August 30, 2004

Election dispute in Chechnya: After leading rival Malik Saidullayev was disqualified on a technicality. Putin-supported Alu Alkhanov wins in a landslide. US and EU dispute results. (Reuters) (Reuters) (NYT)
U.S. presidential campaign: The Republican National Convention begins in New York City. Massive protests are expected. (CNN)
Two amateur French Egyptologists claim to have discovered, using radar, a previously unknown corridor inside the Great Pyramid of Khufu. They believe the corridor would lead directly to Khufu's burial chamber, a room which – if it exists – is unlikely to have been accessed since the burial and may still contain the king's remains. (The Guardian) (AustBC)
The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) confirms that two Russian "airplanes were blown up as a result of a terrorist attack" that killed 90 people on August 24, 2004. (Reuters)
2004 Atlantic hurricane season:
- Tropical Storm Gaston douses Richmond, Virginia with up to 14 inches of rain, causing widespread flooding. Governor Mark Warner declares a state of emergency in Central Virginia. (ABCNEWS)
- Category 3 Hurricane Frances looms over Puerto Rico. (USA Today)
President Chen Shui-bian cancels the annual Han Kuang live-fire exercises previously schedule for September 9 as a goodwill gesture to the mainland after the People's Republic of China reportedly halted its military drills at Dongshan island on the Taiwan Strait. (VOA) (CNN)