AP, 1/30/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 30, Israeli troops
killed a 65-year-old man who entered an unauthorized area near an
army post.
   (AP, 1/31/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 30, Kuwaiti security
forces stormed a building in a residential part of the capital and
exchanged gunfire with suspected terrorists, killing one suspect in
a battle that also left a security officer and a bystander dead.
   (AP, 1/30/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 30, In Northern
Ireland’s Catholic enclave of Short Strand Robert McCartney (33), a
Catholic forklift driver, was stabbed to death outside a pub crowded
with Provisional IRA men. On June 3 Terence Davison (49), a reputed
IRA veteran, was charged in the murder. In 2008 Davison was
acquitted. In 2012 McCartney’s sisters decided to testify against
Padraic Wilson (53), an IRA veteran and Sinn Fein activist.
   (Econ, 2/26/05, p.55)(SFC, 6/4/05, p.A3)(SSFC,
6/5/05, p.A3)(AP, 1/30/08)(AFP, 6/27/08)(AP, 11/3/12)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 30, OPEC warned that
oil prices, already hovering near $50 a barrel, would remain high
through the spring, even as the cartel decided to keep its
production ceiling at 27 million barrels a day.
   (AP, 1/30/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 30, In Karachi,
Pakistan, gunmen riding three motorcycles opened fire outside a
Sunni Muslim mosque, killing a Sunni cleric who once belonged to an
outlawed group suspected of committing sectarian violence and his
bodyguard.
   (AP, 1/30/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 30, UN Secretary
General Kofi Annan, at a summit of the 53-member African Union in
Abuja, Nigeria, urged pan-African cooperation to resolve conflicts.
   (AFP, 1/30/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 30, The World Economic
Forum ended 5 days of talks in Davos, Switz. Chinese Vice Premier
Huang Ju said Chinese per capita income will triple during the next
15 years and there was no reason for the world to fear his country's
emergence as a global giant. During the forum Nicholas Negroponte,
founder of the MIT Media Lab, proposed providing personal laptops
for under $100 to school children in the poorest parts of the world.
   (AP, 1/30/05)(Econ, 10/1/05, p.62)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 31, US energy
officials said Enron Corp. made over $1.6 billion during the energy
crises in 11 Western states from Jan 16, 1997 to June 25, 2003.
   (SFC, 2/1/05, p.E1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 31, The US government
released a list of 17 new carcinogens that included X-rays, some
viruses and chemicals used in frying and grilling meat.
   (SFC, 2/1/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 31, Marsh &
McClennan Cos. reached an $850 million settlement of civil fraud
charges with NY state’s attorney Eliot Spitzer and the state
insurance department.
   (WSJ, 1/31/05, p.C1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 31, The Bond Market
Association (BMA) began displaying prices of municipal bond trades
within 15 minutes of completion. Real time for virtually all
corporate bond prices was expected by Feb 7.
   (Econ, 2/5/05, p.70)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 31, Jury selection
began in Santa Maria, Calif., for Michael Jackson's child
molestation trial. Jackson was later acquitted.
   (AP, 1/31/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 31, SBC Communications
Inc. announced it was acquiring AT&T Corp. for $16 billion.
   (AP, 1/31/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 31, In Brazil leftist
activists opposed to the spread of American influence ended the
fifth World Social Forum with a protest against unfettered
capitalism and the war in Iraq.
   (AP, 1/31/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 31, EU foreign
ministers agreed to restore normal diplomatic relations with the
Cuban government while pledging to increase contacts with critics of
Pres. Fidel Castro.
   (AP, 1/31/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 31, in Egypt Ayman
al-Nur, the head of an opposition party, denounced his arrest on
forgery charges, telling a court it was a strike against political
reform, while human rights groups said the moves against him could
be a message to other opposition groups.
   (AP, 2/1/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 31, France Telecom,
Europe's second-largest telecommunications operator, announced plans
to cut 8,000 jobs in 2005, mostly in France.
   (AP, 1/31/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 31, Kamal Nath,
India’s Commerce and Industry Minister, said the Indian parliament
will shortly ratify new legislation protecting drug patents, paving
the way for the country to become a major pharmaceutical research
centre.
   (AP, 1/31/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 31, A UN official said
nearly 800,000 people will need food aid in Indonesia's Aceh
province in the aftermath of the devastating Dec. 26 tsunami as the
country's death toll from the disaster jumped by 5,000 for the 2nd
day in a row. The overall death toll stood between 156,000 and
178,000 across 11 nations, with an estimated 26,500 to 142,000
missing, most of whom are presumed dead.
   (AP, 1/31/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 31, Prime Minister
Ayad Allawi, Iraq's interim leader, called on his countrymen to set
aside their differences, while local precincts finished a
first-phase count of millions of ballots from the weekend election.
   (AP, 1/31/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 31, US guards in
southern Iraq opened fire on prisoners during a riot at the
detention facility for security detainees at Umm Qasr, killing 4 of
them. 6 other prisoners were injured.
   (AP, 1/31/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 31, Jewish settlers
and their supporters protested outside parliament for a 2nd day
against Israel's planned withdrawal from Palestinian territories.
Palestinian officials said a 10-year-old Palestinian girl was shot
and killed by Israeli tank fire at a UN school in the Rafah refugee
camp.
   (AP, 1/31/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 31, Kuwaiti police
stormed several suspected terror hideouts, arresting a reputed
terror leader and sparking a gunbattle that killed five people,
including four of his followers.
   (AP, 1/31/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 31, In Nigeria African
leaders pledged to send more peacekeeping troops to conflict zones,
especially the western Sudan region of Darfur, and to boost their
role in world affairs.
   (AP, 2/1/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 31, A UN-appointed
commission accused the Sudanese government of gross, systematic
human rights violations in Darfur, but stopped short of labeling the
violence in the region as genocide.
   (AP, 1/31/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan, US government
prosecutors charged Monsanto Corp. for payoffs to officials in
Indonesia during efforts (1998-2003) to sell genetically modified
seed there. Monsanto agreed to pay $1.5 million to settle the
charges.
   (WSJ, 4/5/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan, Suzan Shown Harjo, a
Cheyenne and Muscogee Indian, exhausted with yet another one of her
relatives dying of diabetes, zoned in on fry bread as a culprit and
whipped out a column for Indian Country Today declaring it junk food
that leads to fat Indians.
   (AP, 8/20/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan, A 220-page UN report
on atrocities in Afghanistan was scheduled for release but kept
under wraps for the next 18 months. Publication was expected in
mid-2006.
   (SFC, 6/17/06, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan, The European
Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), a market for carbon emission
permits, was created to help EU countries meet their commitment to
cut emissions under the Kyoto Protocol. It covered 5 industries, and
13,000 factories and plants, rated as particularly dirty. A 2nd
phase of ETS would run from 2008-2012.
   (Econ, 5/6/06, p.75)(Econ, 6/10/06, p.69)(Econ,
12/2/06, p.56)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan, India’s oil minister
Mani Shankar Aiyar persuaded Bangladesh in principle to become
partner in a pipeline to bring gas from Myanmar to India.
   (Econ, 2/26/05, p.42)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan, Iraqi officials sent
$300 million in dollar bills on a charter jet to Lebanon to purchase
weapons from int’l. arms dealers.
   (SFC, 1/22/05, p.A10)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan, Morocco’s parliament
approved a free trade agreement with the US.
   (SFCM, 3/27/05, p.14)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan, The Moscow Bureau for
Human Rights reported that some 50,000 neo-Nazis live in Russia.
Neo-Nazis were responsible for at least 44 people killed across
Russia in 2004.
   (SSFC, 8/14/05, p.A3)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan, A mobile-TV service
was launched in South Korea. By September 2008 mobile-TV services
had garnered some 7.5 million customers.
   (Econ, 9/10/05, p.59)(Econ, 9/8/07, p.69)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan-2005 Dec, The UN named
2005 as the year of Microcredit.
   (Econ, 12/17/05, p.74)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 1, Russell Christoff,
kindergarten teacher in Antioch, Ca., found out that he was awarded
$15.6 million for a Taster’s Choice modeling photo taken in 1986.
   (SFC, 2/1/05, p.A2)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 1, HP researchers
introduced groundbreaking nanotechnology that could replace
traditional transistors on computer chips.
   (SFC, 2/1/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 1, Sun Microsystems
began selling information technology on a pay-per-use basis offering
customers access to computing power for $1 per hour.
   (SFC, 2/1/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 1, Character actor
John Vernon (72), who'd played nasty Dean Wormer in "National
Lampoon's Animal House," died in Los Angeles.
   (AP, 2/1/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 1, The Canadian
government introduced its contentious same-sex marriage bill in
Parliament, seeking to legalize gay marriage nationwide over the
objections of the Roman Catholic Church and other conservative
clergy.
   (AP, 2/2/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 1, China lent Russia
$6 billion to help finance the nationalization of OAO Yukos. The
loan was in effect a forward payment for some 48 million metric tons
of crude oil.
   (WSJ, 2/2/05, p.A2)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 1, In southwest
Colombia leftist rebels attacked a Colombian Marine post with
homemade rockets, killing at least 14 soldiers and wounding about
25.
   (AP, 2/1/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 1, Egyptian security
forces clashed with Islamic militants in the mountains of Sinai,
killing a suspect in last year's deadly bombings of beach resorts on
the peninsula.
   (AP, 2/1/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 1, In Gori, Georgia, a
car bomb exploded outside a police station, killing three policemen
and injuring 13 other people.
   (AP, 2/1/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 1, Indonesia announced
that it found the bodies of 1,000 additional victims from the Dec 26
tsunami disaster.
   (AP, 2/1/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 1, A group led by
Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi claimed to have captured the
four Iraqi National Guard soldiers after Sunday's elections.
   (AP, 2/1/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 1, Malawi Health
Minister Heatherwick Ntaba said AIDS kills about 10 people every
hour in Malawi and the government is increasingly unable to cope
with the crisis.
   (Reuters, 2/2/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 1, Nepal's King
Gyanendra dismissed government of PM Sher Bahadur Deuba and imposed
a state of emergency, cutting off his Himalayan nation from the rest
of the world as telephone and Internet lines were severed, flights
diverted and civil liberties severely curtailed.
   (AP, 2/1/05)(AFP, 2/13/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 1, Russia’s finance
minister said windfall oil export revenues will be used to repay
nearly $3.3 billion in International Monetary Fund loans early,
saving the country some $200 million in interest payments.
   (AP, 2/1/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 1, Pope John Paul II
was hospitalized for breathing problems and the flu.
   (AP, 2/1/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 1, Venezuela’s Pres.
Chavez said he intends to sell his country’s interests in 8 US oil
refineries.
   (WSJ, 2/2/05, p.A2)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, President Bush
showcased his Social Security plan and claimed advances on jobs and
against terrorism in his State of the Union address. Bush called for
changes in Social Security that would combine reduced government
benefits for younger workers with "a chance to build a nest egg"
through personal accounts.
   (AP, 2/3/05)(AP, 2/2/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, The US Federal Open
Market Committee, for the 6th straight meeting, increased its target
for overnight interest rates by a quarter percentage point to 2.50%
and signaled that rates will rise further in coming months.
   (AP, 2/2/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, The US said that
North Korea's nuclear initiative is a threat to world peace and
urged the secretive regime in Pyongyang to resume talks aimed at
ending the program.
   (AP, 2/2/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Matthew Carrington
(21), a student at Cal State Chico, died of heart failure after
drinking excessive amounts of water while doing calisthenics during
a hazing ritual for the Chi Tau fraternity.
   (SFC, 1/18/07, p.A5)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, China and Russia
agreed to set up a new body to consult more closely on security
issues.
   (AP, 2/2/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Marxist rebels in
southern Colombia ambushed an army convoy with explosives and
gunfire, killing 8 soldiers and wounding 4 others.
   (AP, 2/3/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, The EU told Italy,
France and Germany, to do more to bring their budgets in balance as
required by the rules of Europe's single currency.
   (AP, 2/2/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, French Pres.
Jacques Chirac planned to visit Senegal for the first time in a
decade, hoping to boost ties with a former West African colony at a
time when the US is raising its military profile in the region.
   (AP, 2/1/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Max Schmeling
(b.1905), the heavyweight champion whose two fights with Joe Louis
set off a propaganda war between the Nazi regime and the US on the
eve of World War II, died at age 99 at his home in Hollenstedt,
Germany.
   (AP, 2/4/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, India’s Finance
Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram said India has raised the interest
rate for its largest pension fund, the Employees Provident Fund
(EPF), to 9.5%. India raised the foreign investment cap in telecoms
companies to 74% from 49%.
   (Reuters, 2/2/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Abdul-Aziz
al-Hakim, the Shiite Muslim who heads the ticket expected to have
won the largest number of parliamentary seats in Iraq's election,
indicated that his group wants the post of prime minister in the new
government. Leading Sunni Muslim clerics said the country's landmark
elections lacked legitimacy because large numbers of Sunnis did not
participate in the balloting, which the clerics had asked them to
boycott.
   (AP, 2/2/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, In Iraq 2 civilians
were killed and six injured when insurgents fired mortar shells at a
U.S. base in Tal Afar, 30 miles west of Mosul.
   (AP, 2/3/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Kurdish leader
Massoud Barzani outlined a set of demands for Shiite political
parties and said Kurds would back only Shiites willing to maintain
the current Kurd autonomy.
   (WSJ, 2/3/05, p.A15)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Armando Guebuza was
sworn in as president of Mozambique.
   (Econ, 2/5/05,
p.48)(www.voanews.com/english/2005-02-02-voa28.cfm)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Nepal’s King
Gyanendra announced a 10-member Cabinet dominated by his own
supporters, one day after he dismissed the government.
   (AP, 2/2/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Russia's government
said the country's economy grew by 7.1 percent last year, an
increase in its preliminary estimates.
   (AP, 2/2/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 3, Alberto Gonzales
won US Senate confirmation as attorney general.
   (AP, 2/3/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 3, According to audio
transcripts and documents unveiled by a public utility north of
Seattle, fallen energy giant Enron Corp. was running scams to drive
up the cost of power years before the 2000-01 West Coast energy
crisis.
   (AP, 2/3/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 3, Boeing Co. said it
has a preliminary agreement with Libya's Buraq Air to buy as many as
six airplanes in a deal that could be worth nearly $370 million.
   (AP, 2/3/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 3, Ernst Mayr
(b.1904), German born evolutionary biologist, died in Bedford, Mass.
The central focus of his work was “geographic speciation.” His books
included “Systematics and the Origen of the Species” (1942).
   (SFC, 2/4/05, p.B7)(Econ, 2/12/05, p.85)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 3, An Afghan passenger
jet carrying 104 people disappeared from radar screens during a
snowstorm near the mountain-ringed capital. NATO helicopters found
the wreckage of 2 days later. There were no survivors.
   (AP, 2/4/05)(AP, 2/5/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 3, Bolivia’s Pres.
Carlos Mesa shuffled his cabinet in the wake of street protests
calling for regional autonomy and objecting to a planned increase in
the price of fuel oil.
   (AP, 2/3/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 3, The US embassy in
Phnom Penh condemned the Cambodian parliament's vote to strip
opposition leader Sam Rainsy and two of his deputies of immunity.
   (AP, 2/3/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 3, Chechnya's
Russian-backed government dismissed a rebel February cease-fire
declaration, saying it was a publicity stunt that could not be
trusted.
   (AP, 2/3/05)(WSJ, 2/3/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 3, PM Zurab Zhvania,
who helped lead Georgia's revolution that toppled the
corruption-tainted regime of Eduard Shevardnadze, died in a friend's
apartment from what officials claimed was an accidental gas leak
from a heater.
   (AP, 2/3/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 3, In central India at
least 25 people were killed when a passenger train collided with a
tractor pulling a trailer full of people.
   (AP, 2/3/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 3, Iran and Syria
rejected President Bush's charges that they sponsored terrorism. An
Iranian official called the claims groundless. The Syrian
information minister said the democracy America seeks for the Middle
East could not come through force.
   (AP, 2/3/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 3, Insurgents struck
back with a vengeance following a post-election lull, waylaying a
minibus carrying new Iraqi army recruits, firing on Iraqis heading
for work at a U.S. base and gunning down an Iraqi soldier in the
capital. At least 18 people, including 2 Marines, died in
insurgent-related incidents.
   (AP, 2/3/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 3, Israeli Cabinet
ministers approved the release of 900 Palestinian prisoners and a
military pullout from the West Bank town of Jericho within days.
   (AP, 2/3/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 3, Hamas leader Khaled
Mashaal said that fugitives in his Palestinian group would not sign
pledges to halt attacks because that would negate the legitimacy of
their right to fight the Israeli occupation.
   (AP, 2/3/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 3, The Kremlin said
President Vladimir Putin has signed a resolution that would have
Russian troops join a proposed U.N. peacekeeping operation in Sudan.
   (AP, 2/3/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 3, In Sudan the pilot
of a cargo plane that was losing altitude steered away from a
built-up area and crashed in open space outside Khartoum, killing 7
crew members.
   (AP, 2/3/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 3, An interim UN
report zeroed in on the chief of the oil-for-food program, Benon
Sevan, saying Saddam Hussein's regime awarded oil allocations in his
name to a trading company between 1998 and 2001.
   (AP, 2/4/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Kevin Shelley
resigned as California’s secretary of state amidst allegations of
questionable fund raising and misuse of federal voting funds.
   (SFC, 2/4/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, John and Linda
Dollar, a Florida couple accused of torturing and starving five
adopted children, were captured in southeastern Utah.
   (AP, 2/5/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Boeing said
Ethiopian Airlines plans to acquire up to 10 of Boeing Co.'s new
787s at an overall cost of about $1.3 billion.
   (AP, 2/4/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, It was reported
that California’s mysterious explosion of autism cases increased by
13% in 2004. State services for autism had increased from some 5,000
in 1993 to 26,000 in 2004. The US federal Dept. of Education
reported that autism in schoolchildren increased 1,700% nationally
from 1992 to 2002.
   (SFC, 2/4/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Ossie Davis (87),
an actor distinguished for roles dealing with racial injustice on
stage, screen and in real life, was found dead in his hotel room in
Miami. He was best known as the husband and partner of actress Ruby
Dee.
   (AP, 2/4/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Brazil’s annual
pre-Lenten Carnival got under way. It's long been an open secret
that Rio's annual samba parade is largely funded by the kingpins of
an illegal numbers game known here as the "jogo do bicho,"
Portuguese for animal game.
   (AP, 2/5/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Guatemala's highest
court said it cannot try soldiers charged with participating in a
wartime massacre of more than 300 civilians until a separate court
determines if the country's postwar reconciliation law bars such
prosecution.
   (AP, 2/4/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Diplomats said Iran
has agreed to give the UN nuclear watchdog agency a fresh look at a
military complex linked by the US to possible atomic arms research.
   (AP, 2/4/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Gunmen seized
Giuliana Sgrena, an Italian journalist in central Baghdad, in a hail
of gunfire after she had been interviewing people who fled the US
assault last year on the Sunni insurgent stronghold of Fallujah.
Sgrena was freed a month later; however, an Italian agent who'd
secured her release was killed by U.S. gunfire at a checkpoint.
   (AP, 2/4/05)(AP, 2/4/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Japan confirmed its
1st human death from mad-cow disease. It was suspected that the man
died as a result of beef he consumed in England around 1989.
   (WSJ, 2/7/05, p.A16)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In Nepal dozens of
paramilitary police raided an underground political meeting and
rounded up a group of party officials, days after the king seized
power and banned public gatherings.
   (AP, 2/4/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, The Nigerian army
quelled a demonstration at one of Nigeria's main oil export
terminals, while activists accused the soldiers of killing four
protesters.
   (AP, 2/4/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Russia lashed out
at Britain after an independent TV channel there aired an interview
with Chechen rebel warlord Shamil Basayev, saying the broadcast
amounted to terrorist propaganda and calling for an investigation.
   (AP, 2/4/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, A Swiss-based group
said Arab tribes in northern Sudan have freed 880 slaves during the
past two weeks and allowed them to return to southern Sudan.
   (AP, 2/4/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, The Ukraine
Parliament unanimously approved fiery opposition leader Yulia
Tymoshenko as PM, along with her government's new program to raise
living standards, tackle corruption and set Ukraine on a westward
course.
   (AP, 2/4/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, A Ukraine
intelligence official said secret indictments and arrests have taken
place against at least 6 arms dealers accused of selling nuclear
capable missiles to China and Iran.
   (SFC, 2/4/05, p.A5)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, The UN vowed to
discipline two officials implicated in a report that detailed
conflicts of interest and flawed management in the U.N. oil-for-food
program. Secretary-General Kofi Annan will discipline Benon Sevan
and another UN official, Joseph Stephanides, who may have "tainted"
bidding for an oil-for-food contract,
   (AP, 2/4/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 5, In LA the Actors
Guild awarded Jamie Foxx the best actor award for his role as Ray
Charles in “Ray.” Hilary Swank won the best actress award for her
role as a boxer in “Million Dollar Baby.” Cate Blanchett and Morgan
Freeman won supporting awards.
   (SSFC, 2/6/05, p.A2)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 5, Steve Young and Dan
Marino were elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
   (AP, 2/5/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 5, In London
Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown said that finance ministers
from the Group of Seven (G7) rich nations had for the first time
expressed firm willingness to provide as much as 100 percent debt
relief for the world's poorest countries. The Heavily Indebted Poor
Countries Initiative (HIPC) is a joint initiative of the World Bank
and the International Monetary Fund that offers debt relief to the
world's most impoverished nations which agree to undertake economic
reform.
   (AP, 2/5/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 5, In the Republic of
Congo leaders of seven Central African countries signed a landmark
treaty to work together to help save the world's second-largest rain
forest.
   (AP, 2/6/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 5, Central bank
governor Zhou Xiaochuan said China is committed to revamping its
foreign exchange regime and further relaxing its capital account
controls.
   (Reuters, 2/5/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 5, Egyptian police
killed two suspected militants wanted in last year's Sinai bombings
following clashes in Egypt's Sinai peninsula desert.
   (AP, 2/5/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 5, Sunni rebels killed
three U.S. troops and at least 33 Iraqis in a string of attacks.
   (AP, 2/5/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 5, In central Japan
police found 9 bodies were found in two cars in what appeared to be
the country's latest group suicides.
   (AP, 2/5/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 5, Kuwaiti police and
troops in armored personnel carriers used explosives to blast their
way into a concrete block home in Sulaibiyah capturing 5 suspected
terrorists.
   (AP, 2/5/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 5, In Mexico
assailants staged 3 nearly simultaneous guerrilla-style attacks in
Acapulco, killing 3 police officers and a teenage boy a day before a
tense gubernatorial election.
   (AP, 2/6/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 5, The crown prince of
Saudi Arabia called for the creation of an international
anti-terrorism center to trade information in an effort to prevent
attacks.
   (AP, 2/5/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 5, Togo’s Pres.
Gnassingbe Eyadema (69) died of a heart attack. The military quickly
announced that his son would replaced him as head of state. The
constitution called for the speaker of parliament to succeed the
president in the event of his death.
   (SSFC, 2/6/05, p.A16)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 5, A Yemeni court
overruled earlier rulings and imposed harsher sentences, including a
death sentence, on three militants convicted of attacking a French
oil tanker and a helicopter carrying U.S. employees of an oil
company.
   (AP, 2/5/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 6, The New England
Patriots became a full-fledged dynasty with their third Super Bowl
victory in four years, beating the Philadelphia Eagles 24-21.
   (AP, 2/7/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 6, In Bangladesh a
police officer was killed and five were injured in a clash with
demonstrators during a continuing nationwide general strike in
protest at a deadly grenade attack on an opposition party rally.
   (AP, 2/6/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 6, Four Egyptians
working for a mobile phone company were abducted by gunmen in
Baghdad, and Islamic militants threatened to kill an Italian
journalist Feb 7 unless Italy agrees to withdraw its troops.
   (AP, 2/6/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 6, In Kashmir an
overcrowded bus skidded off a mountain road and crashed into a
ravine, killing at least 28 passengers and injuring 33.
   (AP, 2/6/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 6, Lazar Berman (74),
acclaimed Russian pianist, died in Florence, Italy.
   (AP, 2/6/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 6, Mexico's main
leftist party, the Democratic Revolution Party, ended 76 years of
rule by the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, in the
Pacific coast state of Guerrero. Democratic Revolution held on to
the governorship of Baja California Sur, while the PRI held on to
Quintana Roo, the site of Cancun.
   (AP, 2/7/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 6, The bodies of 18
victims of carbon monoxide poisoning from a faulty gas heater were
found at a cottage near the village of Todolella in Spain’s
Castellon province.
   (WSJ, 2/7/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 6, The African Union
accused military commanders in Togo of taking advantage of the death
of the country's longtime leader to stage a coup and raised the
possibility that its 53 members will not recognize the West African
nation's new government.
   (AP, 2/6/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 6, Thailand voters
handed PM Thaksin Shinawatra a 2nd term with an expanded mandate. In
his 1st term he broadly managed to keep 3 promises centering on
cheap health care, debt forgiveness for farmers and micro-credits
for villages. Under his tenure public debt fell from 54% of GDP to
39%.
   (AP, 2/6/05)(Econ, 2/5/05, p.11,23)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 7, Pres. Bush proposed
a $2.57 trillion budget that would slash domestic programs including
entitlements such as Medicaid, farm subsidies and veterans benefits.
The budget would worsen federal deficits by $42 billion over the
next five years.
   (SFC, 2/8/05, p.A1)(AP, 2/7/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 7, Defrocked priest
Paul Shanley, the most notorious figure in the sex scandal that
rocked the Boston Archdiocese, was convicted of repeatedly raping
and fondling a boy at his church during the 1980s. Shanley was
sentenced to 12 to 15 years in prison.
   (AP, 2/7/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 7, IBM, Toshiba and
Sony disclosed the architectural design of a new, jointly developed,
multi-core processor called the Cell.
   (Econ, 2/12/05,
p.77)(www.linuxdevices.com/news/NS2972427392.html)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 7, Australia's central
bank warned that interest rates, stable at 5.25 percent since
December 2003, may be raised within months amid signs of renewed
inflationary pressures.
   (AP, 2/7/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 7, Cuba began an
island-wide ban on smoking in public places such as stores,
theaters, and office buildings.
   (AP, 2/7/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 7, In England and
Wales new laws came into effect that allow pubs, clubs and other
drinking venues to apply to stay open 24 hours a day.
   (AP, 2/7/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 7, Ellen MacArthur
(28) of Britain completed her solo sail around the world in just
over 71 days and 14 hours, shaving 32 hours off the previous record.
   (AP, 2/8/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 7, The EU head office
called for closer coordination among all member governments to hunt
down and prosecute those illegally spreading unsolicited e-mails, or
spam, across the 25-nation bloc.
   (AP, 2/7/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 7, Insurgents struck
at Iraqi police forces with a suicide bomb, a car bomb and mortars
in the cities of Mosul and Baqouba, killing 31 people.
   (AP, 2/7/05)(SFC, 2/8/05, p.A6)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 7, US troops manning a
checkpoint found 4 Egyptian technicians who had been kidnapped the
previous day in Baghdad, freeing them and arresting some of the
abductors.
   (AP, 2/7/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 7, John Githongo,
Kenya president's adviser on corruption, stepped down. The US in
response quickly suspended $2.5 million in funding for
anti-corruption work.
   (AP, 2/11/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 7, Pakistan, as part
of a peace deal in south Waziristan, paid 4 tribal militants a total
of $842,000 so they could pay back money received from al Qaeda to
fight Pakistani troops.
   (WSJ, 2/10/05, p.A10)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 7, In the Philippines
hundreds of armed followers of a jailed former Muslim rebel leader
attacked government troops and occupied at least one army detachment
on violent southern Jolo island, sparking clashes that killed at
least 12 soldiers.
   (AP, 2/7/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 7, A Saudi woman was
beheaded after she was convicted of murdering her mother-in-law.
Noura bint Khalaf al-Harbi was found guilty of setting her
mother-in-law, Noura bint Salem al-Harbi, on fire as she slept
following a dispute.
   (AP, 2/7/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 7, Spain launched an
immigrant amnesty program. As many as 80,000 new residency permits
were expected.
   (WSJ, 2/7/05, p.A16)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 7, In Sri Lanka E.
Koushalyan, the LTTE's political wing leader for the eastern
province, was killed in an ambush along with four other senior
rebels and former Tamil legislator Chandra Nehru. Military officials
said they suspected the attack was carried out by a breakaway
faction of the Tamil Tigers led by the former number two in the
leadership, known as Karuna.
   (AP, 2/8/05)(Econ, 2/26/05, p.40)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 7, Faure Gnassingbe
was sworn in as president of Togo, two days after the death of his
father.
   (AP, 2/7/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 7, UN
Secretary-General Kofi Annan suspended the head of the UN
oil-for-food program in Iraq and a senior official who dealt with
contracts, following an independent investigation that accused them
of misconduct.
   (AP, 2/7/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 7, The freighter M/V
Joekulfell sank in the North Atlantic off the Faeroe Islands,
killing four crewmembers and leaving two others missing. Five were
rescued by helicopter. The Samskip company owned the Isle of
Man-flagged vessel. The vessel departed from the Latvian port of
Liepaja and was headed to Iceland.
   (AP, 2/8/05)(http://tinyurl.com/cdza7)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 8, An
earlier-than-usual Mardi Gras festival opened in New Orleans with
sparse crowds.
   (AP, 2/8/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 8, It was reported
that a 1991 memo from Merck showed that senior executives were
concerned that the vaccines of an expanded immunization program
contained an elevated dose of mercury by as much as 87 times the
maximum guidelines for daily consumption of mercury from fish.
Thimersol, an anti-bacterial compound in the vaccine, was nearly 50%
ethyl mercury, a neurotoxin. The vaccine program was later tied to
elevated cases of autism.
   (SFC, 2/8/05, p.A5)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 8, Ian Wilmut, the
scientist who created Dolly the sheep, the world's first cloned
mammal, was given a license to clone human embryos for medical
research. Therapeutic cloning research has been legal in Great
Britain since 2001.
   (AP, 2/8/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 8, George Herman (85),
longtime CBS newsman, died in Washington.
   (AP, 2/8/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 8, Keith Knudsen (56),
Doobie Brothers drummer who was part of the band during a string of
hits that included "Taking it to the Streets" and "Black Water,"
died of pneumonia.
   (AP, 2/9/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 8, Jimmy Smith
(b.1928), reigning “Emperor of the Hammond Organ,” died in
Scottsdale, Az. Smith established the Hammond B-3 organ as a
legitimate jazz instrument.
   (SFC, 2/10/04, p.B7)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 8, In northwest
Colombia Marxist rebels killed at least 17 soldiers during clashes,
the military's heaviest battle toll in two years. At least 11
guerrillas also died in the fighting.
   (AP, 2/9/05)(Econ, 2/26/05, p.36)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 8, UNICEF said that it
was providing urgently needed aid for 50,000 people caught up in an
upsurge in fighting in Congo.
   (AP, 2/8/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 8, Danes voted in
parliamentary elections dominated by competing strategies for
strengthening the country's cradle-to-grave welfare state and
tightening immigration. Danes re-elected center-right PM Rasmussen
for a 2nd term.
   (AP, 2/8/05)(WSJ, 2/9/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 8, In Sharm El-Sheik,
Egypt, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian leader
Mahmoud Abbas declared that their people would stop all military and
violent attacks against each other, pledging to get peace talks back
on track. The Palestinian militant group Hamas said it would not be
bound by the cease-fire declarations.
   (AP, 2/8/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 8, Cairo’s 2-week book
fair ended. During the two-week fair, police confiscated leftist
books and arrested three people protesting any renewal of Hosni
Mubarak's presidency.
   (AP, 2/9/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 8, Herve Gaymard,
France's finance minister, announced new measures designed to boost
confidence, stimulate growth and tackle the "scandalously high" 9.9%
jobless rate.
   (AP, 2/8/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 8, A suicide bomber
blew himself up in a crowd of Iraqis outside an army recruitment
center, killing 21 other people and injuring 27 more.
   (AP, 2/8/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 8, A Web posting in
the name of a militant group in Iraq claimed to have executed
Italian female journalist Giuliana Sgrena.
   (AP, 2/8/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 8, In Kuwait Amer
Khlaif al-Enezi, the alleged ringleader of a terror group accused of
plotting to attack Americans and Kuwaiti security forces, died of
heart failure while in prison.
   (AP, 2/9/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 8, Officials said
Italian real estate services company Norman 95 has won a
300-million-euro (384-million-dollar) contract to develop a luxury
holiday resort on the Libyan coast.
   (AFP, 2/8/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 8, A confrontation
between rival gangs in an overcrowded Peruvian prison left five
inmates dead and at least 18 others wounded.
   (AP, 2/8/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 8, In Lome, Togo, a
strike called by opposition parties shut down the capital’s main
market and other businesses.
   (AP, 2/8/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 9, Ceremonies were
scheduled for a first-day-of-issue stamp commemorating Pres. Ronald
Reagan (1911-2004).
   (SFC, 10/7/04, p.B3)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 9, Carly Fiorina's
nearly six-year reign at Hewlett-Packard Co. ended as the company's
board forced her out as chief executive. Patricia Dunn took over as
chairman. In 2006 Fiorina authored “Tough Choices,” a memoir of her
tenure at H-P.
   (AP, 2/9/05)(Econ, 2/12/05, p.59)(WSJ, 10/6/06,
p.B2)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 9, Wal-Mart said it
planned to close its store in Jonquiere, Quebec, where workers were
seeking to become the 1st ever to win a union contract with
Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart began operations in Canada in 1994 and currently
operated 254 stores there. Doors were shut May 6.
   (WSJ, 2/10/05, p.A2)(SFC, 4/15/05, p.A12)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 9, Ethnic Chinese
communities across Asia celebrated the start of the lunar year 4703,
the Year of the Rooster, with visits to crowded temples and family
banquets.
   (AP, 2/9/05)(SFC, 2/9/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 9, The French National
Assembly approved a reform of the controversial 35-hour working
week. The Socialist measure had been introduced to cut unemployment
but is now blamed by the right for doing exactly the reverse.
   (AFP, 2/9/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 9, Gunmen killed an
Iraqi journalist working for a U.S.-funded television station and
his son as they left their home in the southern city of Basra.
Gunmen also killed 3 members of a Kurdish political party and a
Housing Ministry official. The US military announced the deaths of 4
US soldiers.
   (AP, 2/9/05)(SFC, 2/10/05, p.A9)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 9, In Kashmir
suspected Muslim rebels shot dead a popular municipal councilor
outside a mosque. Separately Indian troops killed 4 militants in a
gunbattle inside a mountain cave.
   (AP, 2/9/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 9, Palestinian leader
Mahmoud Abbas said Israel will lift travel restrictions on
Palestinians in parts of the West Bank and abandon several major
checkpoints as part of its withdrawal from five towns in the coming
weeks.
   (AP, 2/9/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 9, An explosion ripped
through a mine in a coal-rich region of Siberia, killing at least 18
workers and leaving eight missing.
   (AP, 2/9/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 9, In Somalia BBC
journalist Kate Peyton was shot to death outside a Mogadishu hotel
where she had interviewed some members of the interim parliament.
   (SFC, 2/19/05, p.A14)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 9, In Spain a car bomb
exploded in a business park on the outskirts of Madrid just after
the morning rush hour, injuring 43 people. Government officials
blamed the Basque separatist group ETA.
   (AP, 2/9/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 9, Sudanese Aviation
Minister Ali Tamim Fartak said European aviation consortium Airbus
Industrie has cancelled the 45-million dollar debt owed to it by
Sudan Airways.
   (AFP, 2/9/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 9, Faure Gnassingbe,
Togo's new president, addressed the nation for the first time since
succeeding his father. He offered talks with the exiled opposition
and promised general elections as soon as possible.
   (AP, 2/9/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 9, Helicopters rescued
stranded Venezuelans after flood waters struck the mountainous
central coast, triggering landslides, destroying homes and washing
out roads. Officials said at least 13 people were killed and
thousands of others were forced from their homes.
   (AP, 2/9/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 10, New York civil
rights lawyer Lynne Stewart was convicted of smuggling messages of
violence from one of her jailed clients, radical Egyptian sheik Omar
Abdel-Rahman, to his terrorist disciples on the outside. In 2006
Stewart was sentenced to 28 months in prison.
   (AP, 2/10/06)(SFC, 10/17/06, p.A5)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 10, Arthur Miller
(b.1915), the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, died. His most
famous fictional creation, Willy Loman in "Death of a Salesman"
(1949), came to symbolize the American Dream gone awry.
   (AP, 2/11/05)(SFC, 2/12/05, p.A12)(Econ, 2/19/05,
p.84)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 10, In central
Argentina a riot broke out at the San Martin Prison housing 2,000
prisoners, leaving at least three inmates dead and two dozen guards
hostage.
   (AP, 2/11/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 10, Britain's Prince
Charles announced he would marry his divorced lover, Camilla Parker
Bowles, in April.
   (AP, 2/10/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 10, Vancouver, Canada,
began a trial program giving addicts free heroin on condition that
they accept treatment.
   (Econ, 2/12/05, p.36)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 10, Chile raised its
key interest rate to 2.75% from 2.5%.
   (WSJ, 2/11/05, p.A9)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 10, In Haiti police
hunting a rebel leader stormed a compound used by the disbanded
army, exchanging gunfire with defenders. A grade school girl was
killed in the crossfire.
   (AP, 2/11/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 10, A car bomb
detonated by remote control exploded in a crowded central Baghdad
square moments after an American military convoy passed, killing at
least two Iraqis and wounding two others. Insurgents attacked Iraqi
police in Salman Pak and killed at least 6.
   (AP, 2/10/05)(SFC, 2/11/05, p.A20)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 10, North Korea
announced for the first time that it has nuclear arms and rejected
moves to restart disarmament talks anytime soon, saying it needs the
weapons as protection against an increasingly hostile United States.
   (AP, 2/10/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 10, Police in Nepal's
capital arrested 12 rights activists and quashed a rally to protest
the king's emergency rule, while rebels in the southwest killed five
policemen and freed comrades from a jail during a raid on a town.
   (AP, 2/10/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 10, Heavy rains caused
the Shakidor Dam to burst in southwestern Pakistan, releasing a
torrent of water that killed at least 135 people. The country's
total number of dead from weeklong rains and avalanches soon grew to
278.
   (AP, 2/11/05)(AP, 2/12/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 10, Palestinian
militants fired dozens of mortar shells and homemade rockets at
Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip, prompting Palestinian leader
Mahmoud Abbas to order his security forces to move quickly to
preserve a new cease-fire with Israel. Abbas fired his top security
commanders following the attacks.
   (AP, 2/10/05)(WSJ, 2/11/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 10, In Peru President
Alejandro Toledo said the government is considering subsidizing some
of this Andean nation's poorest people with direct monthly cash
payments.
   (AP, 2/10/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 10, Male voters
converged at polling stations in the Riyadh region to participate in
city elections, marking the first time Saudis are taking part in a
vote that largely conforms to international standards. Women were
banned from casting ballots.
   (AP, 2/10/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 10, Saudi Arabia
confirmed a 2nd case of polio from 2004 and feared pilgrims to Mecca
might spread the disease.
   (SFC, 2/11/05, p.A13)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 10, Togo turned away a
plane carrying Nigerian peacemakers, drawing threats of sanctions
and accusations from Nigeria that it was blocking efforts to resolve
a crisis widely condemned as a military coup.
   (Reuters, 2/11/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 11, Defense Secretary
Donald H. Rumsfeld made an unannounced visit to Iraq, where he
observed Iraqi security forces and declared "there's no question
progress has been made" in preparing the nation for building a new
government.
   (AP, 2/11/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 11, The US State
Department said Libyan diplomats can travel freely in the US.
   (AP, 2/11/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 11, Health officials
in NYC issued a nationwide alert over a new AIDS HIV strain that is
immune to just about all antiretroviral drugs.
   (SFC, 2/12/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 11, CNN chief news
executive Eason Jordan quit amid a furor over remarks he'd made
about journalists being targeted by the U.S. military in Iraq.
   (AP, 2/11/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 11, Samuel W. Alderson
(90), inventor of crash test dummies, died in Marina Del Rey, Calif.
   (AP, 2/11/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 11, In Afghanistan US
troops killed two unarmed men after they entered an exclusion zone
around near Shindand Air Base in Herat province. An investigation
followed.
   (AP, 2/19/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 11, A political
consulting firm posted the names of 19 agents and informants of
Hungary's communist secret police on a Web site, and it threatened
to list more.
   (AP, 2/11/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 11, A car bomb
exploded outside a Shiite mosque northeast of Baghdad, killing at
least 12 people and injuring dozens. Masked men sprayed gunfire into
a crowd at a bakery in a mostly Shiite neighborhood in the capital,
killing 11 people. A US Marine and an Army soldier were killed in
separate traffic accidents.
   (AP, 2/11/05)(AP, 2/12/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 11, Kashmir police
said 10 people died, including a pro-India party worker slain by
Muslim rebels, a day ahead of the next round of violence-hit
municipal polls.
   (AP, 2/11/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 11, North Korea
demanded bilateral talks with the US to defuse the tension created
by its announcement that it is a nuclear power. The White House said
it was not interested in one-on-one talks.
   (AP, 2/11/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 11, A day after firing
his top security commanders, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas headed
to the Gaza Strip to demand that militant leaders stop attacking
Israelis, a strong sign of his determination to enforce a fragile
truce with Israel.
   (AP, 2/11/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 11, In South Africa
Thabo Mbeki gave his state of the nation speech. He called for
faster economic growth and a quicker transfer of wealth from white
to black pockets.
   (Econ, 2/19/05,
p.45)(www.info.gov.za/speeches/son/)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 11, Venezuela's vice
president said US objections will not prevent Venezuela from going
ahead with its plans to purchase 100,000 Kalashnikov assault rifles
and dozens of Mi35 helicopters from Russia.
   (AP, 2/11/05)(Econ, 2/26/05, p.35)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 11, Zimbabwe announced
that 1.5 million people needed food aid immediately.
   (SFC, 2/12/05, p.A3)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 12, Christo and
Jeanne-Claude opened their NYC Central Park Gates project. The $20
million, 16-day exhibit featured 7,532 fabric draped steel gates
spanning 23 miles.
   (SSFC, 2/13/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 12, Howard Dean
(b.1948), former Vermont governor and presidential candidate, was
elected chairman of the Democratic Party.
   (SSFC, 2/13/05, p.A3)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 12, In northern Brazil
Dorothy Stang (73), an American nun, was shot to death. She had
spent decades fighting efforts by loggers and large landowners to
expropriate lands and clear large areas of the Amazon rainforest. In
2006 Amair Feijoli da Cunha (38) pleaded guilty and said he offered
money to two gunmen to shoot nun, at the behest of ranchers
Vitalmiro Moura and Regivaldo Galvao. In 2008 A jury voted 5-2 to
acquit Vitalmiro Moura, one of two ranchers who allegedly ordered
the killing Stang. The acquittal was overturned on a technicality in
April, 2009. Moura and Galvao were convicted in 2010 and sentenced
to 30 years in prison.
   (AP, 2/12/05)(WSJ, 2/14/05, p.A1)(AP,
4/27/06)(AP, 5/6/08)(AP, 5/1/10)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 12, In Iraq a car bomb
exploded in front of a hospital in a mostly Shiite town south of
Baghdad, killing 17 people and wounding 21 others. A prominent Iraqi
judge was assassinated by two gunmen on a motorcycle in the southern
port city of Basra. In Mosul the bodies of 6 Iraqi and 6 Kurdish
guards were dumped. US troops in Mosul killed 9 insurgents.
   (AP, 2/12/05)(SSFC, 2/13/05, p.A12)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 12, Philippine couples
started gathering along a Manila bayside boulevard for a
pre-Valentine's Day kissing festival. Organizers hoped a million
couples will lock lips nationwide.
   (AP, 2/12/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 12, Tens of thousands
of Russians protested across the country against a law replacing
medical and transportation benefits for pensioners with cash
payments, with many calling for the ouster of Vladimir Putin's
government.
   (AP, 2/12/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 12, Saudi newspapers
said dozens of losing candidates in Saudi Arabia's first regular
election will contest results from the opening round of municipal
balloting, arguing that conservative religious candidates won
unfairly by claiming support from clerics.
   (AP, 2/12/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 12, Syrian authorities
released 55 members of the banned Muslim Brotherhood who had spent
up to 20 years in jail.
   (AP, 2/12/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 12, In Togo thousands
of demonstrators clashed with riot police in the capital for a 2nd
day, protesting against the recent army-appointed president. 3
people were reportedly killed and dozens wounded when police fired
at demonstrators.
   (AP, 2/12/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 13, Ray Charles' final
album, "Genius Loves Company," won a leading eight Grammy awards,
including album of the year, record of the year for "Here We Go
Again" with Norah Jones, and pop vocal album.
   (AP, 2/14/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 13, The AFC won the
Pro Bowl, defeating the NFC 38-27.
   (AP, 2/13/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 13, Iran rejected a
European demand to stop building a heavy water nuclear reactor in
return for a light-water reactor.
   (AP, 2/13/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 13, Results from
Iraq's elections were released and showed that majority Shiite
Muslims won 48% of the votes, giving the long-oppressed group
significant power but not enough to form a government on its own.
   (AP, 2/13/05)(SFC, 2/15/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 13, Insurgents
attacked a US convoy and a government building near the northern
Iraqi city of Mosul, leaving at least four people dead. Two Iraqi
National Guard troops were also killed while trying to defuse a
roadside bomb. Gunmen ambushed a car carrying an Iraqi general in a
Shiite neighborhood of Baghdad, killing him and two companions.
   (AP, 2/13/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 13, Israel's Cabinet
approved a list of names of 500 Palestinian prisoners to be released
in coming days, and several hundred Palestinian workers returned to
jobs in Israel in line with agreements reached at a Mideast summit
last week.
   (AP, 2/13/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 13, In Indian Kashmir
at least 35 people were wounded when suspected separatist guerrillas
threw a grenade on a crowded road.
   (AP, 2/13/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 13, Pakistani
officials said severe flooding and avalanches have killed around 350
people after a week of torrential rain and heavy snow, while 2,000
others were missing and tens of thousands left homeless.
   (AP, 2/13/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 13, Firefighters shot
jets of water on the 32-story Windsor building, one of Madrid’s
tallest office buildings, for a 2nd day, fighting to control a fiery
orange blaze that began the night before and threatened to collapse
the 32-story skyscraper.
   (AP, 2/13/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 13, Floods and
landslides in Colombia and Venezuela over the past few days cut a
trail of destruction through small Andean towns and killed at least
64 people.
   (AP, 2/13/05)(WSJ, 2/14/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 14, President Bush
said he would nominate Lester M. Crawford as head of the Food and
Drug Administration. Crawford had been acting commissioner for
nearly a year.
   (AP, 2/14/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 14, President Bush
asked Congress for an estimated $82 billion in additional funds to
cover the costs of continuing military operations in Iraq and
Afghanistan.
   (WSJ, 2/15/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 14, Verizon
Communications decided to buy MCI Inc. in a $6.75 billion deal. The
offer was increased in May to $26 per share, or $8.44 billion.
   (WSJ, 2/15/05, p.C1)(WSJ, 5/3/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 14, Newfoundland
Premier Danny Williams and Canada’s PM Paul Martin presided over the
signing of a multibillion-dollar deal that sets out new
revenue-sharing rules for the province's offshore energy industry.
   (AP, 2/14/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 14, A gas explosion in
China's northeast Sunjiawan mine killed 214 people in the deadliest
mining disaster reported since communist rule began in 1949.
   (AP, 2/15/05)(AP, 2/14/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 14, The UN atomic
monitoring agency said Egypt's nuclear experiments were small, basic
and do not appear part of an attempt to make weapons, praising
Cairo's cooperation with an investigation of the country's now
mothballed clandestine activities.
   (AP, 2/14/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 14, In Iran a mosque
fire killed 59 people and injured another 350. it was blamed on a
kerosene heater that was placed too close to a thick curtain that
separated male and female worshippers.
   (AP, 2/15/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 14, A roadside bomb
killed three Iraqi National Guard troops. Insurgents blew up an oil
pipeline near Kirkuk and killed two senior police officers in
Baghdad.
   (AP, 2/14/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 14, In western Japan a
man carrying a knife burst into a public elementary school and
stabbed at least 3 adults. Kyodo News reported that one of the
victims died.
   (AP, 2/14/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 14, In Beirut,
Lebanon, Rafik Hariri (60) was killed in a massive bomb explosion
that tore through his motorcade. The billionaire helped rebuild his
country after decades of war but resigned as PM last fall after a
sharp dispute with Syria. 22 other people were killed and 100
wounded in a blast that devastated the front of the famous St.
George Hotel. An Islamist group calling itself the Victory and Jihad
Organization in the Levant claimed responsibility.
   (AP, 2/14/05)(WSJ, 2/15/05, p.A3)(Econ, 10/29/05,
p.45)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 14, Brazil and
Venezuela signed 25 accords dealing with energy and economic
cooperation, including the joint development of the Mariscal Sucre
offshore natural gas project.
   (WSJ, 2/15/05, p.A16)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 14, Three bombs jolted
Manila and two other Philippine cities, killing at least 12 people
and wounding more than 100 others. The Muslim extremist group Abu
Sayyaf claimed responsibility for the blasts.
   (AP, 2/14/05)(Econ, 2/19/05, p.41)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 14, Togo police in
riot gear faced off with crowds who blocked roads and intimidated
residents during a general strike to protest the army's installation
of Faure Gnassingbe to succeed his late father as president.
   (AP, 2/14/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 15, Defrocked priest
Paul Shanley was sentenced in Boston to 12 to 15 years in prison on
child rape charges.
   (AP, 2/15/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 15, Christopher
Pittman, a teen who claimed the antidepressant Zoloft had driven him
to kill his grandparents at age 12, was found guilty in Charleston,
S.C., of murder and sentenced to 30 years in prison.
   (AP, 2/15/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 15, The Gates
Foundation granted $32 million for 35 new small schools in NYC.
Mayor Bloomberg had recently announced the closure of a number of
large, troubled schools to be replaced by 200 new small schools with
pupils capped at 500-600.
   (Econ, 3/5/05, p.33)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 15, Brazil’s Chamber
of Deputies chose Severino Cavalcanti, a leader of Congress’s “low
clergy,” as president. The position determines the agenda of
Congress and his selection was seen as a setback to Pres. da Silva
   (Econ, 2/19/05, p.36)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 15, The Falcon 7X, a
business jet designed and built by the French aviation companyÂ
Dassault, was displayed for the first time. It was the first plane
to be digitally modeled in 3-dimensions and required no prototype.
   (Econ, 6/18/05, p.78)(http://tinyurl.com/lxlgt2)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 15, In southern
Lebanon an angry mob attacked Syrian workers and another group threw
stones and set fires outside a Syrian government office in Beirut,
blaming Damascus for the bomb that killed former PM Rafik Hariri.
   (AP, 2/15/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 15, The Guam-based
Citizens Security Bank (CSB) ended credit card and other services to
the Bank of Marshall Islands. Residents of the Marshall Islands will
be unable to use their credit cards after the central Pacific
nation's leading bank was cut off from a US partner by the
anti-terrorist Patriot Act.
   (AFP, 2/10/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 15, In Mexico the
bodies of 12 men killed by hitmen believed linked to drug gangs were
found in the northern state of Sinaloa, in what appears to be one of
the deadliest one-day tolls in violent drug battles in recent years.
   (AP, 2/15/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 15, In eastern Nepal
an overnight clash between government troops and communist rebels
left at least 12 rebels and 3 soldiers dead.
   (AP, 2/15/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 15, It was reported
that major energy firms had committed $20 billion to build a new
gas-to-liquids (GTL) plant in Qatar to develop the huge natural gas
reserves there.
   (WSJ, 2/15/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 15, In Pakistan gunmen
opened fire on mourners returning from a funeral near a Muslim
shrine on the outskirts of Islamabad, killing at least 2 people and
injuring several others.
   (AP, 2/15/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 15, The Thailand
Cabinet approved establishing a new infantry division of 12,000
troops to be based permanently in southern Thailand, where violence
blamed on Muslim insurgents has claimed more than 650 lives in the
past year.
   (AP, 2/15/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, US Federal Reserve
Chairman Alan Greenspan urged a go-slow approach on personal Social
Security accounts, saying that while he embraces the idea central to
President Bush's proposed overhaul, he is concerned about stability
in financial markets.
   (AP, 2/16/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, The NHL canceled
what was left of its decimated schedule after a round of last-gasp
negotiations failed to resolve differences over a salary cap, the
flash-point issue that led to a lockout.
   (AP, 2/16/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, A corporate jet
crashed in Pueblo, Colo., and 8 people were killed.
   (WSJ, 2/17/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, The Kyoto global
warming pact went into force, 7 years after it was negotiated,
imposing limits on emissions of carbon dioxide and other gases
scientists blame for increasing world temperatures, melting glaciers
and rising oceans. Canada’s pledge to cut emissions 6% below its
1990 level by 2012 faced the problem of an average annual increase
of 1.5%.
   (AP, 2/16/05)(WSJ, 2/15/05, p.A16)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Rescuers searching
for miners trapped by a coal mine explosion in northeast China found
six more bodies, bringing the death toll in the country's worst
mining disaster in decades to 209.
   (AP, 2/16/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Ecuador tens of
thousands of protesters gathered near Quito's presidential palace to
demand President Lucio Gutierrez's resignation, accusing him of
authoritarian rule and with packing the supreme court with his own
judges.
   (AP, 2/17/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, India and Pakistan
agreed to start a bus service across a ceasefire line dividing the
disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir.
   (Reuters, 2/16/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Israel's
parliament gave the final approval to PM Ariel Sharon's plan to
withdraw from the Gaza Strip and four West Bank settlements.
   (AP, 2/16/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, CEO Sergio
Marchionne announced Fiat SpA will buy the Maserati sportscar brand
from Ferrari, a company in which it already had a majority stake,
just three days after winning independence from General Motors Corp.
   (AP, 2/16/05)(Econ, 4/26/08, p.88)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Japan released GDP
numbers indicating that its economy has technically been in a
recession since Spring of 2004.
   (Econ, 2/19/05, p.40)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Paraguay the
body of Cecilia Cubas, the kidnapped daughter of former President
Raul Cubas, was dug up from behind a house months after she was
abducted by heavily armed gunmen.
   (AP, 2/17/05)(Econ, 3/12/05, p.40)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In southern Russia
a car bomb killed 3 people outside a government building in
Dagestan.
   (WSJ, 2/17/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Sudan 6 tribal
leaders in a southern Darfur area agreed to cease attacks against
each other and drop all claims for blood money for past assaults on
tribesmen.
   (AP, 2/17/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Syria and Iran
announced a united front amid perceived US threats.
   (WSJ, 2/17/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Former Turkish PM
Mesut Yilmaz rejected charges of corruption as he went on trial over
a banking scandal with alleged mafia involvement, becoming the first
head of government to be tried by the Supreme Court.
   (AFP, 2/16/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Vietnam banned all
poultry raising in the southern business capital of Ho Chi Minh City
this year to limit the risk of bird flu transmitting to humans.
   (AP, 2/16/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 17, President Bush
named John Negroponte, the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, as the
government's first national intelligence director (DNI). Central
American politicians and human rights activists issued stinging
criticism of Negroponte, citing the career diplomat's active backing
for the Contra rebels and support for a government involved in human
rights abuses.
   (AP, 2/17/05)(Econ, 3/19/05, p.29)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 17, Two US Border
Patrol agents in Texas stopped a van carrying 743 pounds of
marijuana and shot Osvaldo Aldrete-Davila, an admitted Mexican drug
smuggler, as he fled back across the Rio Grande. In 2006 agents
Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean were sentenced to 11 and 12 years in
prison for offenses that included violating the smuggler’s civil
rights and failure to report the shooting to superiors. In 2007
Latino gang members beat Ignacio Ramos at the Yazoo City Federal
Correctional Complex in Mississippi. Both agents were freed in 2009
following a commute of their sentences by outgoing Pres. George
Bush.
   (SFC, 10/20/06, p.A6)(SSFC, 2/18/07, p.A11)(SFC,
2/18/09, p.A6)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 17, ChoicePoint Inc.,
a national provider of identification and credential verification
services, said it will send an additional 110,000 statements to
people informing them of possible identity theft after a group of
well-organized criminals was able to obtain personal information on
almost 140,000 consumers through the company. In 2006 ChoicePoint
agreed to pay $15 million to settle FTC charges that consumer
privacy rights were violated in the DB theft.
  Â
(http://money.cnn.com/2005/02/17/technology/personaltech/choicepoint/)(SFC,
1/27/06, p.D3)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 17, An archaeology
report by the Museum of New Mexico's Office of Archaeological
Studies confirmed that a 600-year-old pueblo is buried under Santa
Fe's City Hall, its convention center, the parking lot they share
and nearby federal buildings.
   (AP, 2/17/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 17, Researchers
demonstrated a robot that used a “passive-dynamic design” to learn
walking step by step like a toddler.
   (SFC, 2/18/05, p.A2)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 17, Gene scientists
published the 1st map of a common DNA variations.
   (WSJ, 2/18/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 17, Dan O'Herlihy
(85), Irish-born actor, died in Malibu, Calif.
   (www.imdb.com/name/nm0641397/)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 17, In Afghanistan a
cold snap over the past month has claimed at least 267 lives and
thousands more people were thought to be stranded in remote areas.
Winter blizzards left over 1,000 children dead.
   (AFP, 2/17/05)(SFC, 3/3/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 17, In Brazil Pres. Da
Silva signed decrees creating 2 new Amazon environmental protection
areas in a region of Para state coveted by soy farmers and ranchers
less than a week after an American nun was gunned down trying to
protect the jungle from deforestation.
   (AP, 2/18/05)(SFC, 2/18/05, p.A14)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 17, EU finance
ministers warned Greece to get its finances in order by the end of
2006 and bring its annual budget deficit in line with EU spending
rules or face hefty fines.
   (AP, 2/17/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 17, Georgia’s
parliament approved Zurab Nogaideli as premier.
   (WSJ, 2/18/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 17, Iraq's electoral
commission certified the results of the Jan. 30 elections and
allocated 140 of 275 National Assembly seats to the United Iraqi
Alliance, giving the Shiite-dominated party a majority in the new
parliament.
   (AP, 2/17/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 17, Hundreds of Jewish
settlers took first steps to eventually leave their homes in the
Gaza Strip, a day after Israel's parliament approved $871 million in
compensation for them.
   (AP, 2/17/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 17, In Rwanda cabinet
ministers from 11 African nations gathered to flesh out details of a
deal intended to end a cycle of wars, rebellions, dictatorships and
poverty in central Africa's Great Lakes region.
   (AP, 2/17/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 17, Spanish police
arrested two suspected members of the armed Basque separatist group
ETA in Valencia, seizing explosives that they planned to use for
imminent attacks.
   (AP, 2/17/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 17, In southern
Thailand a bomb exploded near a tourist hotel in the border town of
Sungai Kolok, killing 5 people and wounding over 40.
   (AP, 2/17/05)(SFC, 2/18/05, p.A3)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 18, President Bush
declared American Samoa a major disaster area following Hurricane
Olaf, which wiped out nearly all homes in at least one village in
the Manua Islands.
   (Reuters, 2/18/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 18, Pres. George W.
Bush signed the US Class Action Fairness Act. It expanded federal
jurisdiction over many large class-action lawsuits and mass actions
taken in the United States.
  Â
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Class_Action_Fairness_Act_of_2005)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 18, The US envoy
Christopher Hill said the US and China agreed that North Korea must
end its nuclear ambitions and resolve the standoff through
six-nation talks.
   (AP, 2/18/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 18, An advisory panel
said Merck & Co. Inc.'s withdrawn arthritis drug Vioxx is safe
enough to rejoin Pfizer's rival pain relievers Celebrex and Bextra
on the U.S. market, after concluding that all three medicines posed
some level of heart risk.
   (Reuters, 2/19/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 18, Uli Derickson, the
flight attendant who helped save passengers during the 1985 TWA
hijacking, died in Tucson, Ariz., at age 60.
   (AP, 2/18/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 18, Britain faced the
threat of mass strikes in the public sector ahead of an upcoming
election as teachers, nurses and civil servants protested against a
plan to raise their retirement age and cut pensions.
   (AFP, 2/18/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 18, A British ban on
hunting with dogs became effective.
   (AP, 2/19/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 18, Colombia’s army
chief said troops had killed between 70 and 80 Marxist guerrillas
over the past 3 weeks in a region where the rebels operate cocaine
production factories.
   (AP, 2/19/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 18, The World Health
Organization (WHO) said an outbreak of plague in northeastern
Democratic Republic of Congo has killed 61 diamond miners and
infected hundreds more.
   (AP, 2/18/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 18, Indonesia welcomed
efforts by the US to restore full military training ties with
Jakarta, saying the time was ripe to resume links that were
downgraded 13 years ago.
   (AFP, 2/18/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 18, Explosions ripped
through Baghdad, killing about 3 dozen people and injuring dozens on
the eve of Ashura, Shiite Islam's most important holiday.
   (AP, 2/18/05)(SFC, 2/19/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 18, Israel let 16 of
about 55 Palestinians expelled from the West Bank return home, and
it has concluded that demolishing the homes of Palestinian suicide
bombers and gunmen does not deter attackers and should be stopped.
   (AP, 2/18/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 18, The Lebanese
opposition stepped up its campaign against the pro-Syrian
government, calling for a peaceful uprising to force the resignation
of Prime Minister Omar Karami and the withdrawal of Syrian troops.
   (AP, 2/19/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 18, Libya refused to
extend the deadline of the Lockerbie compensation deal in a possible
bid to pressure Washington to drop it from the U.S. list of state
sponsors of terrorism.
   (AP, 2/19/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 18, The royal
government plunged Nepal into a communications blackout, the
country's annual celebration of democracy, cutting phone service to
thwart opposition activists trying to organize nationwide protests.
   (AP, 2/18/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 18, Pakistan deployed
specially trained anti-Al-Qaeda commandos to guard against sectarian
violence as two Sunni militants planning to attack parades by rival
Shiites blew themselves up.
   (AFP, 2/18/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 18, Russian Pres.
Vladimir Putin said that Moscow will continue its nuclear
cooperation with Iran and that he is convinced Tehran does not
intend to develop atomic weapons.
   (AP, 2/18/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 18, The government of
South Africa said the number of deaths increased by 57 percent in
the five years ending in 2003, with AIDS and related illnesses among
the leading causes in adults. The rate is far lower than that
reported by world health groups.
   (AP, 2/19/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 19, The $3.2 billion
USS Jimmy Carter entered the Navy's fleet as the most heavily armed
submarine ever built, and as the last of the Seawolf class of attack
subs that the Pentagon ordered during the Cold War's final years.
   (AP, 2/19/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 19, In Arkansas a
train slammed into an ambulance that apparently tried to get out of
its path, but stopped at a rail crossing, killing all three
paramedics on board. The patient in the vehicle survived.
   (AP, 2/20/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 19, In Bangladesh a
double-decker passenger ferry capsized and sank during a tropical
storm, leaving at least 151 people dead. The MV Maharaj was carrying
about 200 people when it capsized on the Buriganga River just
outside Dhaka.
   (AP, 2/21/05)(AP, 2/22/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 19, China's state news
said North Korea no longer wants to negotiate with the US and 4
other nations in an effort to ease the standoff over Pyongyang's
nuclear program.
   (AP, 2/19/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 19, About half a
million hunters and supporters rallied across England and Wales in a
massive display of force against a new fox hunting ban.
   (AP, 2/19/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 19, In Haiti heavily
armed gunmen attacked the national penitentiary, killing one guard
in a shootout that allowed some 500 prisoners to escape.
   (AP, 2/21/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 19, Eight suicide
bombings in Baghdad and other parts of Iraq killed over 50 people,
including a US soldier, and injured 150 as Shiite Muslim worshippers
around the country celebrated Ashura, their holiest day of the year.
   (AP, 2/19/05)(SSFC, 2/20/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 19, Libyan leader
Moamer Kadhafi and Egyptian Pres. Hosni Mubarak backed an African
solution to the crisis in Sudan's Darfur region during 2 rounds of
talks in Cairo.
   (AFP, 2/19/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 19, Nigerian soldiers,
sailors and police descended on Odioma to hunt down a local militia
leader and black magic guru who was accused of murdering 12 people
from Obiaku. 28 people killed and Odioma was burned down by
government troops.
   (AP, 3/21/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 19, Former Presidents
George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton visited a Thai fishing village
that had been devastated by the December 2005 tsunami.
   (AP, 2/19/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 19, In Trinidad
security chiefs from 34 countries in the Americas outlined broad
strategies for fighting money laundering, passport fraud and drug
smuggling, warning that Islamic terrorists could exploit lawlessness
in the region to raise money and slip through borders.
   (AP, 2/19/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 20, In Florida Jeff
Gordon won his third Daytona 500. Gordon was born in Vallejo,
California, and raised in Pittsboro, Indiana.
   (AP,
2/20/06)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Gordon)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 20, Allen Iverson was
selected MVP of the NBA All-Star game, helping the Eastern
Conference to a 125-115 victory.
   (AP, 2/20/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 20, President Bush
landed in Belgium to begin a five-day European trip aimed at
fostering a friendly atmosphere early in his second term.
   (AP, 2/20/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 20, An estimate of the
total US debt, public and private, amounted to $37 trillion.
   (SSFC, 2/20/05, p.C3)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 20, Sandra Dee (62),
film actress born as Alexandra Zuck, died. She was arguably the
biggest female teen idol of her time. Her films included "Gidget"
and "Tammy and the Doctor." Her 1960 marriage to singer Bobby Darin
ended in divorce in 1967.
   (AP, 2/21/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 20, Maria Catherine
King (49), a disabled homeless woman and university graduate, died
12 days after being beaten by 2 young men in Berkeley, Ca. In 2006
Jarell Maurice Johnson (19) and Derrell Lamont Morgan (19) were
convicted of 2nd degree murder and were sentenced 15 years to life
in prison.
   (SSFC, 5/15/05, p.A1)(SFC, 11/18/06, p.B3)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 20, John Raitt (88),
singer Bonnie Raitt's father, died. He was famous in his own right
as the robust baritone who livened musicals such as "Carousel" and
"The Pajama Game." He also starred in the 1957 Pajama Game film with
Doris Day.
   (AP, 2/21/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 20, Hunter S. Thompson
(b.1937), gonzo journalist, committed suicide in Aspen, Colo.
Thompson inserted himself into his accounts of America's underbelly
and popularized a first-person form of journalism in books such as
“The Rum Diary” (1998) and "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" (1972).
His ashes were blown into the Colorado sky on Aug 20.
   (AP, 2/21/05)(SFC, 2/21/05, p.A8)(Econ, 2/26/05,
p.86)(SSFC, 8/21/05, p.A6)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 20, Nearly 150,000
Turkish Cypriots and illegal mainland settlers voted in a
parliamentary election for a government only recognized by Turkey
but which is seen as a barometer of prospects for reunification of
the war-divided island. The pro-reunification governing party of
Mehmet Ali Talat won.
   (AP, 2/21/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 20, Former Presidents
George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton visited Indonesia's
tsunami-ravaged Aceh province, flying over a vast wasteland of
destruction.
   (AP, 2/20/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 20, Iraqi and US
security forces surrounded the city of Ramadi in an effort to
confront a simmering insurgency there.
   (SFC, 2/21/05, p.A8)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 20, Iraqi forces
captured Talib Mikhlif Arsan Walman al-Dulaymi (aka Abu Qutaybah), a
key aide to Jordanian-born terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who leads
an insurgency affiliated with Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network.
   (AP, 2/25/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 20, The Irish
government identified 3 top Sinn Fein figures, including Gerry
Adams, as members of the IRA command.
   (SFC, 2/21/05, p.A3)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 20, Israel's Cabinet
gave final approval to the government's planned withdrawal from the
Gaza Strip and four West Bank settlements.
   (AP, 2/20/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 20, Ruud Lubbers,
former prime minister of the Netherlands, was forced to resign as UN
High Commissioner for Refugees in a sexual harassment scandal.
Lubbers maintained his innocences.
  Â
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruud_Lubbers)(SSFC, 2/18/18, p.C12)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 20, In Peru Maoist
Shining Path insurgents ambushed and killed three policemen in
Huallaga Valley, a remote jungle area known for guerrilla activity.
   (AP, 2/22/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 20, Portugal voted in
an early general election. Socialists led by Jose Socrates swept PM
Pedro Santana Lopes' centre-right Social Democrats from office on
the back of rising unemployment.
   (AFP, 2/20/05)(Econ, 2/26/05, p.49)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 20, Spanish voters
endorsed the EU constitution in a nonbinding referendum.
   (SFC, 2/21/05, p.A3)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 20, In southern
Russian security forces stormed an apartment building in Nalchik,
Kabardino-Balkariya, where a small group of suspected Islamic
militants had barricaded themselves, killing all the rebels.
   (AP, 2/20/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 20, In Sudan Sheik
Abdul-Rahim al-Buraei (82), a top Sufi Islamic cleric who wrote
mystical poems and helped peace efforts, died.
   (AP, 2/21/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 21, In Brussels
President Bush appealed to Europe to move beyond animosities over
Iraq and join forces in encouraging democratic reforms across the
Middle East. He also prodded Russia to reverse a crackdown on
political dissent, demanded that Iran end its nuclear ambitions and
told Syria to get out of Lebanon.
   (AP, 2/21/05)(SFC, 2/22/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 21, The Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention launched a campaign to make doctors
and parents aware of the need of early diagnosis for autism.
Children can be diagnosed as early as 18 months old.
   (AP, 2/22/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 21, The new Atomic
Testing Museum opened in Las Vegas.
   (www.ntshf.org/)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 21, Heavy storms in
California left 3 people dead.
   (WSJ, 2/22/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 21, S. Ernest Vandiver
Jr., former Georgia governor (1959-1963), died.
   (SFC, 2/24/05, p.B7)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 21, The British
government said same-sex partners will be able to enter into civil
unions from December, joining gays in parts of Europe and the United
States in obtaining many of the rights enjoyed by married people.
   (AP, 2/21/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 21, A Chinese
newspaper reported that the China Construction Bank is investigating
the disappearance of $8 million, in the latest big embezzlement case
to hit the country's scandal-ridden state banks.
   (AP, 2/21/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 21, In Colombia deadly
weekend attacks left 9 people dead as rebels blacked out towns, shut
down a highway, blew up a hotel and shattered notions that the
nation's main insurgent group was on its knees.
   (AP, 2/21/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 21, In Colombia 8
civilians including 3 young children and a teenage girl were
massacred near Apartado. A former mayor and a priest later blamed
government troops for the massacre. UN officials later called for an
investigation.
   (AP, 3/3/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 21, Ecuador opened the
door to a U.N. probe into President Lucio Gutierrez's dismissal of
the country's Supreme Court after the UN made a rare public appeal
for an investigation.
   (Reuters, 2/21/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 21, Over 500 people
rallied in Cairo to protest against a new term in office for
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and against moves to enable his son
Gamal to succeed him.
   (AFP, 2/21/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 21, In Indonesia a
30-foot-tall heap of garbage collapsed onto a neighborhood near the
West Java town of Bandung, killing at least 19 people and crushing
dozens of houses.
   (AP, 2/21/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 21, In Iraq a roadside
bomb in southwestern Baghdad killed 3 US soldiers.
   (SFC, 2/22/05, p.A3)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 21, Israel freed 500
Palestinian prisoners in a goodwill gesture.
   (AP, 2/21/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 21, Kyodo News said
that Japan's Princess Aiko, the 3-year-old daughter of Crown Prince
Naruhito and his wife, will be next in line for the Chrysanthemum
Throne after her father.
   (AP, 2/21/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 21, An official said
avalanches and slides triggered by heavy weekend snowfall in India's
portion of Kashmir had killed at least 249 people.
   (AP, 2/21/05)(AFP, 2/26/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 21, Former Presidents
Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush wrapped up their tour of
tsunami-ravaged nations with a visit to the Maldives.
   (AP, 2/21/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 21, North Korea’s Kim
told a visiting Chinese envoy that he is willing to return to
6-country talks if the US demonstrates its sincerity.
   (WSJ, 2/22/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 21, PM Lee Hsien Loong
said Singapore will lower personal income tax, reduce spending and
aim for a modest surplus in its US$18.13 billion 2005 budget.
   (WSJ, 2/22/05, p.A12)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 21, In Sierra Leone an
Australian investigator for a U.N.-backed war-crimes tribunal was
convicted of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl who sought a job
as a nanny in his household.
   (AP, 2/21/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 21, The Arab League
chief said that Syria will "soon" take steps to withdraw its army
from Lebanese areas in accordance with a 1989 agreement. Tens of
thousands of opposition supporters shouted insults at Syria and
demanded the resignation of their pro-Syrian government in a Beirut
demonstration.
   (AP, 2/21/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 21, Togo Lawmakers
amended the constitution to allow for elections within 60 days, but
left the West African nation's military-appointed ruler in power in
the interim despite intensifying pressure at home and abroad.
   (AP, 2/21/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 22, A Virginia man was
charged with plotting with al-Qaida to kill President Bush. Ahmed
Omar Abu Ali was convicted on all counts in November 2005.
   (AP, 2/22/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 22, The DJIA fell 174
points to 10,611 as oil prices soared to $51.15 per barrel. The Euro
closed up at $1.326.
   (SFC, 2/23/05, p.C1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 22, Supermarket giant
Winn-Dixie Stores Inc., which has struggled to compete with Wal-Mart
Supercenters and other grocery chains, said it has filed for
bankruptcy reorganization.
   (AP, 2/22/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 22, Researchers at
Texas Tech Univ. reported that the rocket fuel perchlorate has been
found in women’s breast milk at 5 times the average level found in
dairy milk.
   (SFC, 2/23/05, p.A6)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 22, PM John Howard
said Australia will send an extra 450 troops to Iraq to help protect
a Japanese humanitarian mission and bolster the country's transition
to democracy.
   (AP, 2/22/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 22, In Belgium a Nato
summit announced a 12-year program to destroy Soviet-era weapons in
Ukraine. Ukraine’s Pres. Viktor Yushchenko attended.
   (WSJ, 2/22/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 22, Britain said it
will impose new penalties on Sinn Fein, the Irish Republican
Army-linked party, as punishment for the IRA's alleged robbery of a
Belfast bank.
   (AP, 2/22/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 22, Buckingham Palace
said Queen Elizabeth III would not attend the civil marriage
ceremony of her son Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles, but
that her absence should not be interpreted as a snub.
   (AP, 2/22/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 22, In Colombia
government soldiers killed eight rebels over the past 2 days and
discovered a large cache of weapons in dense southern jungles.
   (AP, 2/22/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 22, A US human rights
advocacy group said the Egyptian government had shown a "shameless"
lack of accountability by failing to name the 2,400 people it had
detained for the Oct 7 Sinai terror attacks. Relatives were not told
where they are held.
   (AP, 2/22/05)(WSJ, 2/23/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 22, The EU intends to
end its ban on arms sales to China, French Pres. Jacques Chirac said
after talks with Pres. Bush, who highlighted Washington's security
concerns.
   (AP, 2/22/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 22, In Indonesia Aceh
separatists announced they are ready to accept increased autonomy
rather than independence.
   (WSJ, 2/23/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 22, In central Iran’s
Kerman province a 6.4 earthquake flattened villages and collapsed
mud-brick homes, killing over 500 people and injuring nearly 1,000.
   (AP, 2/23/05)(SFC, 2/24/05, p.A11)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 22, Interim Iraqi Vice
President Ibrahim al-Jaafari was chosen as his Shiite ticket's
candidate for prime minister after Ahmad Chalabi dropped his bid.
   (AP, 2/22/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 22, Montenegro's
President Filip Vujanovic and PM Milo Djukanovic proposed the
peaceful disintegration of Serbia-Montenegro, suggesting that the
two former Yugoslav republics recognize each other as sovereign
states.
   (AP, 2/23/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 22, It was reported
that Norway finished 2004 with the world’s best performing equities
market, based on nominal return on equity investment in dollar
terms.
   (WSJ, 2/22/05, p.C20)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 22, Palestinian Prime
Minister Ahmed Qureia promised a drastic overhaul of his Cabinet,
signaling the start of long-sought reform.
   (AP, 2/22/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 22, Zdzislaw
Beksinski, a surrealist painter who was one of Poland's leading
contemporary artists, was found stabbed to death at his Warsaw home.
   (AP, 2/22/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 23, Pres. Bush and
German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder pledged to help developing
nations cut back on their output of greenhouse gases. They also
agreed to turn down the volume on their disagreements about Iraq and
Iran.
   (SFC, 2/26/05, p.A1)(AP, 2/23/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 23, A real estate
report said uptown Manhattan, condo and co-op apartments sold for a
median price of $305,490 in 2004, up a whopping 349.3 percent from
$68,000 in 1995.
   (Reuters, 2/23/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 23, In Homosassa,
Florida, Jessica Marie Lunsford (9), was last seen when her
grandmother tucked her into bed. The next morning, her father
discovered she was gone. [see Mar 19]
   (AP, 2/27/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 23, In Afghanistan 2
Afghan relief workers were found shot to death on a remote southern
desert road.
   (SFC, 2/24/05, p.A10)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 23, A military jury
convicted two British servicemen on charges of involvement in
abusing Iraqi civilians.
   (AP, 2/23/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 23, Colombia's Supreme
Court authorized the extradition to the US of Miguel Rodriguez
Orejuela, who along with his brother Gilberto helped found the Cali
drug cartel. In central Colombia a leftist rebel deserter killed 7
of his comrades before fleeing his clandestine camp.
   (AP, 2/23/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 23, Egyptian President
Hosni Mubarak said that he expects further Syrian troop
redeployments in Lebanon, and he dispatched his intelligence chief
to Damascus to meet with President Bashar Assad to discuss
increasing American and European pressure on Syria.
   (AP, 2/23/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 23, French film star
Simone Simon (b.1910) died in Paris.
   (AP, 2/23/06)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 23, India and Pakistan
agreed to cut red tape and ease barriers that hamper bilateral
trade.
   (AP, 2/23/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 23, In India 4 people
were killed in police firing and a blast in Jharkhand and Bihar in
the final round of assembly elections.
   (AP, 2/23/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 23, In Iraq a car bomb
exploded in Mosul, killing 2 people and wounding 14 others.
   (AP, 2/23/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 23, Mexico’s high
court blocked prosecution of ex-President Echeverria for “dirty war”
crimes in the 1970s ruling that the statute of limitations has run
out.
   (WSJ, 2/24/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 23, In northern
Nigeria hunters burning land to flush out game set fire to a
munitions dump, triggering a string of explosions which damaged
military buildings and spread panic in the city of Kaduna.
   (AP, 2/24/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 23, Paraguay President
Nicanor Duarte sacked his interior minister and 31 police officers,
shaking up his security forces a week after the kidnapped daughter
of a former Paraguayan leader was found dead.
   (AP, 2/23/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 23, Serbia's prime
minister and other top officials flatly rejected Montenegro's
proposal for a final split of their joint state.
   (AP, 2/23/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 23, In Sudan an
explosion at an ammunition dump in the southern town of Juba killed
24 people.
   (Reuters, 2/23/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 23, Turkey's
parliament approved legislation allowing thousands of students
thrown out of universities to return, including women who violated
the staunchly secular country's ban on Islamic-style head scarves.
   (AP, 2/23/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 24, In Ohio Rosemarie
Essa was killed in a car crash after losing consciousness. Her
husband Dr. Yazeed Essa vanished in 2006 and was arrested months
later in Cyprus. In 2009 he returned to Cleveland to face murder
charges. In 2010 Dr. Essa (41) was convicted of lacing her calcium
supplement with cyanide so that he could be with his mistress.
   (SSFC, 1/11/09,
p.A4)(www.amw.com/fugitives/case.cfm?id=37583)(SFC, 3/6/10, p.A5)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 24, In southeastern
Afghanistan Taliban insurgents launched 3 separate attacks, killing
9 Afghan troops and wounding an American soldier while sustaining
heavy casualties themselves.
   (AP, 2/25/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 24, Australian PM John
Howard dismissed as "alarmist" a warning by his government's chief
economic adviser that the US was heading for a financial crash that
could ravage the global economy.
   (AP, 2/25/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 24, Anglican leaders
forced a suspension of the US Episcopal Church and Canadian
adherents due to same sex marriages and ordaining gay clergy.
   (WSJ, 2/25/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 24, PM Paul Martin
said that Canada would not join the contentious US ballistic missile
defense (BMD) program.
   (AP, 2/24/05)(Econ, 3/5/05, p.38)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 24, India’s cabinet
lifted restraints on foreign ownership of some real estate projects.
A minimum of 25 acres was established with requirements for
development of infrastructure prior to resale.
   (WSJ, 2/25/05, p.A16)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 24, A suicide bomber
wearing a police uniform blew up his car at police headquarters in
Tikrit, killing at least 15 people in Saddam Hussein's hometown in
the bloodiest of several attacks that claimed 30 lives. Two American
soldiers were among the dead.
   (AP, 2/24/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 24, In
Indian-controlled Kashmir 2 armed militants stormed a government
office complex, prompting a four-hour gunbattle that left seven
people dead, including the attackers.
   (AP, 2/24/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 24, Lebanon's defense
minister said Syria will withdraw troops from mountain and coastal
areas in Lebanon in line with a 1989 agreement.
   (AP, 2/24/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 24, In western Mexico
an executive jet crashed, killing the governor of Colima state and
all five other people aboard.
   (AP, 2/24/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 24, The Palestinian
parliament approved a 24-member Cabinet dominated by professional
appointees, including nearly half with doctoral degrees, in a major
move toward long-promised government reform.
   (AP, 2/24/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 24, The Serbian
government said retired Bosnian Serb General Milan Gvero surrendered
to the UN war crimes tribunal at The Hague.
   (AP, 2/21/05)(SFC, 2/25/05, p.A3)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 24, In Slovakia Pres.
Bush and Russian Pres. Vladimir Putin sought common ground on
keeping conventional and nuclear weapons out of the hands of
terrorists. The US and Russia agreed to enhance nuclear security
cooperation and to try to complete negotiations on Russia's entry
into the World Trade Organization (WTO) this year.
   (AP, 2/24/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 24, Pope John Paul II
underwent an operation to insert a tube in his throat to relieve his
breathing problems, hours after he was rushed back to the hospital
for the second time in a month with flu-like symptoms.
   (AP, 2/24/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 25, Kansas police
arrested Dennis Rader, a 59-year-old city worker at his suburban
home in Park City. They believe he is the notorious BTK (bind,
torture, kill) serial killer who terrorized Wichita throughout the
1970s. He resurfaced about a year ago after 25 years of silence. He
later pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 10 life prison terms.
   (SSFC, 2/27/05, p.A3)(AP, 2/25/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 25, Hall of Fame
basketball coach John Chaney was suspended for the rest of the
regular season by Philadelphia’s Temple Univ. for ordering rough
play by one of his players during a game against Saint Joseph's.
   (AP, 2/25/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 25, Bank of America
reported the loss of computer tapes containing personal information
on 1.2 million federal employees including some US Senate members.
   (SFC, 2/26/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 25, The Walt Disney
Co. agreed to sell the Anaheim Mighty Ducks hockey team to
billionaire Henry Samueli and his wife, Susan, for $75 million.
   (AP, 2/25/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 25, Peter Benenson
(83), founder of Amnesty International (1961), died in Oxford,
England. Amnesty Int’l. won a Nobel Prize in 1977.
   (SFC, 2/28/05, p.B3)(Econ, 3/5/05, p.85)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 25, Argentina’s debt
swap offer, to cover a total debt of $102.6 billion, closed.
Argentina planned to issue $35.2 billion in new bonds to those who
accepted the swap. Owners of 76% of the 2001 defaulted bonds
accepted the swap losing 65% of their investment. In 2008 a proposal
was in the works to settle with the remaining holdouts.
   (WSJ, 3/28/05, p.A14)(Econ, 9/27/08, p.49)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 25, Brazil’s
government awarded a disputed patch of Amazon rainforest to a
sustainable development project championed by the slain American nun
Dorothy Stang.
   (AP, 2/26/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 25, President Alvaro
Uribe on authorized the extradition to the US of a female commander
with Colombia's largest rebel group who was allegedly a chief of
finances for the armed organization.
   (AP, 2/25/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 25, In Congo
militiamen in the volatile Ituri district ambushed UN troops. 9
Bangladeshi peacekeepers were killed in what was the 4th deadliest
attack on UN troops in Africa.
   (AP, 2/25/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 25, Atef Sedki (75),
former PM of Egypt (1986-1996), died. He helped steer Egypt toward a
market-oriented economy.
   (AP, 2/25/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 25, French Finance
Minister Herve Gaymard quit over his handling of a scandal about his
state-paid luxury flat that rocked a conservative government as it
forces unpopular cost-cutting measures on a restive nation.
   (AP, 2/25/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 25, Sima Bakhar, Mrs.
Israel, won the Mrs. World 2005 pageant at Amby Valley, 140
kilometers ( 87 miles) north of Bombay, India. Forty-one contestants
from across the globe participated in the pageant, held first time
in India.
   (AP, 2/25/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 25, In Iraq a roadside
bomb blast killed three US soldiers and wounded eight others north
of Baghdad. Saboteurs blew up an oil pipeline in northern Iraq. In
Mosul the body of Raiedah Mohammed Wageh Wazan, a female Iraqi
television presenter kidnapped last week, was found dead from 4
gunshots to the head.
   (AP, 2/25/05)(AP, 2/26/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 25, In the Netherlands
diamonds and jewelry valued at $72 million (67 million euros) were
taken during the hold up of a KLM armored car in a high-security
portion of Schiphol airport. Part of the loot was quickly recovered
from a getaway car, but diamonds worth $43 million remained missing.
In January, 2017, seven suspects were arrested.
   (AP, 1/21/17)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 25, A Palestinian
suicide bomber blew himself up in a crowd of young Israelis waiting
outside the Stage nightclub near Tel Aviv's beachfront promenade
just before midnight, killing at least four other people, wounding
dozens.
   (AP, 2/25/05)(SFC, 2/26/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 25, Gapminder was
founded in Stockholm by Ola Rosling, Anna Rosling Rönnlund and Hans
Rosling. It is a non-profit venture promoting sustainable global
development and achievement of the United Nations Millennium
Development Goals by increased use and understanding of statistics
and other information about social, economic and environmental
development at local, national and global levels.
   (www.gapminder.org/about-gapminder/)(Econ,
12/11/10, TQ p.26)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 25, In Togo Faure
Gnassingbe, whose predecessor — his father — had been Africa's
longest-serving leader, stepped down as a result of almost
unprecedented African resolve against an old-style coup d'etat.
   (AP, 2/26/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 25, The Zimbabwe
government accused the independent Weekly Times of violating its
operating license and ordered it to shut down.
   (SSFC, 2/27/05, p.A3)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 26, Addressing the
nation's governors, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates delivered a
scathing critique of U.S. high schools, calling them obsolete and
saying that elected officials should be ashamed of a system that
leaves millions of students unprepared for college and for technical
jobs.
   (LAT, 2/28/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 26, Walter Anderson
(51), telecommunications entrepreneur, was arrested and charged with
evading $200 million in federal and local taxes.
   (SFC, 3/1/05, p.A3)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 26, The prosecution
and defense both rested their cases in the Robert Blake murder trial
in Los Angeles.
   (AP, 2/26/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 26, Henry A. Grunwald
(82), former Time magazine editor and US ambassador to
Austria, died in New York.
   (AP, 2/26/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 26, Jef Raskin (61),
computer pioneer, died in Pacifica, Ca. he led the shift to a
graphical interface with Apple’s Macintosh.
   (WSJ, 3/1/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 26, In Brazil Cleone
Santos and Magnaldo Santos, known as Negao, were taken into custody,
for aiding 2 gunmen who shot 73-year-old Dorothy Stang on Feb. 12.
   (AP, 2/28/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 26, Fespaco, the
biennial pan-African festival of cinema and television, opened in
Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
   (Econ, 2/19/05, p.82)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 26, China state
television said China will gradually open its capital account in
2005, another step in its plan to make the yuan currency fully
convertible.
   (AP, 2/26/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 26, Egyptian President
Hosni Mubarak ordered a revision of the country's election laws and
said multiple candidates could run in the nation's presidential
elections.
   (AP, 2/26/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 26, In Haiti a
Brazilian peacekeeper was wounded and the charred body of a man
apparently burned alive with a tire around his neck lay in the
deserted street of a slum where shots rang out and people peered
fearfully from barred windows.
   (AP, 2/26/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 26, Iraqi security
forces captured a son of one of Saddam Hussein's half brothers, who
allegedly financed the insurgency, in a raid on suspected militants
near Tikrit. Ayman Sabawi is the son of Sabawi Ibrahim al-Hassan, a
half brother of Saddam's, who served as a presidential adviser
before the US-led invasion.
   (AP, 5/4/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 26, In Baghdad a
suicide bomber detonated his vehicle alongside an M1 Abrams tank and
killed himself and two Iraqis. A US soldier died during a sweep for
insurgents west of Baghdad. A car bomb in the Mussayyib district
south of Baghdad killed an Iraqi soldier.
   (AP, 2/26/05)(SSFC, 2/27/05, p.A10)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 26, Japan put a
weather satellite into space for the first time since a humiliating
failure 15 months ago in hopes of entering the launch market.
   (SSFC, 2/27/05, p.A3)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 26, Malaysia's PM
Badawi told Proton to set its sights abroad as he launched the
national carmaker's 1.8 billion ringgit (474 million dollar) new
manufacturing plant.
   (AP, 2/26/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 26, Nepal's rebel
chief said he was lifting a crippling countrywide blockade of roads
by his fighters to ease the discomfort of common people.
   (AP, 2/26/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 26, Palestinian and
Israeli security forces arrested 7 suspected militants in connection
with a suicide bombing that killed four Israelis at a Tel Aviv
nightclub. The bomber was identified as Abdullah Badran (21), a
student from the West Bank village of Deir al-Ghusun.
   (AP, 2/26/05)(SSFC, 2/27/05, p.A7)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 26, In Taiwan a fire
raged through the top floors of a highrise building in the central
city of Taichung, killing at least two people.
   (AP, 2/26/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 26, Thailand police
reported 4 more people killed in surging violence in the Muslim
south. PM Shinawatra defended his hard-line policies and accused his
critics of sympathizing with separatists.
   (AP, 2/26/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 26, Togo’s Congress
named deputy speaker Bonfoh Abbass as interim president until
nationwide elections can be held in the coming months.
   (AP, 2/27/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 26, The Ukraine
cabinet stripped former president Leonid Kuchma of a plush and
widely criticized retirement package that featured a monthly
pension, two cars, a government home and much more.
   (AP, 2/26/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 27, In the 77th
Academy Awards “Million Dollar Baby” won 4 Oscars including best
picture, best actress (Hilary Swank), best supporting actor (Morgan
Freeman) and best director (Clint Eastwood); Jamie Foxx won for best
actor (Ray); Cate Blanchett won best supporting actress (Aviator).
   (SFC, 2/28/05, p.C4)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 27, Iran and Russia
signed a deal that would deliver nuclear fuel to the Middle East
country for the startup of its first reactor.
   (AP, 2/27/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 27, Iraqi security
forces reported the capture of Saddam Hussein's half-brother and
former adviser. Sabawi Ibrahim al-Hassan, the 6 of diamonds, was No.
36 on the list of 55 most-wanted Iraqis. Syria captured al-Hassan
and 29 other fugitives and handed them over to Iraqi security. 2
American soldiers were killed in an ambush in the capital.
   (AP, 2/27/05)(SFC, 2/28/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 27, Kyrgyzstan faced a
key test of its commitment to democracy in parliamentary elections
amid tension over the exclusion of a number of opposition figures
and prominent lawmakers. Some opposition figures and prominent
politicians disqualified from the ballot in a country once seen as
an island of democracy in former Soviet Central Asia.
   (AP, 2/27/05)(AP, 2/28/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 27, Bayaman
Erkinbayev, a wealthy playboy and head of the Palvan Corporation,
led 2,000 fighters trained in Alysh, Kyrgyzstan's answer to Kung Fu,
to protests launched after the first round of a parliamentary
election.
   (AP, 3/28/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 27, At least 15 people
died in a fresh burst of violence in southern Nepal, after communist
rebels lifted a two-week highway blockade.
   (Reuters, 2/27/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 27, Qatar signed an
agreement with Royal Dutch/Shell to develop a liquefied natural gas
plant. Qatar Petroleum and Exxon Mobil launched their 12.8 billion
Qatar Gas II joint venture to export LNS to the United Kingdom.
   (WSJ, 2/28/05, p.B2)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 27, In southeastern
Pakistan at least 10 children died when a bus carrying them on a
school field trip drove off a highway.
   (AP, 2/27/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 27, Tajikistan voters
cast their ballots in parliamentary elections. President Emomali
Rakhmonov's National Democratic party won the election
overwhelmingly with nearly 75 percent of the vote. The opposition
earned only two of 63 seats in Parliament. The EU said "significant
breaches" were reported during the vote, including proxy voting,
obstruction of election observers and irregularities in vote
counting.
   (AP, 3/5/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 27, The tiny Pacific
island nation of Tokelau called for food and medical supplies, and
there were "grave concerns" for residents on Swain's Island in
American Samoa after Cyclone Percy pounded the area.
   (AP, 2/27/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 27, Togo demonstrators
protested against the new president, lighting flaming barricades in
the capital's streets and throwing rocks at riot police who fired
tear gas to keep crowds from moving toward government buildings.
They claimed the position should have gone to the parliament
speaker, a ruling-party loyalist, who was fired after he refused to
return to the country in the early days of the crisis.
   (AP, 2/27/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 27, Pope John Paul II
made a surprise first public appearance after surgery, appearing at
his Rome hospital window.
   (AP, 2/27/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 28, The US Mint began
distributing new buffalo nickels to banks. The reverse side showed a
bolder profile of Thomas Jefferson.
   (SFC, 2/26/05, p.A3)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 28, Michael Jackson
faced opening statements in Santa Maria, Ca., in his trial on child
molestation charges.
   (SFC, 3/1/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 28, US District Judge
Joan Humphrey Lefkow discovered the bodies of her husband and mother
inside her Chicago home. An unemployed electrician confessed to the
murders in a suicide note. In 2002 she had ordered the white
supremacist group World Church of the Creator under Matthew Hale to
remove the World Church name from its website. A cigarette butt
found in Judge Joan Humphrey Lefkow's house was matched to the
electrician, Bart Ross, who killed himself Mar 9 during a traffic
stop in Wisconsin, and left a suicide note claiming responsibility
for the killings. Lefkow last fall dismissed a rambling
lawsuit in which Ross claimed that cancer treatments had disfigured
his face.
   (SFC, 3/2/05, p.A13)(AP, 3/11/05)(SFC, 3/11/05,
p.A1)(AP, 2/28/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 28, Federated Dept.
Stores announced the acquisition of may Dept. Stores for $11 billion
in cash and stock.
   (SFC, 3/1/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 28, African Union (AU)
chairman, Nigeria's President Olusegun Obasanjo, met Sudan's first
vice president Ali Taha over the bloody crisis in Darfur region.
   (AFP, 2/28/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 28, In Britain the
Duchess of Northumberland opened her new Poison Garden, dedicated to
the world’s most venomous and hallucinogenic plants. It was a part
of Alnwick Garden opened in 2002.
   (SFC, 10/29/05,
p.F7)(www.alnwickgarden.com/media/in_the_press.asp)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 28, Burundians voted
on a new constitution that enshrines Hutu control by allotting them
60% of parliamentary seats with 40% for Tutsis.
   (WSJ, 3/1/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 28, Thierry Breton
arrived for work as France's 4th finance minister in less than a
year, ready to pick up the unfinished business of restoring the
French economy to good health.
   (AP, 2/28/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 28, In Grenada Alister
Hughes (86), respected journalists known for his coverage of
Grenada's political woes and the US invasion in 1983, died of a
stroke.
   (AP, 3/2/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 28, India's
communist-backed coalition government unveiled a budget aimed at
boosting growth to help the rural poor but warned this would be at
the expense of tackling a bloated deficit.
   (AP, 2/28/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 28, Indonesia welcomed
a move by the US to resume a small but high-profile US military
training program that was frozen in the 1990s because of human
rights abuses in East Timor. Human rights groups condemned the
decision.
   (Reuters, 2/28/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 28, In Iraq a suicide
car bomber blasted a crowd of police and national guard recruits as
they gathered for physicals outside a medical clinic in Hillah,
south of Baghdad, killing 125 people and wounding 132.
   (AP, 3/1/05)(AP, 2/28/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 28, Israeli troops
discovered a vehicle packed with half a ton of explosives in the
West Bank, the largest bomb found in four years of fighting.
   (AP, 3/1/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 28, Defying a ban on
protests, about 10,000 people demonstrated against Syrian
interference in Lebanon, as opposition lawmakers sought to bring
down the pro-Damascus government. The pro-Damascus PM Omar Karami
and his Cabinet resigned.
   (AP, 2/28/05)(SFC, 3/1/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 28, Mexican
prosecutors charged 27 state, federal and local police in Cancun
with running a drug ring or aiding in the murder of their fellow
officers, busting one of Mexico's largest police-protection rackets
and solving the mystery behind the killing of three federal agents
in November.
   (AP, 3/1/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 28, In Nepal at least
50 Maoist rebels and 4 soldiers were killed in a gunbattle in the
western Bardiya district.
   (AP, 3/1/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 28, In Tajikistan
opposition parties alleged systematic vote-rigging and other
breaches during weekend parliamentary elections in the former Soviet
republic.
   (AP, 2/28/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb, FBI agents arrested
thieves, who were unloading a semitrailer of DVDs originating from a
warehouse in Memphis, Tenn., for delivery in Chicago. 2 of the men
arrested were deputy jailers with the Cook County Sheriff’s Police
Dept. It was reported that hundreds of semitrailers are stolen or
filched from every day in the US.
   (WSJ, 9/29/05, p.B1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb, Bulgaria’s parliament
passed a law authorizing the confiscation of illegally obtained
assets. Widespread money laundering had manifested itself in a
construction boom in tourist areas and other sudden explosions of
wealth. The audacity of the crime bosses, who intimidate normal
Bulgarians with their gun-toting entourages, has angered many and
may play a role in whether Saxe-Coburg will hold on to power in
summer elections.
   (AP, 4/3/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb, China issued a
government document that allowed private investment in any business
not banned by law.
   (Econ, 3/19/05, p.72)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb, China said that 10
regions had begun a pilot project in green GDP assessment, in an
effort to assess environmental costs in development.
   (Econ, 10/22/05, p.43)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb, A group called the
Environmental Investigation Agency alleged that $600 million worth
of timber was being smuggled from Indonesia to China every month.
Pres. Yudhojono pledged a crackdown in March with Operation
Sustainable Forest. The EIA described a timber-smuggling chain
bringing 300,000 cubic meters of merbau, a valuable hardwood, from
Indonesia’s Papua province to China. EIA claimed Indonesia was
losing an area of forest the size of Switzerland every year.
   (Econ, 3/26/05, p.42)(Econ, 5/7/05, p.39)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb, Sabino Mobile, an
Italian tourist visiting Colombia with his family, was kidnapped and
murdered by paramilitary gunmen. Police later arrested 9 people,
including right-wing paramilitary leader Ruben Oliverio Vera Roldan.
   (AP, 3/2/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb, The Dominican
Republic secured a $665 million loan from the IMF.
   (Econ, 5/28/05, p.42)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb, In Ethiopia hominid
bones indicting bipedalism were discovered at a new site called
Mille, in the northeastern Afar region. They were estimated to be
3.8-4 million years old.
   (AP, 3/6/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb, France passed a law
to put an upbeat spin on a painful era, making it mandatory to
enshrine in textbooks the country's "positive role" in its far-flung
colonies. Education Minister Gilles de Robien said in October that
textbooks would not be changed. But the law's detractors want it
stricken from the books, something the minister says only parliament
can do.
   (AP, 10/21/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb, An Iraqi TV program
began airing confessions of alleged insurgents. The program later
came under criticism from Iraqi lawyers, former detainees and
families of suspects who accused security officials of abusing
suspects to extract the confessions.
   (AP, 7/6/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb, Lithuania began
hosting a secret CIA detention facility and continued to March 2006,
where Abu Zubaydah, a Palestinian suspected of being a planner for
the Sept. 11 attacks, was detained. Romania later denied hosting
such CIA facilities. A 2009 investigation in Lithuania concluded
that the country's intelligence agency helped the CIA set up two
small detention centers there, but did not determine whether the
facilities were actually used in the interrogation of terrorism
suspects.
   (AP, 5/31/18)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb, Bao You Xiang, head
of Myanmar’s Wa Special Region No. 2, allowed farmers one last opium
harvest prior to enforcing and absolute ban. The region was
controlled by the United Wa State Army (UWSA), which produced heroin
and methamphetamine to buy weapons.
   (Econ, 2/12/05, p.42)(Econ, 11/27/10, p.52)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb, Emmerson Bockarie
released an album called “Bor Bor Belleh” (Fat Belly Boys), a
reference to corrupt officials hampering Sierra Leone development.
   (Econ, 6/25/05, p.46)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb, Vietnam signed an
agreement with the World Society for the Protection of Animals to
phase out its bear bile farms, where an estimated 3,000 bears were
held for their bile. In China an estimated 7,000 caged bears were
milked for their bile.
   (SFC, 4/23/05, p.A8)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb, Zimbabwe Pres. Mugabe
fell out with Jonathan Moyo and fired him as information minister.
   (AP, 8/22/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 1, The US Supreme
Court ruled 5-4 that executing murderers under age 18 is
unconstitutional.
   (SFC, 3/2/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 1, Dennis Rader, the
churchgoing family man accused of leading a double life as the BTK
serial killer, was charged in Wichita, Kan., with 10 counts of
first-degree murder. Rader later pleaded guilty and received
multiple life sentences.
   (AP, 3/1/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 1, In Congo UN
peacekeeping troops, backed by an attack helicopter, responded after
being fired on and killed up to 60 militants accused of terrorizing
villagers and killing nine Bangladeshi peacekeepers. Congo arrested
an eastern militia leader and 2 generals related to the peacekeeper
killings. Women fighters were among the 50 people killed by UN
troops under Dutch Gen. Patrick Cammaert. On April 12 the human
rights group Justice Plus listed names of several alleged civilian
victims from the raid in eastern Congo and said they "paid with
their life, while the mandate of the United Nations was to protect
them."
   (AP, 3/2/05)(WSJ, 3/2/05, p.A1)(Reuters,
3/5/05)(Econ, 3/12/05, p.49)(AP, 4/13/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 1, French journalist
Florence Aubenas, looking pale and distraught, appealed for help on
a video in her first since she went missing in Iraq on Jan. 5.
   (AP, 3/1/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 1, In Guatemala City
some 8,000 protesters, most of them teachers, demonstrated in the
capital against a pending free-trade agreement between Central
America and the US.
   (AP, 3/2/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 1, Indonesia reduced
subsidies on various fuels.
   (Econ, 3/5/05, p.43)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 1, In northern
Baghdad's Azamyiah district gunmen killed judge Barwez Mohammed
Mahmoud (59) and his lawyer son, members of Iraq’s war crimes
tribunal.
   (AP, 3/2/05)(SFC, 3/2/05, p.A12)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 1, Lebanon's president
took on the task of forming a new government, while opposition
leaders shook off the jubilation of using people power to force out
a pro-Syrian Cabinet.
   (AP, 3/1/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 1, Palestinian leader
Mahmoud Abbas pledged to reform Palestinian security. Militants in
the West Bank town of Jenin issued a belligerent challenge to the
new Palestinian leadership's efforts to rein in militant groups,
shooting in the air and demanding that the visiting security chief,
Interior Minister Nasser Yousef, leave the area immediately.
   (AP, 3/1/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 1, In Geneva, Switz.,
Edouard Stern, French financier and former Lazard banker, was found
dead in his home. Swiss police later arrested Cecile Brossard (36),
his French lover, who confessed to the sex-related killing of banker
Edouard Stern. During her trial in 2009 she said that she lost
control after Stern called her a whore. On June 18, 2009, Brossard
was sentenced to eight and a half years in prison.
   (WSJ, 3/3/05, p.A1)(AP, 3/16/05)(WSJ, 4/14/05,
p.A1)(SFC, 6/15/09, p.A2)(AP, 6/18/09)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 1, Ukraine’s top
security body decided to Ukrainian troops from Iraq.
   (SFC, 3/2/05, p.A12)  Â
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 1, Dr. Tabare Vazquez
(65) took office as Uruguay's first socialist president, joining the
ranks of left-leaning leaders in Latin America, now six in all,
governing a majority of the region's people with a cautious approach
to U.S.-backed free-market policies. In one of his first official
acts, he restored full diplomatic ties with communist Cuba, more
than two years after a diplomatic row divided the countries.
   (AP, 3/1/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 2, President Bush
demanded in blunt terms that Syria get out of Lebanon.
   (AP, 3/2/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 2, The number of U.S.
military deaths in Iraq reached 1,500.
   (AP, 3/2/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 2, Alan Greenspan
warned that US federal budget deficits are unsustainable and urged
Congress to cut spending.
   (SFC, 3/3/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 2, The US Treasury
proposed rules for a new Roth 401(k).
   (SFC, 3/3/05, p.C1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 2, The woman who
accused NBA star Kobe Bryant of rape settled her lawsuit against
him, ending the case.
   (AP, 3/2/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 2, It was reported
that the Palm Beach, Fla., hedge fund KL Financial, with assets of
$200 million, had run out of funds.
   (WSJ, 3/2/05, p.C1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 2, In Florida dozens
of dolphins beached on the Florida Keys. Sonar from a US submarine
was later suspected.
   (SSFC, 3/6/05, p.A3)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 2, In Tennessee a
school bus driver was shot and killed by a 14-year old student, who
was recently disciplined by the driver for using snuff.
   (WSJ, 3/3/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 2, In Afghanistan
Pres. Karzai appointed Habiba Sarobi as governor of Bamiyan
province, making her Afghanistan’s 1st female governor.
   (SFC, 3/3/05, p.A10)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 2, In eastern
Afghanistan a gunbattle between U.S.-led coalition forces and
militants left three militants and two civilians dead.
   (AP, 3/5/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 2, Australia’s central
bank raised interest rates to 5.5% from 5.25%. The 2004 annual
growth rate was reported to be 1.5%.
   (WSJ, 3/3/05, p.A11)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 2, In Azerbaijan Elmar
Huseinov, founder and editor of the opposition magazine Monitor, was
shot to death in the entryway of his Baku apartment building.
   (AP, 3/3/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 2, Brazil's lower
house of Congress overwhelmingly approved a law creating a framework
to legalize biotech seed sales for genetically modified crops.
   (AP, 3/3/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 2, In northern China a
cache of explosives at the home of a coal mine manager blew up in
Kecheng, killing him and at least 10 others including 2 children at
a nearby school.
   (AP, 3/3/05)(SFC, 3/3/05, p.A6)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 2, Queen Elizabeth II
dubbed Bill Gates (49) an honorary noble.
   (SFC, 3/3/05, p.A2)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 2, France's newly
appointed Finance Minister Thierry Breton pledged to keep a tight
lid on public spending in an effort to rein in the budget deficit.
   (AP, 3/2/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 2, Two car bombs
killed at least 14 Iraqi soldiers in separate attacks, and the
al-Qaida group in Iraq claimed responsibility for one.
   (SFC, 3/3/05, p.A6)(WSJ, 3/3/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 2, Pakistani police
arrested a man wanted in the murder of Wall Street Journal reporter
Daniel Pearl and already sentenced to death in absentia for a hotel
bombing that killed 11 French engineers.
   (AP, 3/2/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 2, Former Serbian army
chief Gen. Momcilo Perisic, a one-time ally of ex-president Slobodan
Milosevic, said that he has been indicted by the UN war crimes court
and will surrender next week.
   (AP, 3/3/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 2, In a new book
entitled "Mari, the Metropolis of the Euphrates," Jean-Claude
Margueron said the third millennium BC city, in modern day Syria,
was "one of the first modern cities of humanity.
   (AP, 3/2/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 2, It was reported
that the bodies of at least 34 men found in Venezuela's central
Guarico state in the past three years had burns, bruises and cuts
suggesting they were tortured before being executed.
   (AP, 3/2/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 3, President Bush
visited CIA headquarters, where he promised agency employees they
would retain an “incredibly vital” role in safeguarding the nation’s
security despite the creation of a new post of national director of
intelligence.
   (AP, 3/3/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 3, Millionaire
adventurer Steve Fossett became the first person to fly around the
world alone without stopping or refueling, touching down in central
Kansas after a 67-hour, 23-thousand-mile journey.
   (AP, 3/3/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 3, Traders pushed the
wholesale price of gasoline to a record high.
   (SFC, 3/4/05, p.C1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 3, AOL launched a new
beta version of its web browser Netscape 8.0.
   (WSJ, 3/3/05, p.B1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 3, A UN report on AIDS
in Africa said 80 million may be dead by 2025 with over 10% of the
population infected.
   (WSJ, 3/4/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 3, An Arab League
meeting opened in Cairo. An Arab diplomat said Syria has told Arab
countries it needs to keep 3,000 troops and early-warning stations
inside Lebanon to maintain its security despite international
pressure for a full withdrawal. Saudi Arabia told Syria to withdraw
its troops.
   (AP, 3/3/05)(SFC, 3/4/05, p.A3)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 3, In western Canada 4
Mounties were killed while they were investigating an illegal
marijuana farm. Suspect James Roszko (46) killed himself after
shooting the officers.
   (AP, 3/4/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 3, The seven Central
American nations (Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala,
Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama) agreed to create a rapid-response
force to combat drug trafficking, terrorism and other regional
threats.
   (AP, 3/3/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 3, In France a trial
got under way in which 66 people were accused of participating in a
pedophilia ring.
   (AP, 3/3/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 3, In Indonesia the
alleged leader of a militant Islamic group was sentenced to 2 1/2
years in prison for conspiracy in the 2002 Bali nightclub bombings
that killed 202 people but was cleared of more serious charges.
   (AP, 3/3/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 3, In Iraq car bombs
killed six policemen and wounded 15 in new attacks on security
services as political factions wrangled over putting together a
government.
   (AP, 3/3/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 3, Libyan leader
Moamer Kadhafi issued a call for economic liberalization in the
North African state.
   (AP, 3/3/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 3, In Nigeria
thousands of rioters wielding sticks and broken bottles burned down
a police station in Makurdi, protesting the police killing of a bus
driver who apparently refused to pay a bribe equivalent to 14 cents.
   (AP, 3/3/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 3, Pakistani tribal
militants, demanding greater political and economic rights, blew up
a railway line to Iran in the third attack on the track in recent
weeks.
   (AP, 3/3/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 3, Men in eastern and
southern Saudi Arabia turned out in the thousands to vote in
municipal elections. They expect to provide their first say in
decision-making in this absolute monarchy.
   (AP, 3/3/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 4, Pres. Bush
nominated career scientist Stephen L. Johnson (53) to head the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
   (SFC, 3/5/05, p.A1)(AP, 3/4/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 4, The DJIA rose 107
to 10,940, its highest level since June, 2001.
   (SFC, 3/5/05, p.A10)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 4, Martha Stewart
returned from prison to the multi-million-dollar estate where she
will remain under the watch of federal authorities while trying to
revive her homemaking empire.
   (AP, 3/4/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 4, India approved
cultivation of genetically modified cotton in its fertile northern
region, rejecting demands from anti-biotechnology activists.
   (AP, 3/4/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 4, American troops
fired on a car taking Giuliana Sgrena to Baghdad's airport and
wounded her. Nicola Calipari, the Italian intelligence officer who
negotiated her freedom, was hit by the gunfire and died in her arms.
Sgrena returned to Italy the next day. In 2007 an Italian court
threw out the case against the US soldier charged in the shooting of
Calipari.
   (AP, 3/5/05)(AP, 10/25/07)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 4, In Iraq Pvt. Gardi
Gardev, a Bulgarian soldier, was killed by friendly fire." President
Georgi Parvanov summoned U.S. Ambassador James Pardew on Mar 7 and
complained about the lack of coordination between coalition troops
in Iraq.
   (AP, 3/7/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 4, Nepal government
forces killed at least 30 Maoist rebels in the western district of
Arghakhanchi.
   (AP, 3/7/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 4, In southwestern
Pakistan police said Ramzan Mengal, an Islamic militant accused of
killing as many as 130 Shiite Muslims over recent years, was
arrested in Quetta.
   (AP, 3/5/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 4, Palestinian gunmen
opened fire at a police station, sparking a gunfight that left three
people wounded.
   (AP, 3/4/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 4, Tribes from western
Sudan and the neighboring Central African Republic signed a peace
charter in a bid to end cross-border clashes.
   (AFP, 3/4/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 4, Swiss police said
they have detained five purported Islamic extremists suspected of
running Web sites that showed the execution of hostages and provided
details of how to make bombs and carry out attacks.
   (AP, 3/4/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 4, Ukraine's former
interior minister was found dead of an apparent suicide, just before
he was to meet with prosecutors for questioning about the 2000
slaying of an investigative journalist. The minister had two shots
to the head.
   (AP, 3/4/05)(Econ, 4/2/11, p.50)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 4, President Hugo
Chavez said Venezuela wants to supply crude oil to India, Asia's
third-biggest consumer, under a long-term agreement.
   (AP, 3/4/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 5, It was reported
that an experimental technique called deep-brain stimulation was
effective in turning off depression. In 2005 the US FDA approved an
implant for vagus nerve stimulation as therapy for depression that
fails to respond to other conventional treatments.
   (Econ, 3/5/05, p.78)(Econ, 6/3/06, p.79)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 5, China's foreign
exchange chief said a sharp appreciation of China's yuan is unlikely
and the currency will be kept in a small range as the country
gradually implements a more flexible exchange rate.
   (AP, 3/5/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 5, India’s Finance
Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram said the government would try to
ensure economic growth of over 7 percent and urged the Reserve Bank
of India (RBI) to maintain benign interest rates, now at
three-decade lows, to promote investment.
   (AP, 3/5/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 5, India clinched a
deal to operate a Venezuelan oilfield and import the output as
Asia's third largest consumer and the world's No.5 oil exporter
vowed to strengthen ties.
   (AP, 3/5/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 5, The governor of the
lawless Indian eastern state of Bihar recommended federal rule in
the province as no political grouping could muster the required
numbers to form a government in polls last month. This ended control
by the Yadav family.
   (AP, 3/6/05)(Econ, 3/12/05, p.45)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 5, Iran said it will
never agree to a permanent halt on enriching uranium and warned that
a more unstable Middle East would result from a U.S.-backed effort
to haul Tehran before the UN Security Council for possible
sanctions.
   (AP, 3/5/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 5, Pakistani troops
raided a hideout of suspected al-Qaida militants in a remote tribal
area near Afghanistan. A shootout left 2 foreigners dead. 11 people
were arrested.
   (AP, 3/5/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 5, Syria’s Pres. Assad
outlined a two-step pullback: 1st to Lebanon's Bekaa Valley, nearer
to the Syrian border; 2nd, a redeployment from there all the way to
the Syrian frontier. He failed to address broad international
demands that he completely withdraw Syria's 15,000 troops after
nearly 30 years in Lebanon.
   (AP, 3/5/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 6, Hans Bethe
(b.1906), German-born peace worker and Nobel Prize winning physicist
(1967), died in Ithaca, NY. In the 1930s Bethe, one of the greatest
innovative theoretical physicists of our time, unraveled the
mysterious nuclear cycles by which stars produce prodigious amounts
of energy for billions of years without burning out.
   (SFC, 3/8/05, p.B5)(Econ, 3/19/05, p.90)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 6, Actress Teresa
Wright died in New Haven, Conn., at age 86.
   (AP, 3/6/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 6, In Bolivia
President Carlos Mesa said he would submit his resignation to
Congress after 17 months in office, warning that growing protests
against Bolivia's oil and gas laws could soon block the country's
highways and isolate its main cities.
   (AP, 3/7/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 6, China convened its
National People’s Congress.
   (WSJ, 3/7/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 6, Shanghai became the
1st Chinese city to levy a capital gains tax on the sale of private
property held for less than a year.
   (Econ, 3/26/05, p.73)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 6, Israeli
investigators said police had arrested 22 employees of a Tel Aviv
bank branch on suspicion they helped launder hundreds of millions of
dollars in one of the largest such rings in the country's history.
   (AP, 3/6/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 6, Giuliana Sgrena,
the Italian journalist wounded by American troops in Iraq after her
release by insurgents, rejected the U.S. military's account of the
shooting and declined to rule out the possibility she was
deliberately targeted. The White House called the shooting a
"horrific accident" and restated its promise to investigate fully.
   (AP, 3/6/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 6, Moldova held
national elections. Nine special stations were opened near the
border with Trans-Dniester so the separatist region's 700,000
residents can vote. Trans-Dniester authorities have refused to allow
any polling stations on their territory. The governing pro-Western
Communists won a parliamentary majority, but fell short of taking
enough seats to re-elect President Vladimir Voronin.
   (AP, 3/6/05)(AP, 3/7/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 6, In Norway 3 works
by Edvard Munch were stolen from a hotel, the second theft of the
renowned Norwegian's art in less than seven months.
   (AP, 3/7/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 6, Pakistani President
Pervez Musharraf, ending years of chilly relations with Uzbekistan,
promised to catch and extradite any Uzbek-born terrorist hiding in
his country.
   (AP, 3/6/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 6, Palestinian
militants shot and wounded two Israeli border policemen in an attack
on a military post near a West Bank shrine.
   (AP, 3/7/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 6, More than 15,000
protesters marched in Taiwan, denouncing China's planned
anti-secession law and pledging to fight what they claim is
Beijing's attempt to force this self-ruled, democratic island to
unify with the mainland.
   (AP, 3/6/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 6, In Turkey riot
police kicked and beat women and young people who had gathered for
an unauthorized demonstration in Istanbul marking International
Women's Day.
   (AP, 3/7/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 7, President Bush
named John R. Bolton (56), undersecretary of state for arms control
and international security, as US ambassador to the UN.
   (AP, 3/8/05)(SFC, 3/8/05, p.A10)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 7, Sony Corp. picked
Sir Howard Stringer (63), Welsh-born head of its US operations, to
replace chairman and CEO Nobuyuki Idei.
   (WSJ, 3/7/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 7, United Defense
Industries, maker of the Bradley Fighting Vehicle, agreed to merge
with British defense firm BAE Systems in a $4 billion deal.
   (SFC, 3/8/05, p.D1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 7, China said it will
keep controversial exchange-rate controls and hold down industrial
investment this year as it tries to rein in surging growth and
restrain inflation.
   (AP, 3/7/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 7, An international
human rights group said militiamen and renegade soldiers have raped
and beaten tens of thousands of women and young girls in eastern
Congo, and nearly all the crimes have gone unpunished by the
country's broken judicial system.
   (AP, 3/7/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 7, In the Dominican
Republic rival gangs fighting for control of a provincial prison set
pillows and sheets ablaze, starting a fire that killed 136 inmates
after rescuers were thwarted by a jammed entrance.
   (AP, 3/11/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 7, It was reported
that Indonesia’s army had killed 30 Aceh separatists over the past
week.
   (WSJ, 3/7/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 7, In Iraq guerrillas
launched a series of attacks that left 33 people dead and dozens
wounded.
   (AP, 3/7/05)(SFC, 3/8/05, p.A10)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 7, The presidents of
Lebanon and Syria announced that Syrian forces will pull back to
Lebanon's eastern Bekaa Valley by March 31, but a complete troop
withdrawal will be deferred until after later negotiations.
   (AP, 3/7/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 7, Authorities said
Nigerian police have rescued more than 100 children from child
traffickers over the last 3 days, including 56 discovered at a
checkpoint in a frozen food truck.
   (Reuters, 3/7/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 7, Officials in South
Africa's capital voted to rename the city Tshwane, retaining the
name Pretoria for the city center only.
   (AP, 3/7/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 7, A Turkish alcohol
company ordered the recall of millions of bottles of Turkish liquor
as the death toll from a bootleg version of the drink rose to at
least 17.
   (AP, 3/7/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 8, President Bush said
authoritarian rule in the Middle East had begun to ease, and he
insisted anew that Syria had to end its nearly three-decade
occupation of Lebanon.
   (AP, 3/8/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 8, Afghan gunmen
killed a British advisor in Kabul.
   (WSJ, 3/9/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 8, Bolivian lawmakers
unanimously rejected a resignation offer by President Carlos Mesa,
granting crucial support to his government.
   (AP, 3/9/05)(Econ, 3/12/05, p.39)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 8, Brazilian
prosecutors formally charged four men in the death of a 73-year-old
American nun who worked to defend poor rainforest communities.
Rayfran Neves Salles was charged with firing the six shots that
killed Dorothy Stang. Clodoaldo Batista was charged as an
accomplice. Two other men, Amair Feijoli and Vitalmiro Moura, were
charged with homicide.
   (AP, 3/8/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 8, China unveiled the
Taiwan Anti-Secession Law, authorizing an attack if Taiwan moves
toward formal independence, increasing pressure on the self-ruled
island while warning other countries not to interfere.
   (AP, 3/8/05)(Econ, 4/7/12, p.30)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 8, George Koronias,
top executive in Greece for Vodafone Group PLC, ordered a shutdown
of an illegal bugging program in Vodafone’s network in Greece. The
program took advantage of an interception feature in Ericsson
hardware use by Vodaphone.
   (WSJ, 6/21/06, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 8, In Guatemala City
hundreds of protesters blocked lawmakers from voting on a free-trade
agreement between Central America and the US and authorities said
they were prepared to send troops if the demonstrations continued.
   (AP, 3/8/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 8, In Iraq clashes
erupted between US troops and insurgents in the city of Ramadi,
leaving at least two people dead.
   (AP, 3/8/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 8, Kosovo's PM Ramush
Haradinaj resigned after being indicted by the U.N. war crimes
tribunal for his alleged part in atrocities during the fight against
Serb forces.
   (AP, 3/8/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 8, In Lebanon nearly
500,000 pro-Syrian protesters waved flags and chanted anti-American
slogans in a central Beirut square, answering a nationwide call by
the militant Shiite Muslim Hezbollah group.
   (AP, 3/8/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 8, Nepali police
arrested nearly two dozen activists, including former ministers, as
they rallied in the Himalayan kingdom's capital on in one of the
biggest protests since King Gyanendra seized power last month.
   (AP, 3/8/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 8, The parliament of
Nigeria, Africa's most-indebted nation, passed a nonbinding
resolution demanding Nigeria stop repaying its $35 billion foreign
debt.
   (AP, 3/9/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 8, A spokesman for
Russian forces said Chechen rebel leader Aslan Maskhadov has been
killed. Russia had offered a $10 million reward.
   (AP, 3/8/05)(WSJ, 3/16/05, p.A1)(Econ, 3/12/05,
p.84)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 8, In Madrid, Spain, a
summit on terrorism opened.
   (AP, 3/8/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 9, Dan Rather (73)
made his final news broadcast with CBS Evening News.
   (SFC, 3/10/05, p.A2)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 9, The acting boss of
the NYC Gambino family and at least 30 other mob figures were
arrested following an undercover FBI operation.
   (SFC, 3/10/05, p.A3)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 9, In Las Vegas 2
retired NYC police detectives, Louis Eppolito (56) and Stephen
Caracappa (63), were arrested on federal charges of taking part in 8
murders on behalf of the Mafia. In 2009 both men were sentenced to
life in prison.
   (SFC, 3/11/05, p.A3)(SFC, 3/7/09, p.A5)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 9, Michael Jackson's
young accuser took the witness stand, saying he once considered the
pop star being tried for allegedly molesting him "the coolest guy in
the world." Jackson was later acquitted.
   (AP, 3/9/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 9, Information broker
LexisNexis reported that thieves hacked into records and stole
personal data on some 310,000 US individuals.
   (SFC, 4/13/05, p.A4)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 9, Chris LeDoux (56),
rodeo star and country singer, died in Wyoming from complications of
liver cancer.
   (SFC, 3/10/05, p.B7)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 9, Senior officials
said China will use taxes from its fast-growing eastern cities to
help pay for rural social programs as it tries to close a widening
divide between rich and poor.
   (AP, 3/9/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 9, Colombia extradited
to the United States a top member of the South American country's
main rebel group, a woman known by the nom de guerre of Sonia and
accused of running the insurgents' drug trafficking business.
   (AP, 3/9/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 9, In Costa Rica
police stormed a bank in a hail of gunfire following a thwarted
robbery that turned into a 30-hour hostage standoff in the tourist
town of Santa Elena de Monteverde. Officials said nine people were
killed, including five bank customers.
   (AP, 3/10/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 9, Egypt’s parliament
agreed to amend the Constitution to allow for 1st time
multi-candidate balloting.
   (SFC, 3/10/05, p.A3)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 9, George Koronias,
top executive in Greece for Vodafone Group PLC, informed the prime
minister’s office that Vodafone’s network in Greece had been
infiltrated with tapping software targeting government leaders. The
bugging had begun around July, 2004, in the weeks before the
Olympics. Hours before the Koronias call Costas Tsalikidis, a
Vodaphone network manager, was found hanged in his Athens
apartment. In 2017 Europe's top human rights court faulted
Greece for failing to fully investigate the death of the telecoms
engineer.
   (WSJ, 6/21/06, p.A1)(Reuters, 11/17/17)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 9, Indonesia and East
Timor agreed to set up a commission to deal with atrocities
surrounding East Timor's 1999 vote for independence, despite
criticism led by the UN.
   (AP, 3/9/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 9, Iraqi officials
said that 41 bodies, some bullet-riddled, others beheaded, have been
found at two separate sites. They believe some of the corpses are
Iraqi soldiers kidnapped and killed by insurgents. 4 people were
killed in Baghdad when a suicide bomber drove an explosives-packed
truck into a hotel used by US contractors.
   (AP, 3/9/05)(WSJ, 3/10/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 9, President Bush's
envoy to Northern Ireland called for the IRA to disband after the
outlawed group made an unprecedented public offer to kill four men,
including two of its own expelled members, linked to a Belfast
slaying. The family of slain Northern Ireland man Robert McCartney
have said they had rejected the IRA's offer of vigilante justice
because only in court will "the truth come out."
   (AP, 3/9/05)(AFP, 3/9/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 9, An Israeli inquiry
into the establishment of unauthorized West Bank settlement outposts
found widespread complicity of successive Israeli governments and
recommended that prosecutors consider investigations some of those
involved.
   (AP, 3/9/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 9, In southern Mexico
a federal government helicopter searching for gunmen protecting drug
plantations crashed into a mountain, killing all nine soldiers and
two pilots onboard.
   (AP, 3/10/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 9, In the southern
Philippines at least 27 children died from food poisoning after
eating a deep-fried caramelized cassava snack at school. Evidence
later revealed that a pesticide in the snack was the cause of death.
   (AP, 3/9/05)(WSJ, 3/15/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 9, In South Africa
investigators began digging up the first of hundreds of unmarked
graves in a bid to close a chapter in South Africa's horrific
history.
   (AP, 3/9/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 9, An earthquake shook
parts of northern South Africa, trapping 16 miners underground.
   (AP, 3/9/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 9, Spanish serial
killer Alfredo Galan, nicknamed the "playing card assassin" because
he left a card at the scene of each murder, received jail sentences
totaling 142 years.
   (AP, 3/9/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 9, Jan Egeland, UN
humanitarian chief, said far more people have died in Sudan's
ravaged Darfur region than the 70,000 reported since last year, and
many of those deaths were from preventable causes like pneumonia and
diarrhea. Egeland said some 180,000 people died in Darfur over the
past 18 months from hunger and disease.
   (AP, 3/9/05)(Econ, 4/2/05, p.41)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 9, Syrian soldiers
flashed victory signs and waved automatic rifles as they drove east
through Lebanon's mountains in the first phase of a pullback.
Government lawmakers advised the president to bring back his
pro-Damascus prime minister who was forced by opposition protests to
resign.
   (AP, 3/9/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 10, The US EPA
approved new limits on power plant emissions in the Eastern US. The
EPA issued its Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR) to reduce air
pollution. Courts left its provisions intact but ordered the
EPA to come up with a better rule. The new Cross-State Air Pollution
rule (CSAPR) was due to go into effect Jan 1, 2012, but faced heavy
state and industrial opposition.
   (WSJ, 3/11/05, p.A1)(Econ, 10/15/11,
p.38)(http://www.epa.gov/cair/)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 10, The US Dept. of
Transportation authorized $150.3 million for the construction of a
$270 million tunnel to bypass Devil’s Slide on Highway 1 between
Pacifica and Montara. The cost increased to $439 million on
completion in 2013.
   (SFC, 3/11/05, p.A1)(SFC, 2/14/13, p.D1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 10, It was reported
that a Texas ranch has implemented a computer-assisted remote
hunting website allowing paying hunters to bag big game from their
home computers.
   (SFC, 3/10/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 10, Tens of thousands
of French workers marched on Paris and strikes crippled public
transport, embarrassing the government as Olympic officials visited
to assess the city's bid to host the 2012 Games.
   (AP, 3/10/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 10, Georgia lawmakers
voted unanimously for Russia to withdraw troops from soviet-era
bases by Jan 1.
   (WSJ, 3/11/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 10, Hong Kong's leader
said he tendered his resignation because of failing health and
repeatedly denied speculation China pushed him out in a bid to
tighten its grip on the former British colony.
   (AP, 3/10/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 10, Iran’s Pres.
Khatami began a 3-day visit to Venezuela and planned to strengthen
political and economic ties with Pres. Chavez.
   (WSJ, 3/10/05, p.A15)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 10, Iraq's main Shiite
party and a Kurdish bloc reached a deal that sets the stage for a
new government to be formed when the National Assembly convenes next
week.
   (AP, 3/10/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 10, In Baghdad, Iraq,
gunmen killed 2 district police chiefs and 2 others Iraqis. A
suicide attacker in Mosul set off a bomb that tore through a funeral
tent jammed with Shiite mourners. The attack killed 47 and wounded
more than 100.
   (AP, 3/10/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 10, Israeli troops
killed an Islamic Jihad Palestinian militant in a raid on a village
near the West Bank town of Jenin.
   (AP, 3/10/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 10, Kyrgyzstan
opposition parties united around former PM Kurmanbek, who will
coordinate national protests sparked by the 1st round of elections.
   (WSJ, 3/11/05, p.A9)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 10, Lebanon's
president, emboldened by a massive pro-Syria demonstration,
reinstated Omar Karami as PM, 10 days after the Damascus-backed
leader stepped down.
   (AP, 3/10/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 10, Pakistan's
information minister acknowledged that Abdul Qadeer Khan, a rogue
scientist at the heart of an international nuclear black market
investigation, gave centrifuges to Iran, but insisted the government
had nothing to do with the transfer.
   (AP, 3/10/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 10, At least 15
Russian servicemen were killed and 12 others were injured when a
federal helicopter crashed in Chechnya.
   (AP, 3/11/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 10, In Kigali, Rwanda,
a nine-judge community court handed down its first conviction of a
Rwandan accused of killings in the 1994 genocide, as authorities set
in motion a system of trials designed to speed the task of deciding
the guilt or innocence of the 63,000 people accused of taking part
in the government-orchestrated slaughter.
   (AP, 3/11/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 10, The UN panel
overseeing compensation for victims of Iraq's 1990 invasion of
Kuwait approved new awards worth $265 million, mostly to families of
people who died in Iraqi detention.
   (AP, 3/11/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 11, Pres. Bush
picked Johns Hopkins physicist Michael Griffin to lead NASA.
   (SFC, 3/12/05, p.A8)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 11, The US Commerce
Dept. reported the US trade deficit for January hit $58.3 billion.
It was just below the all-time high set in Nov, 2004.
   (SFC, 3/12/05, p.C1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 11, Maurice Greenberg,
president and CEO of AIG Int’l. Group, transferred 1.4 million
shares of AIG stock, valued at $2.68 billion, to his wife. He
resigned March 14 amid probes of the company’s accounting.
   (SFC, 4/14/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 11, Crude oil futures
prices climbed over $54 a barrel after the Int’l. Energy Agency
estimated global petroleum demand would grow faster than previously
expected in 2005.
   (AP, 3/13/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 11, In Georgia Brian
Nichols (33), on trial for rape, shot and killed Superior Court
Judge Rowland Barnes, court reporter Julie Ann Brandau and Deputy
Hoyt Teasley at the Fulton County Courthouse. He then killed
deferral agent David Wilhelm in Atlanta’s posh Buckhead
neighborhood. Nichols was captured the next day. In 2008 Nichols
pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. On Nov 7, 2008, Nichols
was convicted of murder. On Dec 13 he was sentenced to life in
prison without parole.
   (AP, 3/12/05)(SFC, 3/12/05, p.A1)(SFC, 9/23/08,
p.A4)(SFC, 11/7/08, p.A5)(SSFC, 12/14/08, p.A6)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 11, Canada’s Jetsgo
announced in the dead of night that it was going out of business and
grounding all flights immediately as thousands of passengers
prepared to jet away for March break, one of the busiest travel
periods of the year.
   (AP, 3/11/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 11, Miguel Rodriguez
Orejuela, co-founder of the Cali drug cartel, was sent in handcuffs
on a plane to the US to face trial for drug trafficking and related
charges. The cartel at its peak ruled the world's cocaine industry.
   (AP, 3/11/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 11, Germany’s
parliament tightened laws against neo-Nazi demonstrations.
   (SFC, 3/12/05, p.A3)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 11, In India
separatist rebels threw three grenades in the troubled state of
Assam, killing three people.
   (Reuters, 3/11/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 11, Moldova arrested
Valeriu Pasat, former defense minister, on suspicion of pocketing
$10 million during the 1997 sale of 21 MiG-29 fighter jets to the
US.
   (WSJ, 3/14/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 11, Nepal freed sacked
PM Sher Bahadur Deuba from house arrest, amid mounting international
pressure on the country's king to relinquish power and restore
democracy.
   (Reuters, 3/11/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 11, Pakistan's highest
Islamic court threw out the acquittal of five men convicted of
raping Mukhtar Mai in 2002 on orders from a village council, saying
a lower appeals court had no jurisdiction to rule on the case.
   (AP, 3/11/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 11, Garry Kasparov,
Russian chess master ranked No. 1 since 1984, announced his
retirement. His future plans included writing and political action,
which included a lead role in Committee 2008: Free Choice, a group
formed by liberal opposition leaders.
   (SFC, 3/12/05, p.A10)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 11, South Africa’s
Pres. Mbeki nominated Pius Langa to become chief justice when
incumbent Arthur Chaskalson retires in May. Langa would be the 1st
black to hold the office.
   (Econ, 3/19/05, p.54)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 11, The last Syrian
troops left northern Lebanon but left behind intelligence officers
in nine offices. The UN Mideast envoy said Syria needs to produce a
timetable for a full withdrawal from the rest of Lebanon. Since 1976
some 15,000 Syrian troops were killed in the Lebanese civil war.
Lebanese protests following the Feb 14 assassination of Rafik
Hariri, later dubbed the “cedar revolution,” forced Pres. Assad to
withdraw his army after a 30-year stay.
   (AP, 3/11/05)(Econ, 4/2/05, p.41)(Econ, 7/25/09,
SR p.11)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 11, Turkey’s state
institution over religious life issued a sermon to be preached at
some 75,000 officially registered mosques on the dangers posed to
national unity by Christian missionaries.
   (Econ, 6/25/05, p.49)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 12, Brian Nichols,
suspected in the slayings of a judge and three other people,
surrendered to authorities in suburban Atlanta after allegedly
holding Ashley Smith hostage in her own apartment.
   (AP, 3/12/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 12, It was reported
that Bernardo Huberman, researcher at Hewlett-Packard, had described
software called Tycoon for directing computons on computing grids.
He used the term “computon” to describe a packet of electromagnetic
energy.
   (Econ, 3/12/05, TQ p.6)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 12, In Brookfield,
Wisconsin, Terry Ratzmann (44) opened fire with a handgun during an
evangelical church service at a suburban Milwaukee hotel, killing 7
people before taking his own life.
   (AP, 3/13/05)(SFC, 3/14/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 12, Algeria's minister
for energy and mines said OPEC has reached its production limit, and
trying to stretch output by one million barrels per day isn't likely
to lower oil prices.
   (AP, 3/12/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 12, Britain's
governing Labour Party claimed victory for pushing through its
contentious anti-terrorism law after an acrimonious two-day debate
in Parliament.
   (AP, 3/12/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 12, Ayman Nour,
Egyptian opposition leader and presidential hopeful, walked out of
Cairo's central security headquarters and was whisked to the
shoulders of his supporters after posting bail.
   (AP, 3/12/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 12, Customers of the
German Edeka supermarket chain will soon be able to pay for their
shopping by placing their finger on a scanner at the check-out,
saving up to 40 seconds spent scrabbling for coins or cards.
   (Reuters, 3/12/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 12, In Greece Karolos
Papoulias (75), a former foreign minister, was sworn as the nation’s
6th president.
   (AP, 3/12/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 12, Donald Tsang,
career bureaucrat, took office as interim leader of Hong Kong.
   (SSFC, 3/13/05, p.A16)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 12, In India 16 people
were drowned and nine were feared dead in Gujarat when a bus fell
into a canal after the driver lost control.
   (AP, 3/13/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 12, In Iraq gunmen
shot to death three policemen and wounded a 4th at a funeral
procession in the northern city of Mosul. 2 US security contractors
were killed by a roadside bomb south of Baghdad.
   (AP, 3/12/05)(WSJ, 3/14/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 12, It was reported
that Lebanese have been switching their savings from Lebanese pounds
to the safety of the dollar for fear the local currency will
collapse, as it did during the war. The Central Bank has unloaded
hundreds of millions of dollars to shore up the pound.
   (AP, 3/12/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 12, The Hamas militant
group announced it will participate in Palestinian parliamentary
elections.
   (AP, 3/12/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 12, In Portugal Jose
Socrates was sworn in as PM vowing to keep friendly ties with the US
despite naming a foreign minister who has compared Pres. Bush to
Adolf Hitler.
   (AP, 3/12/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 12, Spanish police
said they had cracked a money-laundering operation worth up to 250
million euros ($335.8 million) which might have links to YUKOS, but
had not specified what those links might be.
   (AP, 3/13/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 12, In Lenzerheide,
Switzerland, Bode Miller became the first American in 22 years to
win skiing's overall World Cup title.
   (AP, 3/12/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 12, Turkish
authorities closed the Bosporus Strait to maritime traffic after a
roll-on-roll-off (ro-ro) vessel carrying 7 tanker trucks loaded with
138 tons of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) sank in the narrow
waterway, which separates the European and Asian sides of Istanbul.
   (AP, 3/13/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 12, Ukraine withdrew
150 servicemen from Iraq, starting a gradual pullout that officials
have said will be completed by October.
   (AP, 3/12/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 12, In central Vietnam
an express passenger train derailed, killing at least 11 people and
injuring some 200.
   (Reuters, 3/12/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 13, The Disney Corp.
board of directors named Robert Iger to succeed Michael Eisner in
October.
   (WSJ, 3/14/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 13, In southern Brazil
a tourist-filled bus crashed into a logging truck, killing seven
people and injuring at least 20.
   (AP, 3/13/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 13, Paul Schaefer
(83), former head of a secretive German colony in southern Chile,
was flown to Santiago after his arrest in Argentina. Schaefer
founded Colonia Dignidad, or Dignity Colony, a commune-like enclave
in 1961, and is accused in the disappearance of a dissident under
dictator Gen. Augusto Pinochet.
   (AP, 3/13/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 13, In India at least
19 people were killed and 15 injured when a bus skidded off a
mountain road into a deep gorge in Uttaranchal.
   (AP, 3/13/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 13, Israel's Cabinet
adopted a report on the state's complicity in setting up 105 illegal
West Bank settlement outposts and decided to dismantle 24 of them.
   (AP, 3/13/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 13, Kyrgyzstan held
parliamentary runoff elections amid rising tension over signs the
longtime leader plans to extend his rule beyond constitutional
limits. President Askar Akayev (60) won an overwhelmingly loyal
Parliament in runoff elections. The opposition won 6 of 75 seats and
said the vote was riddled with abuses.
   (AP, 3/14/05)(SFC, 3/15/05, p.A3)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 13, Vigilantes in
Oaxaca, Mexico, killed a state police officer setting him on fire in
revenge for the shooting of a taxi driver in a barroom brawl.
   (AP, 3/13/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 13, Saudi police
killed an alleged Islamic militant and arrested three others in a
shootout at a suspected terror cell hideout in the Red Sea city of
Jiddah.
   (AP, 3/13/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 13, In Musina, South
Africa, thousands of protesters held an 18-hour vigil on the border
with Zimbabwe to demonstrate against mounting repression in the
neighboring country two weeks before a key parliamentary election
there.
   (AP, 3/13/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 13, Pope John Paul II
was released from the hospital and returned to his Vatican apartment
overlooking St. Peter's Square.
   (AP, 3/13/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 13, Venezuela
announced that it would seize parts of 4 large estates, some 270,000
acres of farmland, after finding irregularities in their ownership
status.
   (WSJ, 3/15/05, p.A18)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 14, The US government
in Operation Community Shield announced the arrests in 7 cities of
103 members of MS-13, Mara Salvatrucha, a street gang rooted in
Central America.
   (SFC, 3/15/05, p.A5)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 14, San Francisco
Superior Court Judge Richard Kramer declared California’s ban on
same-sex marriage unconstitutional.
   (SFC, 3/15/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 14, U2, The
Pretenders, The O'Jays, Percy Sledge and blues legend Buddy Guy were
inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
   (AP, 3/14/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 14, Jim Cramer began
hosting Mad Money, an American business television program, on the
CNBC cable/satellite TV channel.
   (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mad_Money)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 14, Health Day News
reported that an experimental drug that stops cancer cell division
and triggers tumor death has been developed by researchers at Temple
University. The drug, called ON01910, interferes with the activity
of a gene called Plk1.
   (HDN, 3/15/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 14, Experts said
poachers are killing between 6,000 and 12,000 elephants a year to
supply illegal ivory markets in Sudan to meet growing Chinese
demand. Most of the elephants are killed in southern Sudan, Congo
and the Central African Republic, with some ivory also coming from
Kenya and Chad.
   (AP, 3/14/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 14, Voters in Central
African Republic cast ballots for president in the first poll since
rebels seized the capital two years ago. Gen. Francois Bozize, the
former army officer-turned-insurgent who now presides over the
country, was considered the front-runner in a field of 11.
   (AP, 3/14/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 14, China's parliament
enacted a law authorizing force to stop rival Taiwan from pursuing
formal independence.
   (AP, 3/14/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 14, Protesters across
Guatemala denounced a regional free trade deal with the US closed
schools, blocked highways and clashed with police in confrontations
that left 19 people injured and two arrested.
   (AP, 3/14/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 14, UN
Secretary-General Kofi Annan said the United Nations is establishing
a register of property damage caused by Israel's West Bank
separation barrier. Hundreds of Palestinians protested the barrier
outside the walled Palestinian government compound where he spoke.
   (AP, 3/14/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 14, Akira Yoshizawa
(94), an origami master whose expressive paper gorillas made an art
out of Japan's craft tradition, died of heart failure and pneumonia.
   (AP, 4/3/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 14, Hundreds of
thousands of opposition demonstrators chanted "Freedom, sovereignty,
independence" and unfurled a huge Lebanese flag in Beirut, the
biggest protest yet in the opposition's duel of street rallies with
supporters of the Damascus-backed government. The “March 14 Forces,”
advocates of Syrian withdrawal, grew from this demonstration.
   (AP, 3/14/05)(Econ, 7/29/06, p.43)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 14, The Hague tribunal
indicted former Macedonian Interior Minister Ljube Boskovski for war
crimes.
   (AP, 3/14/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 14, Sam Nujoma, the
first president of Namibia, retired.
   (http://asi.ndi.org/delegates/delegates.asp)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 14, A group of
Muslim-extremist inmates accused of carrying out some of the
Philippines' worst terrorist attacks agreed to surrender after a
botched jailbreak left at least 5 people dead. The deal later broke
down when the inmates demanded dinner first.
   (AP, 3/14/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 14, The U.N. tribunal
for Rwanda sentenced Vincent Rutaganira, a former local leader, to
six years in prison after he pleaded guilty to a charge of
extermination by omission under a plea bargain with prosecutors.
   (Reuters, 3/14/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 14, Zimbabwe's Supreme
Court quashed a ban on the independent Daily News newspaper, known
for its anti-government line, but upheld a controversial media law
that has forced three other newspapers to close down.
   (AP, 3/14/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 15, A US Senate
investigators released a new report that said 9 US banks, including
Citigroup, Bank of America, and Riggs Bank, enabled Augusto
Pinochet, former Chilean dictator, and family members to build a
secret network of accounts to conceal his wealth. DC-based Riggs
Bank merged with PNC Financial following the inquiry, which also
revealed that Pinochet and Obiang Nguema, president of Equatorial
Guinea, had stashed millions in private accounts there.
   (WSJ, 3/16/05,
p.A2)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riggs_Bank)(Econ, 3/14/09, p.63)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 15, The US charged 18
people with a scheme to smuggle shoulder-fired missiles and other
military gear from former Soviet states. One person was still at
large.
   (WSJ, 3/16/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 15, A NY federal jury
found Bernard Ebbers (63), former head of WorldCom, guilty on all 9
counts against him, including securities fraud, conspiracy and lying
to regulators. He was later sentenced to 25 years in prison.
   (SFC, 3/16/05, p.C1)(AP, 3/15/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 15, Birk McCandless
(57), Silicon Valley restaurant owner and developer, was stabbed to
death. Nan Yang (27) was arrested as a suspect. On Sep 20 a jury
convicted Yang of second-degree murder. In 2006 Yang was sentenced
to 26 years to life in prison.
   (SFC, 3/17/05, p.B4)(SFC, 9/21/06, p.B3)(SFC,
11/11/06, p.B3)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 15, British and
Spanish scientists reported that they have discovered how green tea
helps to prevent certain types of cancer. They showed that a
compound called EGCG in green tea prevents cancer cells from growing
by binding to a specific enzyme.
   (AP, 3/15/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 15, It was noted that
Israeli researchers had found that pomegranate juice, 8 ounces a
day, helps lower cholesterol.
   (WSJ, 3/15/05, p.D4)(WSJ, 4/5/05, p.D4)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 15, Bolivia's
embattled President Carlos Mesa asked the country's legislature to
authorize an early presidential election this summer, saying he can
no longer govern among growing protests and road blockades.
   (AP, 3/16/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 15, Hong Kong press
reported that Zhang Enzhou was removed as president of China
Construction Bank (CCB), China’s 3rd largest bank, allegedly for
taking bribes.
   (Econ, 3/19/05, p.79)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 15, A French court
gave the maximum 10-year prison sentence to Djamel Beghal
(39), the ringleader of an alleged plot to send a suicide
bomber into the US Embassy in Paris. The court also sentenced 5
other defendants in the case to 1-9 year prison terms. Beghal
testified that his confession of a plan to send a suicide bomber
into the U.S. Embassy was obtained under torture after his July 2001
arrest in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. He was extradited to France
two months later and retracted that confession.
   (AP, 3/15/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 15, Three car bombs
exploded in Baghdad, killing at least 5 people.
   (AP, 3/15/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 15, Pres. Berlusconi
announced that Italy would begin pulling its 3,300 troops out of
Iraq in September. The next day he said the withdrawal date was
merely a hope.
   (AP, 3/16/05)(Econ, 3/19/05, p.56)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 15, Pakistan issued
release orders for 589 Indian prisoners as a gesture of goodwill
towards New Delhi.
   (Reuters, 3/15/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 15, In the Philippines
some of the country's most hardened terror suspects were killed in a
failed prison uprising that left 28 people dead. The inmates at Camp
Bagong Diwa in suburban Manila had agreed to surrender after their
failed jailbreak a day earlier, but the deal broke down when they
demanded food first.
   (AP, 3/15/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 16, Pres. Bush said he
plans to nominate Paul Wolfowitz, deputy defense secretary, to
become the next president of the World Bank.
   (SFC, 3/17/05, p.A3)(Econ, 3/19/05, p.15)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 16, It was reported
that the US deficit had widened to 6.3% of GDP in the 4th quarter
and that America would have to borrow a net $750 billion to sustain
it.
   (Econ, 3/19/05, p.78)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 16, The US Senate
voted 51-49 to drill for oil in Alaska.
   (WSJ, 3/17/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 16, A jury in Los
Angeles acquitted actor Robert Blake of murder in the shooting death
of his wife, Bonny Lee Bakley, four years earlier. A civil court
jury later ordered Blake to pay $30 million to Bakley's four
children; Blake has since filed for bankruptcy.
   (AP, 3/16/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 16, In California a
judge sentenced a Scott Peterson (32) to death for the 2002 murder
of his wife and unborn son.
   (AP, 3/17/05)(SFC, 3/17/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 16, Norway's Robert
Sorlie won his second Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in one of the
closest races in years.
   (AP, 3/16/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 16, It was reported
that a Texas study found a correlation between the amount of mercury
pollution and the number of autism cases.
   (WSJ, 3/17/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 16, Tropical Cyclone
Ingrid flattened Faraway Resort, a tourist resort built to showcase
the beauty of northern Australia.
   (AP, 3/16/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 16, China's central
bank tightened mortgage lending rules to raise the cost of borrowing
for home loans in an effort to cool the sizzling property market.
   (AP, 3/17/05)(WSJ, 3/31/05, p.A9)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 16, UN peacekeepers
charged that militiamen in northeast Congo grilled bodies on a spit
and boiled two girls alive as their mother watched, adding
cannibalism to a list of atrocities allegedly carried out by Lendu
warriors.
   (AP, 3/17/05)(Econ, 3/12/05, p.49)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 16, Iraq's first
freely elected parliament in half a century began its opening
session after a series of explosions targeted the gathering.
   (AP, 3/16/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 16, Israeli troops
handed Jericho to Palestinian security control, dismantling a
checkpoint and easing travel restrictions in what was seen as a
message to ordinary Palestinians that an informal truce is starting
to pay off.
   (AP, 3/16/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 16, Puerto Rico Gov.
Anibal Acevedo Vila unveiled proposals to eliminate more than 23,000
government jobs and close several public agencies, vowing to pull
Puerto Rico out of a cycle of budget deficits and debt.
   (AP, 3/16/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 16, A Russian
turboprop airliner carrying at least 52 people crashed and caught
fire while trying to land near an oil port along the Arctic coast.
At least 29 people, mostly Yukoil workers, were killed.
   (AP, 3/16/05)(WSJ, 3/17/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 17, US Congressional
hearings began on steroid use among baseball players. Baseball
players told Congress that steroids were a problem in the sport;
stars Rafael Palmeiro and Sammy Sosa testified they hadn't used them
while Mark McGwire refused to say whether he had.
   (SFC, 3/18/05, p.A1)(AP, 3/17/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 17, Rapper Lil' Kim
was convicted of lying to a grand jury about a shootout outside a
New York radio station. Lil' Kim started serving her 366-day
sentence just before her fourth album was released in September
2005.
   (AP, 3/17/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 17, Toys R Us agreed
to become a privately owned company in a $6.6 billion buyout deal
that included 2 equity firms and a real estate developer.
   (SFC, 3/18/05, p.C1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 17, George F. Kennan
(b.1904), former US diplomat and historian, died. In 1947 Kennan
wrote an article that would guide US postwar policy (containment)
for decades. He proposed in the piece signed "X" that the US stop
the global spread of Communism through ideology and politics, not
war. His books included "Russia Leaves the War" (1956). In 2007 John
Lukacs authored “George Kennan: A Study of Character.” In 2009
Nicholas Thompson authored “The Hawk and the Dove: Paul Nitze,
George Kennan, and the History of the Cold War.” In 2011 John Lewis
authored “George F. Kennan: An American Life.”
   (AP, 3/18/05)(SFC, 3/18/05, p.A2)(Econ, 3/26/05,
p.85)(SSFC, 4/8/07, p.M3)(Econ, 10/17/09, p.98)(Econ, 11/12/11,
p.97)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 17, In Afghanistan a
bomb exploded near a taxi carrying women and children in the
southern city of Kandahar, killing at least five people and
wounding.
   (AP, 3/17/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 17, President Fidel
Castro announced a 7 percent revaluation of Cuba's national
currency, giving Cubans slightly more buying power as the
communist-run island moves to reassert greater control over its
economy.
   (AP, 3/17/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 17, Italian airline
Alitalia SpA said that the latest strike by flight attendants could
plunge the struggling carrier into bankruptcy.
   (AP, 3/17/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 17, In Pakistan’s
Baluchistan province 17 minority Hindus were killed when their
temple was hit by rockets during fighting between renegade tribesmen
and security forces in Dera Bugti. Officials later said up to 45
people, including eight soldiers, were killed in the clashes between
the Frontier Corps troops and Bugti tribesmen. Of the 67 people
killed about half died when the ghetto was shelled by government
forces.
   (AP, 3/21/05)(Econ, 5/7/05, p.37)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 17, Palestinian
militants declared a halt to attacks on Israel for the rest of this
year, their longest cease-fire promise ever and a victory for
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas.
   (AP, 3/17/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 17, Anatoly Chubais,
head of Russia’s state-controlled Unified Energy Systems power grid,
was ambushed on his way to work near his country home outside Moscow
by assailants who detonated a bomb and raked his armored car with
automatic weapons fire. No one was hurt. In September prosecutors
indicted 3 former servicemen in connection with the attempted
assassination. Formal charges were filed against retired military
intelligence colonel, Vladimir Kvachkov, and former paratroopers
Robert Yashin and Alexander Naidyonov.
   (AP, 9/27/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 17, Stephane Lambiel
of Switzerland won the men's title at the World Figure Skating
Championships in Moscow.
   (AP, 3/17/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 17, Zimbabwe's highest
court barred 3.4 million citizens living abroad, over 20 percent of
the country's population, from voting in this month's parliamentary
elections.
   (AP, 3/18/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 18, The US State
Department said it had denied a diplomatic visa to the Hindu
nationalist chief minister of Gujarat state, Narendra Modi, and
revoked his existing tourist/business visa under the U.S.
Immigration and Nationality Act due to his role in religious riots
in 2002.
   (AP, 3/19/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 18, Standard &
Poor’s said the public debt in America, Germany and France was about
65% of GDP.
   (Econ, 3/26/05, p.75)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 18, Former Connecticut
3-term Gov. John G. Rowland was sentenced to a year in prison after
pleading guilty to a single federal corruption charge.
   (SFC, 3/19/05, p.A4)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 18, Doctors in Florida
removed the feeding tube of Terri Schiavo (41) despite efforts by
congressional Republicans to halt the process. The brain-damaged
woman died on March 31, 2005, at age 41.
   (SFC, 3/19/05, p.A1)(AP, 3/18/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 18, The S&P 500
index was revised after the market close to change the weightings of
many of its shares. The SmallCap 600 and MidCap 400 made the same
changes.
   (SFC, 3/18/05, p.C3)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 18, Wal-Mart agreed to
pay a record $11 million to settle a civil immigration case for
using illegal immigrants to clean floors at stores in 21 states.
   (SFC, 3/19/05, p.C1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 18, Sol Linowitz (91),
US diplomat, died. In 1977 he negotiated the 1999 transfer of the
Panama Canal to Panama.
   (WSJ, 3/21/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 18, A
Cambodian-Japanese joint venture, JC Royal, was awarded a 30-year
management lease to oversee and upgrade the Choeung Ek memorial,
site of the killing fields (1975-1979). Profits were marked for the
unregistered Sun Fund charity.
   (Econ, 5/14/05, p.45)(http://tinyurl.com/dlpm7)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 18, World donors
approved $1 billion in aid projects for Haiti, promising to repair
its roads and rebuild its battered power grid, in an effort to help
the Western Hemisphere's poorest nation as it prepares for fall
elections.
   (AP, 3/19/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 18, Israel welcomed a
temporary truce declared by Palestinian militants and promised to
hold its fire in return, but demanded that the Palestinian Authority
eventually dismantle the armed groups.
   (AP, 3/18/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 18, King Abdullah II
of Jordan proposed a new peace strategy that drops traditional Arab
demands that Israel give up all land seized in the 1967 war and
offers the Jewish state normalized relations with Arab countries.
   (AP, 3/19/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 18, In Kiev
prosecutors said Ukrainian weapons dealers smuggled 18
nuclear-capable cruise missiles to Iran and China in 2001 during
former President Leonid Kuchma's administration.
   (AP, 3/18/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 18, In Pakistan’s
Baluchistan province bombs exploded in two trains killing two people
and wounding nine.
   (AP, 3/18/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 18, Former Solomon
Islands warlord Harold Keke and two other men were sentenced to life
in prison for the 2002 murder of a Catholic priest.
   (AFP, 3/18/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 19, In Florida the
body of missing Jessica Lunsford (9) was found, a day after
officials said John Evander Couey (46), a registered sex offender,
confessed to kidnapping and killing the girl. [see Feb 23] On June
30, 2006, a judge ruled that John Couey's taped confession is
inadmissible in court and will not be heard by members of the jury.
The decision was based on the fact that, at the time the confession
was recorded, police had not granted Couey's repeated requests for
access to a lawyer. It was ruled that all evidence collected after
Couey's confession, including the recovery of Lunsford's body, will
be allowed in court, as will incriminating statements made by Couey
to investigators and a jail guard. The Jessica Lunsford Act was
named after her. It requires tighter restrictions on sex offenders
(such as wearing electronic tracking devices) and increases prison
sentences for some convicted sex offenders. Jessica's Law refers to
similar reform acts initiated by the states. In 2007 a jury decided
that Couey should get the death penalty. On Aug 24 a judge sentenced
Couey to death.
   (AP,
3/19/05)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jessica_Lunsford)(SFC,
8/25/07, p.A3)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 19, The 42-room
Redstone Castle in the mountains near Aspen was auctioned for $4
million, two years after the IRS seized the century-old mansion in a
fraud investigation. It was completed in 1902 by coal baron John
Cleveland Osgood, who died in the castle he named Cleveholm Manor.
   (AP, 3/19/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 19, In Colorado an
explosion at the Electric Mountain Lodge, 230 miles SW of Denver,
left 3 children dead. Propane gas was suspected.
   (SFC, 3/21/05, p.A3)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 19, It was reported
that Agence France-Presse has sued Google Inc. for copyright
infringement, alleging that the Internet search engine included AFP
headlines, news summaries and photographs published without
permission.
   (AFP, 3/19/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 19, John Z. DeLorean
(80), developer of the gull-winged sports car, died in Michigan. He
quit GM in 1973 to launch the DeLorean Motor Car Co. in Northern
Ireland. Eight years later, the DeLorean DMC-12 hit the streets.
8,900 cars were built.
   (AP, 3/21/05)(SFC, 3/21/05, p.A2)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 19, A blast at the
Xishui Colliery in Shuozhou, in a major coal-mining area in Shanxi
province, left at least 60 miners dead.
   (AP, 3/20/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 19, Congo soldiers
arrested Thomas Lubanga, a warlord accused of years of atrocities in
eastern Congo, where UN officials say rival militias have created
the world's worst ongoing humanitarian crisis.
   (AP, 3/22/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 19, Tens of thousands
of anti-war protesters demonstrated across Europe to mark the second
anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, with 45,000 marching
from London's Hyde Park past the American Embassy.
   (AP, 3/19/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 19, Hindu nationalists
set fire to a PepsiCo warehouse in western India to protest the US
denial of a visa for a top state official due to his role in
religious riots in 2002.
   (AP, 3/19/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 19, In Iraq attackers
gunned down a police officer in Kirkuk, then bombed a funeral
procession carrying his corpse, killing three other policemen and
wounding two.
   (AP, 3/19/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 19, In Iraq a
previously unknown militant group posted a video on the Internet on
purporting to show 2 Egyptian engineers kidnapped for allegedly
supporting US forces.
   (AP, 3/19/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 19, Jordan, under
pressure from other Arab countries, accepted amendments to its
contentious proposal that was designed to revise Arab demands on
Israel in return for normal relations.
   (AP, 3/19/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 19, In Pakistan’s
Baluchistan province a bomb exploded as minority Shiite Muslims
congregated at a shrine in a remote town, killing at least 39 people
and wounding 16.
   (AFP, 3/19/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 19, In Qatar a suicide
car bomb attack on a Doha theater killed one Briton. The next day
Qatar blamed an Egyptian for the attack.
   (AP, 3/20/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 19, Irina Slutskaya
won the gold medal for the second time at the World Figure Skating
Championships, held in Moscow; Sasha Cohen of the United States won
the silver medal for the second straight year.
   (AP, 3/19/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 20, Severe flooding
caused by snowmelt and torrential rains across Afghanistan left
nearly 20 dead and thousands homeless.
   (AFP, 3/20/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 20, In Bangladesh
about 15,000 people were left homeless after twin tornadoes
simultaneously tore through northern Gaibandha and Rangpur
districts, killing 55 people and wounding 1,000 others.
   (SFC, 3/26/05, p.D10)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 20, UN forces raided a
police station occupied by armed former soldiers in Petit-Goave, 45
miles west of Port-au-Prince, setting of a gunbattle that killed two
former soldiers and one Sri Lankan peacekeeper.
   (AP, 3/21/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 20, Insurgents
targeted Iraqi security forces and government buildings with
gunfire, suicide bomb attacks and mortar rounds, leaving at least
five people dead. A bomb blast near Kirkuk killed a U.S. soldier and
wounded three. US troops killed 26 militants following an attack on
a convoy SE of Baghdad.
   (AP, 3/20/05)(AP, 3/21/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 20, A magnitude 7.0
earthquake struck off the coast of southern Japan, killing one
person and injuring at least 381 others.
   (AP, 3/20/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 20, In Jordan an
appeals court has overturned the conviction of a Jordanian found
guilty of financing Abu-Musab al-Zarqawi's insurgent group in Iraq.
The Court of Cassation said the Oct. 31 conviction of Bilal Mansur
al-Hiyari by the military State Security Court "fell short of
adequate justifications and causes."
   (AP, 6/7/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 20, In Kyrgyzstan
protesters stormed a police station in Jalal-Abad forcing officers
to flee, a day after baton-wielding police evicted demonstrators
from two government buildings they had occupied to protest alleged
election fraud. 4 policemen were reported killed.
   (AP, 3/20/05)(WSJ, 3/21/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 20, A visibly
frustrated Pope John Paul made a brief but silent appearance at his
Vatican apartment window after missing his first Palm Sunday Mass in
26 years as pontiff.
   (AP, 3/20/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 21, Pres. Bush in the
early hours signed an emergency bill called the “Palm Sunday
Compromise” to permit the reinsertion of a feeding tube to keep
Terri Schiavo alive in Florida.
   (SFC, 3/21/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 21, The US State
Department said the US is suspending about $2 million in military
assistance to Nicaragua because President Enrique Bolanos has not
followed through on a promise to destroy surface-to-air-missiles.
   (AP, 3/21/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 21, Barry Diller's
electronic commerce company IAC/InterActiveCorp announced that it is
buying online search engine Ask Jeeves Inc. for $1.9 billion and
taking aim at the Internet's advertising market leaders.
   (Econ, 3/26/05, p.66)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 21, Justin Mendoza of
Daly City was shot and killed outside the Café Cocomo nightclub in
SF. In 2008 Gerry Phongboupha (25) was convicted of 1st degree
murder and other charges in connection to Mendoza’s murder.
   (SFC, 4/16/08, p.B5)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 21, In northern
Minnesota Jeff Weise (17) gunned down five students, a teacher and a
guard at Red Lake High School. The teen's grandfather and his
grandfather's wife also were found dead, and the boy killed himself.
   (AP, 3/22/05)(SFC, 3/22/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 21, Bobby Short (80),
Cabaret singer who embodied the NYC style and sophistication, died.
He was a fixture at his piano in the Carlyle Hotel for more than 35
years.
   (AP, 3/21/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 21, The BBC announced
plans to cut almost 4,000 jobs to save hundreds of millions of
pounds, as the world's biggest public broadcaster undergoes a major
shake-up.
   (AP, 3/21/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 21, In Estonia PM
Juhan parts (38) resigned after lawmakers said they had no
confidence in his justice minister, Ken-Marti Vaher, due to an
anti-corruption plan. Pres. Arnold Ruutel had 2 weeks to nominate a
new prime minister.
   (SFC, 3/22/05, p.A3)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 21, Iceland's
Parliament awarded citizenship to chess champion Bobby Fischer.
   (AP, 3/23/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 21, India’s PM
Manmohan Singh vowed to do whatever is necessary to sustain economic
growth of between 7 and 8 percent to help the 260 million Indians
living in poverty.
   (AP, 3/21/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 21, India’s foreign
ministry in New Delhi said very young and elderly Pakistanis
visiting India will receive visas on arrival from April 1.
   (Reuters, 3/21/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 21, A top security
official said Indonesia plans to formally outlaw the al-Qaida-linked
terror group Jemaah Islamiyah, a move that will make it easier for
authorities to arrest and prosecute militants in the world's most
populous Muslim nation.
   (AP, 3/21/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 21, Insurgent attacks
across Iraq left seven civilians and three Iraqi soldiers dead.
   (AP, 3/21/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 21, Iraqi officials at
the morgue in the southeastern city of Kut said the facility
received the bodies of six slain Iraqi army soldiers, five collected
together, one separately.
   (AP, 3/22/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 21, Israeli and
Palestinian negotiators reached agreement on handing over control of
the West Bank town of Tulkarem to Palestinian security forces.
   (AP, 3/21/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 21, South Korea news
reported that North Korea said it has increased its nuclear arsenal
to help prevent a US attack.
   (AP, 3/21/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 21, It was reported
that measles in Nigeria had killed 529 people this year.
   (WSJ, 3/21/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 21, UN
Secretary-General Kofi Annan proposed a new Human Rights Council, a
smaller body that would meet year-round.
  Â
(http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2005/sgsm9772.doc.htm)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 22, World Water Day.
The UN General Assembly adopted resolution A/RES/47/193 of 22
December 1992 by which 22 March of each year was declared World Day
for Water, to be observed starting in 1993.
  Â
(www.unesco.org/water/water_celebrations/index.shtml)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 22, The US Federal
Reserve raised its fed funds rate a quarter point to 2.75%.
   (SFC, 3/23/05, p.C1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 22, A federal judge in
Florida refused to order the reinsertion of Terri Schiavo's feeding
tube, denying an emergency request from the brain-damaged woman's
parents.
   (AP, 3/22/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 22, Iowa enacted a law
requiring an ID check and signature before the sale of cold remedies
containing an ingredient for methamphetamine.
   (WSJ, 3/23/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 22, Anna Ayala of Las
Vegas claimed that she bit into a piece of human finger while eating
chili at a Wendy’s restaurant in San Jose, Ca. Ayala was arrested on
Apr 21 on suspicion of attempted grand theft. Police later reported
the finger came from an acquaintance of Ayala’s husband, who lost it
in an industrial accident. Ayala and her husband Jaime Placencia
pleaded guilty to all charges on Sep 9. In 2006 both were sentenced
to 9 years in prison and ordered top pay $21.2 million in
restitution to Wendy’s Int’l.
   (SFC, 3/25/05, p.A1)(SFC, 5/14/05, p.A1)(SFC,
9/10/05, p.A1)(SFC, 1/19/06, p.B1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 22, IBM unveiled new
anti-span technology called FairUCE. It used a giant database to
identify computers sending spam and returned e-mails from those
listed back to the sending machine.
   (WSJ, 3/22/05, p.B1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 22, Officials from the
ministry of health and the World Health Organization (WHO) said a
deadly haemorrhagic fever that has claimed the lives of 96 people,
mainly children, in Angola's northern Uige province has been
identified as the rare Marburg virus.
  Â
(www.meritcare.com/news/world/viewarticle.asp?id=18843)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 22, Astronomers
reported a faint heat glow from giant planets circling distant
stars.
   (SFC, 3/23/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 22, In Afghanistan US
warplanes killed five suspected Taliban or al-Qaida militants near
the Pakistani border after guerrillas launched an overnight rocket
and gun attack on American and Afghan military positions.
   (AP, 3/23/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 22, In Afghanistan
US-led forces trying to capture a suspected Taliban militant got
into a firefight that left seven people dead, including two children
and a woman.
   (AP, 3/24/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 22, French lawmakers
voted to dismantle the 35-hour workweek.
   (SFC, 3/23/05, p.A10)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 22, Gunmen in
Port-au-Prince opened fire on the house of Haiti's justice minister,
killing a police officer in a brazen attack that underscored the
country's shaky security climate.
   (AP, 3/23/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 22, India said it has
reached a basic agreement with Japan on the joint development of
natural gas off the Andaman Islands in the Bay of Bengal.
   (AFP, 3/26/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 22, Militants targeted
a US patrol with a roadside bomb that killed four nearby civilians
in the northern city of Mosul. In Baghdad private citizens struck an
insurgent patrol carrying grenades and killed 3 in a gun battle.
   (AP, 3/22/05)(SFC, 3/23/05, p.A3)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 22, Iraqi and US
forces killed 80 militants in a battle west of Tikrit.
   (AP, 3/23/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 22, Israel completed
its handover of the West Bank town of Tulkarem to Palestinian
security control.
   (AP, 3/22/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 22, Kenzo Tange (91),
Japanese architect, died. His work included the stadiums for the
1964 Tokyo Olympics.
   (SFC, 3/23/05, p.B7)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 22, A Jordanian
military court convicted three Iraqis of smuggling rockets and hand
grenades into the kingdom in connection with a plot to attack U.S.
and Israeli targets.
   (AP, 3/22/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 22, Kyrgyzstan
President Askar Akayev's spokesman said protests sweeping are part
of a "coup" designed by criminals. The government signaled it has no
intention of accepting election fraud charges that have fueled the
massive rallies.
   (AP, 3/22/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 22, Nigeria’s Pres.
Olusegun Obasanjo fired his education minister, Fabian Osuji,
accusing him of bribing lawmakers including the Senate leader
Adolphus Wabara and a string of other named senators of taking
bribes totaling $398,550.
   (AP, 3/22/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 22, North Korea's
Premier Pak Pong Ju began a visit to China at a time of American
calls for Beijing to use its influence to prod the North back into
nuclear talks.
   (AP, 3/22/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 22, Pakistan released
564 Indians, mostly fisherman, from its prisons in a goodwill
gesture toward neighboring India.
   (AP, 3/22/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 23, Pres. Bush, Pres.
Fox, and PM Paul Martin at a one-day summit in Texas signed a deal
that provides for sweeping co-operation between Canada, Mexico and
the US on security, economic and health issues. There was no sign of
progress on touchy trade disputes. They agreed to boost border
security and forge common approaches on everything from cargo
inspection to maritime and aviation safety.
   (AP, 3/24/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 23, A federal appeals
court refused to reinsert Terri Schiavo's feeding tube and the
Florida Legislature decided not to intervene in the epic struggle
over the brain-damaged woman; Schiavo's parents then filed a request
with the Supreme Court.
   (AP, 3/23/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 23, Truck driver
Tyrone Williams was convicted in a federal court in Houston for his
role in the 2003 deaths of 19 illegal immigrants he was smuggling
across Texas.
   (AP, 3/23/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 23, In Texas City,
Texas, an explosion at BP's 1,200-acre plant near Houston killed 15
and injured 170 others. BP later acknowledged faulty equipment at
the plant. In 2009 oil giant BP was hit with a record
52-million-pound fine for safety violations at the Texas refinery.
   (AP, 3/24/05)(SFC, 3/25/05, p.A4)(WSJ, 7/27/05,
p.A1)(AFP, 10/30/09)(Econ, 5/8/10, p.68)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 23, Chinese President
Hu Jintao stepped up pressure on North Korea to return to nuclear
talks, telling its visiting premier that dialogue is the only way to
settle the dispute.
   (AP, 3/23/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 23, Chinese state
media reported that already severe water shortages are worsening due
to heavy pollution of lakes and aquifers and urban development
projects with a big thirst for water, such as lawns and fountains.
   (AP, 3/23/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 23, In southern
Colombia Communist rebels ambushed a military convoy, killing 10
soldiers in a hail of gunfire and explosions.
   (AP, 3/23/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 23, It was reported
that Dubai Holding, controlled by the ruler of Dubai, had reached a
deal to buy 21,000 rental apartments in the US Sunbelt for $1
billion.
   (WSJ, 3/23/05, p.B6)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 23, Police fired tear
gas into Ecuador's Congress before dawn to disperse opposition
lawmakers who refused to leave after a legislative session that cut
short a debate on candidates for attorney general.
   (AP, 3/23/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 23, France presented a
U.N. resolution allowing for the prosecution of Sudanese war crimes
suspects at the International Criminal Court, forcing the US to
choose between accepting a body it opposes or casting a politically
damaging veto.
   (AP, 3/23/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 23, Iran agreed to
extend nuclear talks with EU nations and maintain a suspension of
uranium enrichment but insisted it won’t scrap the program.
   (WSJ, 3/24/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 23, Iraqi commandos
backed by US forces raided a suspected guerrilla training camp and
reportedly killed 85 fighters. Insurgents said only 11 were killed.
7 Iraqi commandos were killed.
   (AP, 3/23/05)(SFC, 3/25/05, p.A3)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 23, In Lebanon a bomb
killed three people in a Christian commercial center, the second
attack in an anti-Syrian stronghold in five days.
   (AP, 3/23/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 23, In Manila a terror
suspect said the southern Philippines has become a major training
ground for regional terror group Jemaah Islamiyah, graduating 23
bomb experts just days ago.
   (AP, 3/23/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 23, In South Africa
some 21,000 Harmony Gold Mining Co. Ltd. mineworkers went on strike
after mediation efforts with the union over pay and working
conditions failed.
   (AP, 3/24/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 24, Defense Secretary
Donald H. Rumsfeld announced the US will release $3.2 million
in aid to Guatemala for its progress in overhauling a military once
blamed for human rights abuses.
   (AP, 3/24/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 24, The U.S. Supreme
Court denied an appeal from the parents of Terri Schiavo to have a
feeding tube reinserted into the severely brain-damaged woman.
   (AP, 3/24/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 24, US 30-year
mortgages climbed just above 6% reflecting concerns in the financial
markets about the threat of inflation.
   (SFC, 3/25/05, p.C1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 24, The IRS said it
has collected $3.2 billion for 1,165 participants in a tax shelter
called “Son of BOSS.”
   (WSJ, 3/25/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 24, The US FDA
approved Boniva, a monthly pill to help women fight osteoporosis.
   (SFC, 3/26/05, p.A4)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 24, A California jury
ordered Toshiba Corp. to pay an additional $84 million in punitive
damages to Lexar Media, Inc. one day after a 381 million award for
breach of fiduciary duty. The total damages of $465 million was the
largest IP verdict in California history.
   (SSFC, 4/3/05, p.B1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 24, Canada denied a US
deserter’s bid for asylum.
   (WSJ, 3/25/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 24, Chile’s Supreme
Court refused to strip Gen. Augusto Pinochet of his immunity from
prosecution.
   (SFC, 3/25/05, p.A3)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 24, In a move to
further strengthen Cuba's national currency, Cuban President Fidel
Castro announced that one of two types of money accepted on the
island will no longer be automatically traded 1-1 to the US dollar.
Beginning April 9, the exchange rate for the Cuban convertible peso
will no longer be on par with the American dollar and instead will
be tied to several foreign currencies, initially marking an 8
percent revaluation. The move will also help raise the value of the
regular peso.
   (AP, 3/24/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 24, A Human Rights
Watch investigator said Ethiopian troops have committed widespread
killings, rapes and torture of the tribal Anuak population in the
southwestern corner of the country since late 2003.
   (AP, 3/24/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 24, A French appeals
court upheld the conviction of George Soros (74) for insider
trading. Soros, whose Quantum Fund is worth about $8.3 billion,
emigrated to the US in 1956 and set up Soros Fund Management in
1973. He later made a fortune on foreign exchange markets and was
criticized in some quarters for speculating on, and arguably
encouraging, the collapse of Asian currencies in the late 1990s.
   (AP, 3/24/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 24, Iraqi police
mistook a group of Iraqi soldiers for insurgents and opened fire,
sparking a 10-minute gunbattle that killed five in the northern town
of Rabia.
   (AP, 3/24/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 24, A suicide bomber
detonated an explosives-laden vehicle near the central city of
Ramadi, killing 11 Iraqi police commandos and injuring 14 other
people including 2 US soldiers. In an eastern Baghdad neighborhood,
attackers killed 5 female translators working for the US military.
Police found 2 decapitated bodies clad in Iraqi army uniforms west
of Baghdad.
   (AP, 3/25/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 24, Chess legend Bobby
Fischer walked free from a Japanese detention center and immediately
headed to the airport to fly to his new home in Iceland.
   (AP, 3/24/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 24, Istat reported
that Italy’s economy contracted 0.4% in the previous quarter due in
part to a fall in exports.
   (WSJ, 3/25/05, p.A7)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 24, Suspected Muslim
insurgents shot dead the brother of Kashmir's junior home minister
while he was walking to a market.
   (Reuters, 3/24/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 24, In Kyrgyzstan
protesters stormed the presidential compound, seizing control of the
seat of state power after clashing with riot police during a large
opposition rally. President Askar Akayev reportedly flew to Russia.
The ITAR-Tass news agency said President Askar Akayev has resigned.
This came to be called Kyrgyzstan’s “Tulip revolution.”
   (AP, 3/24/05)(SFC, 3/25/05, p.A1)(Econ, 8/1/09,
p.38)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 24, In the southern
Philippines, Marlene Garcia Esperat (45), a columnist for a weekly
newspaper, was shot dead in her home in front of her children. Her
husband told a radio station that his wife had "many enemies because
of her exposes," mostly on corruption and other issues of
governance.
   (AP, 3/26/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 25, Washington
announced it would sell F-16 fighters to Pakistan.
   (Reuters, 3/26/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 25, Losing still more
legal appeals, Terri Schiavo's father, Bob Schindler, said his
severely brain-damaged daughter was "down to her last hours" as she
entered her second week without the feeding tube that had sustained
her life for 15 years.
   (AP, 3/25/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 25, Paul Henning (93),
producer of the TV series “The Beverly Hillbillies” (1962-1971) died
in Burbank, Ca. Henning also wrote the show’s theme song.
   (SFC, 3/26/05, p.B5)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 25, Some 1000
Belarusian demonstrators tried to rally outside the office of
authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko to demand his ouster,
but they were beaten back by riot police swinging truncheons.
   (AP, 3/25/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 25, Cambodia and
Vietnam each confirmed an additional death from bird flu, raising
Southeast Asia's death toll to 48.
   (AP, 3/25/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 25, In Cairo, Egypt,
the new $30 million, 74-acre Al-Azhar, was to be inaugurated under
the auspices of Aga Khan.
   (SFC, 3/12/05, p.F1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 25, In Ghana sparks
from a welder's torch ignited a raging fire on MV Polaris, a Greek
tanker moored in Tema, killing three people and leaving 12 others
feared dead.
   (AP, 3/25/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 25, India announced
that it has agreed with the United States to a series of steps to
boost defense and energy ties.
   (Reuters, 3/26/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 25, In Iraq Maj. Gen.
Salman Muhammad, head of an Iraqi national guard division in Basra,
was assassinated on route to a funeral. One of 2 sons was also
killed.
   (SFC, 3/26/05, p.A11)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 25, Japan’s world
fair, Aichi Expo 2005, opened. It ended on Sep 25.
   (SSFC, 3/27/05,
p.F2)(http://www.expo2005.or.jp/en/)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 25, In Kyrgyzstan
Kurmanbek Bakiyev (55) was appointed acting president by parliament.
The opposition scrambled to restore order in Bishkek, a capital
described as "gone mad" with looting and vandalism, after driving
President Askar Akayev from power.
   (AP, 3/25/05)(SFC, 3/26/05, p.A3)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 25, The UN Security
Council voted to send 10,700 peacekeepers to Sudan to monitor a
peace deal ending a 21-year-civil war.
   (AP, 3/25/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 25, An ailing, silent
Pope John Paul appeared to the faithful via video for Good Friday
services at the Vatican.
   (AP, 3/25/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 26, In Afghanistan 4
US soldiers died when their vehicle struck a land mine.
   (AP, 3/26/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 26, James Callaghan,
former British prime minister (1976-1979), died on the eve of his
93rd birthday.
   (SSFC, 3/27/05, p.A21)(Econ, 4/2/05, p.80)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 26, A twin-engine
commercial Czech-built Let-410 airplane, crashed while taking off
from the tiny Colombian island of Old Providence, killing 8 people,
including a 3-year-old boy, and injuring six other passengers.
   (AP, 3/26/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 26, In Iraq a car bomb
struck a US military patrol in Baghdad, killing two U.S. soldiers
and injuring two others.
   (AP, 3/26/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 26, A fire swept
through a sprawling Moscow art market popular with tourists for its
unusual antiques from around the former Soviet Union and sometimes
bargain prices, and news reports said two people were killed.
   (AP, 3/26/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 26, In Taiwan about a
million people marched through the capital to protest a new Chinese
law that authorizes an attack on the island if it moves toward
formal independence.
   (AP, 3/26/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 26, German Cardinal
Joseph Ratzinger stood in for Pope John Paul II during the Easter
Vigil Mass at the Vatican. Ratzinger later succeed John Paul,
becoming Pope Benedict XVI.
   (AP, 3/26/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 27, In a live Internet
interview with the Rev. Jesse Jackson, Michael Jackson declared
himself "completely innocent" of child molestation charges, and said
he was the victim of a conspiracy.
   (AP, 3/27/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 27, In Brazil
Vitalmiro Moura, the rancher accused of ordering the killing of
American nun Dorothy Stang in the Amazon rainforest six weeks ago,
surrendered to police and declared his innocence.
   (AP, 3/27/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 27, A Cairo court
sentenced an Egyptian to 35 years in prison after finding him guilty
of spying for the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and planning to
assassinate Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. The court gave Mahmoud
Eid Mohamed Dabbous 10 years in prison for spying for a foreign
state and another 25 years for plotting to kill Mubarak.
   (Reuters, 3/27/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 27, Egyptian police
detained about 200 members and supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood,
before and during an attempt to protest outside parliament in favor
of reform.
   (AP, 3/28/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 27, Ahmed Zaki (55),
one of Egypt's most acclaimed actors, died. He portrayed former
Egyptian presidents Gamal Abdel Nasser and Anwar Sadat.
   (AP, 3/27/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 27, Iraqi security
officials opened fire on a crowd of protesters outside a government
building, killing one. Al-Qaida's arm in Iraq posted a video
purportedly showing an Iraqi Interior Ministry official being
killed.
   (AP, 3/27/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 27, Kashmir police
said suspected militants shot dead a grandmother, mother and her
infant daughter after the child's father, a former Kashmiri
separatist rebel, surrendered to Indian security forces.
   (AP, 3/27/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 27, In Kyrgyzstan 2
rival parliaments competed for power, raising political uncertainty
in the former Soviet nation. Both groups, the parliament newly
elected in a disputed vote that sparked massive discontent, and the
one that lost the election, met in separate chambers over the
weekend, each claiming to represent the people.
   (AP, 3/27/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 27, Macedonians cast
ballots in municipal elections, but the voting was marred by
irregularities that could potentially harm the country's ambitions
to join NATO and the EU.
   (AP, 3/27/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 27, Morocco’s per
capita income was reported to be about $1,200 per year. One of 5
urban Moroccans was unemployed.
   (SFCM, 3/27/05, p.11)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 27, The head of
Myanmar's ruling junta said the country was moving toward democracy
but gave no indication of when the military would relinquish its
43-year grip on power.
   (AP, 3/27/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 27, Communist North
Korea for the first time confirmed an outbreak of deadly bird flu at
its poultry farms and said hundreds of thousands of chickens had
been culled to contain it.
   (AP, 3/27/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 27, Pope John Paul II
delivered an Easter Sunday blessing to tens of thousands of people
in St. Peter's Square, but the ailing pontiff was unable to speak
and managed only to greet the saddened crowd with a sign of the
cross.
   (AP, 3/27/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 28, The Colorado
Supreme Court threw out the death penalty in a rape-and-murder case
because five of the jurors had consulted the Bible and quoted
Scripture during deliberations.
   (AP, 3/28/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 28, Hank Greenberg,
former longtime CEO of American Int’l. Group (AIG), announced his
retirement. He was ousted as CEO 2 weeks earlier.
   (WSJ, 3/29/05, p.C1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 28, It was reported
that a consortium of 7 private equity firms purchased SunGard Data
systems for $11.3 billion in the biggest buyout since 1989.
   (Econ, 4/2/05, p.66)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 28, Hu Xiaoliam was
appointed the 1st female head of China’s State Administration of
Foreign Exchange (SAFE). The regulator will oversee new trading and
price quotes in 8 currency pairs through the interbank China foreign
Exchange Trade System (CFETS).
   (Econ, 4/2/05, p.68)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 28, In Haiti gunmen
with assault rifles ambushed a group of police in Port-au-Prince,
spraying their car with bullets in a bold daylight attack that
killed 2 officers and a driver.
   (AP, 3/28/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 28, An 8.7 earthquake
occurred in northern Sumatra, Indonesia, in what technically was
considered an aftershock to the Dec 26 quake. At least 330 people
were killed in collapsed buildings on Nias Island. No major tsunami
followed. The UN raised its toll to 624. The government estimated
400-500 were killed.
   (SFC, 3/29/05, p.A1)(AP, 3/31/05)(Econ, 4/2/05,
p.37)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 28, In Iraq 3 Romanian
journalists and their translator were abducted near their Baghdad
hotel. The journalists were freed by US forces on May 22.
   (AP, 3/29/05)(SSFC, 10/15/06, p.A20)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 28, Ireland enacted a
law outlawing English on road signs and official maps on much of the
nation’s western coast, where many people speak Gaelic.
   (SFC, 3/29/05, p.A2)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 28, Israeli troops
raided the West Bank town of Jenin, carrying out house-to-house
searches and arresting eight Palestinians.
   (AP, 3/28/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 28, It was reported
that Japanese consumer prices had fallen in February at their
fastest pace in nearly 2 years. Japan’s deflation was now almost 6
years old. The Ministry of Finance said government debt hit a new
record high of $7.062 trillion as of the end of Dec.
   (WSJ, 3/28/05, p.A14)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 28, Interim leader
Kurmanbek Bakiyev recognized Kyrgyzstan's new parliament as
legitimate even though it was chosen in disputed elections, a move
designed to end a struggle between the rival legislatures.
   (AP, 3/28/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 28, Tafa Balogun,
Nigeria’s Inspector General of Police, was arrested. He was later
charged with numerous counts including embezzling $93 million from
police funds.
   (Econ, 8/20/05, p.37)(www.efccnigeria.org/)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 28, In Peshawar,
Pakistan, thousands of opposition activists chanted "Death to
dictatorship!" in the latest demonstration against Pres. Gen. Pervez
Musharraf's grip on power.
   (AP, 3/28/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 28, Pres. Vladimir
Putin ordered the Russian government to draft legal reforms that
would close the book on shady privatization deals of the 1990s and
streamline tax collection.
   (AP, 3/28/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 28, Sudanese
authorities said they had detained 14 people on suspicion of crimes,
including rape and murder, committed in the war-ravaged western
region of Darfur.
   (AFP, 3/28/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 29, New York’s top
court ruled that an out-of-state programmer must pay state taxes on
his full salary despite working mostly via computer.
   (WSJ, 3/30/05, p.A1)  Â
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 29, It was reported
that the Carlyle Group (b.1987) had become the 1st $10 billion
entity in the private equity industry. Its executives included a
number of former, highly placed, political figures.
   (WSJ, 3/29/05, p.C1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 29, As Terri Schiavo
entered her 12th full day without food or water, the Rev. Jesse
Jackson prayed with her parents and joined conservatives in calling
for Florida lawmakers to order her feeding tube reinserted.
   (AP, 3/29/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 29, Mark Hurd, CEO of
NCR, was named as new CEO of Hewlett-Packard.
   (AP, 3/29/05)(WSJ, 4/4/05,
p.B1)Â Â Â
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 29, Johnnie L. Cochran
Jr. (b.1937), lawyer, died in LA at age 67. He became a legal
superstar after helping clear O.J. Simpson during the 1995
sensational murder trial in which he uttered the famous quote ''If
it doesn't fit, you must acquit.''
   (AP, 3/29/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 29, It was reported
that China’s influence in Africa was expanding rapidly. Chinese
projects included the rebuilding of Nigeria’s railroad network; the
paving of roads in Rwanda; ownership of copper mines in Zambia;
timer operations in Equatorial Guinea; supermarket operations in
Lesotho.
   (WSJ, 3/29/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 29, In eastern China a
truck loaded with chlorine overturned on a highway after a tire
burst, spewing fumes that killed 27 people and left another 285
hospitalized.
   (AP, 3/30/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 29, Colombian
President Alvaro Uribe sought international help to end 40 years of
civil war in his country, telling the leaders of Venezuela, Brazil
and Spain that the violence is too fierce to confront without their
aid.
   (AP, 3/29/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 29, A video surfaced
on the Internet showing three drivers who said they worked for a
Jordanian trucking company being shot by gunmen claiming to belong
to a militant Islamic group in Iraq.
   (AP, 3/30/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 29, The UN Security
Council ordered the Sudanese government to inform the UN before
sending any more weapons to Darfur.
   (Econ, 4/2/05, p.42)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 29, Syria promised the
UN that it will withdraw all troops from Lebanon before
parliamentary elections but didn't mention a pullout of its
intelligence operatives as demanded by the Security Council.
   (AP, 3/29/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 29, In Venezuela a
crowded bus overturned on a highway and plunged 50 feet down a hill,
killing 25 people.
   (AP, 3/29/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 29, In Yemen clashes
between the military and followers of a slain cleric stretched into
a second day of fighting, leaving eight Yemeni soldiers dead.
   (AP, 3/29/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 30, The US Bureau of
Economic Analysis final estimate of inflation adjusted GDP indicated
3.8% growth for the 4th quarter of 2004.
   (www.bea.gov/bea/dn1.htm)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 30, The US Supreme
Court ruled that federal law allows people 40 and over to file age
bias claims over salary and hiring even if employers never intended
any harm.
   (AP, 3/30/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 30, Fred Korematsu
(86), who'd challenged the World War II internment policy that sent
Japanese-Americans to detention camps, died in Larkspur, Ca.
   (AP, 3/30/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 30, Robert Creeley
(b.1926), US poet, died in Odessa, Texas.
   (SFC, 4/1/05, p.B7)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 30, Under heavy
protection, First Lady Laura Bush visited the capital of
Afghanistan, where she talked with Afghan women freed from Taliban
repression and urged greater rights.
   (AP, 3/30/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 30, Inmates of
Barbados' lone prison set fires and battled guards and each other
for a second day, leaving one prisoner dead and eight injured.
   (AP, 3/30/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 30, In Toronto,
Canada, a massive blaze ravaged a plastics factory in the city's
west-end, closing a section of a major highway and keeping
firefighters on the scene for hours as they struggled to contain the
six-alarm blaze.
   (AP, 3/31/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 30, In India shops
kept their shutters down as striking traders said they would step up
their protest against a new value-added tax (VAT) due to take effect
on April 1.
   (AP, 3/30/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 30, In Iraq two US
soldiers died in separate clashes. A car bomb exploded in western
Baghdad, killing one person and injuring at least six others. Gunmen
also opened fire on a truck carrying faithful near Hillah, 60 miles
south of Baghdad. One person was killed.
   (AP, 3/30/05)(AP, 3/31/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 30, Dutch bank ABN
Amro announced a 6.3 billion euros ($8.1 billion) bid for the 87
percent of Italian bank Antonveneta it does not already own, the
second foreign offer for an Italian bank in as many days.
   (AP, 3/30/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 30, Nepalese Finance
Minister Madhukar Shumsher Rana and Pakistan's Minister of State for
Economic Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar concluded two days of talks by
signing an agreement to boost trade and investment. Pakistan offered
Nepal five million dollars in trade credits and talks on a free
trade agreement after the first meeting of senior economic officials
of the two countries in a decade.
   (AFP, 3/30/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 30, The UN-backed
Millennium Ecosystem Assessment report was released. It identified
24 main ecosystem services, most of which are found in forests.
   (www.maweb.org/en/article.aspx?id=58)(Econ,
9/25/10, SR p.6)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 31, A US presidential
commission reported that US intelligence agencies were dead wrong in
their prewar assessment of Iraq’s nuclear, biological and chemical
weapons.
   (SFC, 4/1/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 31, A US Commerce
Dept. study on Internet traffic, ordered in 1998, was published
under the title “Signposts in Cyberspace.”
   (SFC, 4/1/05, p.C3)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 31, The World Bank
confirmed Paul Wolfowitz as its new president.
   (WSJ, 4/1/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 31, South Carolina
defeated Saint Joseph's, 60-57, in the NIT championship game.
   (AP, 3/31/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 31, Terri Schiavo
(41), the severely brain-damaged woman who spent 15 years connected
to a feeding tube in an epic legal and medical battle that went all
the way to the White House and Congress, died in Florida, 13 days
after the tube was removed.
   (AP, 3/31/05)(SFC, 4/1/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 31, Frank Perdue,
businessman, died in Salisbury, Maryland. He transformed his
father’s backyard egg business into one of the nation's largest
poultry processors using the folksy slogan, "It takes a tough man to
make a tender chicken."
   (AP, 4/1/05)(SFC, 4/2/05, p.B5)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 31, A US C-130
airplane crashed near the remote village of Rovie and all 9
Americans onboard were killed in mountainous southern Albania during
a joint exercise.
   (AP, 4/1/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 31, It was reported
that Shirin Gul (39), an Afghan housewife, stood accused with her
lover and son (18) of murdering 27 men over the last 4 years in
order to sell their cars across the border in Pakistan.
   (SFC, 3/31/05, p.A3)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 31, In Brazil a
massacre in Nova Iguacu, outside of Rio, left 29 people dead. The
next day state officials said they might have been carried out by
police incensed by investigations of brutality and corruption by
"bad" cops. In 2006 a court convicted Carlos Jorge Carvalho (32) a
state police officer, of taking part in the Baixada massacre. In
2009 ex-officer Julio Cesar de Paula was sentenced to 480
years in prison and ex-officer Marcos Siqueira Costa to 543 years
for homicide and belonging to a criminal organization. The length of
the sentences was largely symbolic because under Brazilian law no
one can serve more than 30 years in prison.
   (AP, 4/1/05)(SFC, 6/24/05, p.A16)(AP,
8/23/06)(AP, 9/16/09)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 31, Alberta repaid the
last of its debt and became Canada’s only borrowing-free province.
  Â
(www.gov.ab.ca/home/index.cfm?Page=852)(www.td.com/economics/budgets/ab05.jsp)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 31, The president of
Ecuador's Supreme Court annulled corruption charges against former
President Abdala Bucaram, paving the way for his possible return
from political asylum in Panama.
   (AP, 4/1/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 31, The EU head office
said it will seek to impose additional sanctions of up to 15 percent
on US products to punish Washington for failing to repeal an
antidumping law ruled illegal by the World Trade Organization.
   (AP, 3/31/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 31, Guyana police
found American missionaries Richard Hicks (42) and his wife Charlene
Hicks (58) slain at a farm they rented in southwestern Guyana near
the border with Brazil. In 2008 Guyana police issued arrest warrants
for two Brazilians accused of the killings. Peter Marare and Aleiman
Cassiano Eligenio, who were ranch hands on the couple's farm, faced
one count of murder each.
   (AP, 4/1/05)(AP, 8/6/08)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 31, India's PM said
India and Mauritius are moving toward a free trade agreement to
boost the island's threatened trade portfolio and help India tap
into African markets.
   (AP, 3/31/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 31, A suicide bomber
blew up his car south of Kirkuk, killing two Iraqi army soldiers and
three bystanders. A second car bomber attacked a joint U.S.-Iraqi
patrol in the center of Samarra, killing three people and injuring
more than a dozen others. Bombings and ambushes across Iraq left at
least a dozen Iraqis and one US soldier dead.
   (AP, 3/31/05)(SFC, 4/1/05, p.A3)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 31, Rho on the
outskirts of Milan, Italy, inaugurated a trade fair over the site of
a polluted refinery closed in 1992. The site featured a new
structure by Massimilian Fuksas.
   (Econ, 4/2/05, p.61)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 31, The World Bank
approved financing support for the controversial $1.2 billion Nam
Theun 2 dam in Laos.
   (WSJ, 4/1/05, p.A8)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 31, Two Lithuanian
illusionists have begun an attempt to break the record for staying
inside a giant ice cube, set by US magician David Blaine in 2000
when he spent nearly 62 hours inside a block of ice.
   (AFP, 4/1/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 31, In Palestine
Mahmoud Abbas ordered a crackdown on Ramallah militants after a
group of gunmen fired at his compound in a sign of escalating
tensions.
   (AP, 3/31/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 31, A Rwandan Hutu
militia group, the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda,
denounced the Hutu-orchestrated 1994 genocide in the African country
and announced it was stopping its fighting in the region.
   (AP, 3/31/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 31, Zimbabweans waited
in long lines to vote in parliamentary elections that President
Robert Mugabe hopes will prove the legitimacy of a regime.
   (AP, 3/31/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 31, After weeks of
often bitter negotiations, the UN Security Council approved a
resolution to refer Sudanese war crimes suspects to the
International Criminal Court, agreeing to major concessions demanded
by United States.
   (AP, 4/1/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar, The US Senate passed
the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act. It
imposed a means test that would force people who earn more than
their state’s median income into Chapter 13, requiring debtors to
submit a repayment plan.
   (Econ, 3/12/05, p.36)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar, American potato
farmers formed the United Potato Growers of America, a group of
regional farming cooperatives intent on keeping demand for potatoes
high by controlling supply. The 1922 Capper-Volstead Act exempted
farmers from federal antitrust laws permitting them to share prices
and orchestrate supply.
   (WSJ, 9/26/06, p.B1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar, The Y Combinator
company, an American startup incubator (accelerator) for tech
companies, was founded by Paul Graham, Robert Morris, Trevor
Blackwell, and Jessica Livingston.
  Â
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Y_Combinator_%28company%29)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar, Scientists reported
that they have finished sequencing the X chromosome. Scientists also
reported the replication of a new artificial base pair,
3-fluoro-benzene (3FB).
   (Econ, 3/19/05, p.84)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar, Sheik Khalifa, ruler
of Abu Dhabi, issued a decree granting citizens the right to buy and
sell land.
   (WSJ, 10/21/05, p.A10)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar, Mining giant
BHP-Billiton paid $7 billion to acquire WMC Resources of Australia.
WMC owned the Olympic Dam copper an d gold mine, which also
contained the world’s largest uranium deposit.
   (Econ, 8/21/10, p.56)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar, In Egypt protests by
the Kefaya (Enough) Movement drew hundreds across the country to
oppose a fifth term for Pres. Mubarak or plans to let his son Gamal
succeed him.
  Â
(www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/01/27/3122993.htm)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar, Indonesia’s Pres.
Yudhoyono enforced a 29% fuel price increase after promising to
invest in health and education with the cash saved.
   (Econ, 10/1/05, p.40)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar, Jamaica brought in
Mark Shields, a top policeman from London’s Scotland Yard, to help
re-organize police services and stem rising murder rates.
   (Econ, 8/13/05, p.32)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar, Kuwait based MTC
agreed to pay nearly $3.4 billion for Amsterdam-based Celtel Int’l.,
founded by Mo Ibrahim, who stood to make $700 million by selling his
one-fifth stake. Celtel had 5 million customers spread across 13
African countries.
   (Econ, 4/2/05, p.58)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar, Morocco’s free-trade
agreement with the US was scheduled to go into effect.
   (SFC, 2/23/05, p.C1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar, Sheik Saud al-Thani
(38), a member of the royal family of Qatar, was arrested on
allegations of misappropriating state funds and buying art for
himself with money designated for Qatari museums. He was later
released. Auction sales in Islamic art soon plunged.
   (WSJ, 7/29/05, p.W1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar, Kofi Annan proposed a
UN reform plan that included increasing the security council
membership from 15 to 24. A change in the charter required the
approval of at least two-thirds of the UN’s 191 members.
   (Econ, 3/26/05, p.31)
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