October 14, 2004

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[edit] October 14, 2004

• Prince Norodom Sihamoni is named the new King of Cambodia by the country's Throne Council. His father, former King Norodom Sihanouk, abdicated on October 7. (CBC News)
• The British government orders the freezing of any assets that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's militant group, Tawhid and Jihad — which has claimed responsibility for killing Kenneth Bigley — may hold in Britain. (BBC)
• Israeli-Palestinian conflict:
  • Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon accepts an Israeli Defence Force plan to begin withdrawing troops from Jabalia, Beit Lahiya, and Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip this weekend. (Haaretz)
  • About 100,000 Israelis in 100 cities march in a series of demonstrations across Israel opposing their government's proposal to withdraw Israeli settlers from the Gaza Strip and parts of the West Bank.
• Conflict in Iraq:
  • United States warplanes launch sustained air strikes against the rebel-held city of Fallujah, following a breakdown in peace talks between the Iraqi government and representatives of the city. (Reuters)
  • Iraqi insurgents carry out two bomb attacks within Baghdad's heavily fortified "Green Zone", which houses Iraqi government offices and U.S. military facilities. U.S. officials say that 6 Iraqis and 4 Americans were killed in the attacks. Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's Tawhid and Jihad militant group later claims responsibility for the bombings. (BBC)
  • The Iraqi government warns of a possible increase in terrorist activity during the Muslim month of Ramadan (which starts tonight), and says the government is taking extra precautions. (Reuters)
• The Israeli government announces that it will not restrict the number of worshippers allowed to enter Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque compound (located in the area known as the Temple Mount in Judaism) during the Muslim month of Ramadan, despite concerns voiced by security officials that the site is dangerously structurally unstable and could collapse if too many people visit. The Israeli government had earlier suggested it would limit the number of visitors, with mosque officials accusing Israel of having "political reasons" to do so. (Haaretz) (Jerusalem Post) (AFP)
• Russia and the People's Republic of China sign an agreement ending their last border dispute. Details of the agreement have not yet been released. (AP/Reuters) (Economic Times [India])
• The European Court of Human Rights agrees, for the first time, to hear cases brought against Russia by Chechen civilians. (BBC) (ECHR press release)
• Authorities in Republika Srpska, the Bosnian Serb division of Bosnia and Herzegovina, admit for the first time the actual scale of the 1995 Srebrenica massacre, providing a list of over 7,000 Muslim victims. The Bosnian Serb president admitted in June that Serb forces had committed the massacre, but did not give a specific number of victims. (BBC) (Melbourne Herald-Sun) (Channel News Asia)
• A Boeing 747 cargo plane, en route to Spain, crashes at the end of a runway at Halifax International Airport in Nova Scotia, Canada. All 7 of the crew are confirmed dead in Canada's worst-ever air cargo crash. (CBC)