September 23, 2004

The current Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, continuing a tour of Latin America, arrives in Puerto Rico for a two-day visit. He is scheduled to make several addresses on the subjects of human rights and demilitarization and to be awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Puerto Rico. (AP/El Nuevo Día)
Court officials arrive on the remote British territory of Pitcairn Island, which has only 47 inhabitants, to begin the trial of seven islanders, on charges of sexual abuse that date back more than 40 years. (BBC)
The United States agrees to release Yaser Esam Hamdi, who was born in the United States and raised in Saudi Arabia, after having held him for almost three years, without charges, as an "illegal enemy combatant". In exchange, Hamdi agrees to relinquish his American citizenship and to never return to the United States. (Reuters)
Conflict in Iraq: The governments of the United Kingdom and Iraq announce that they will not comply with the demands of the militant group Tawhid and Jihad, which has threatened to behead its hostage, British citizen Kenneth Bigley. (Reuters)
2004 Atlantic hurricane season: The death toll in Haiti from flooding caused by this weekend's passage of Hurricane Jeanne is now at 1,080 persons, and government officials say the final number is likely to be around 2,000. At least 175,000 Haitians have been affected by the flooding. (Reuters)