Faroese Prime Minister's Office announces that from then on the Prime Minister and the Prime Minister's Office would use a new version of theFaroese Coat of Arms. The colours were inspired from theMerkið (flag) and yellow/gold was added. The new Coat of Arms depicts a Ram on a blue shield ready to defend. It can be used by the Government Ministries and byFaroese embassies, but some still use older versions of the Coat of Arms.
PalestinianGeneral Haj Ismail Jabber is discovered to have been claiming thepayroll for 37,000 members of thePalestinian Authority's National Security force when only 30,000 members exist. The difference of $2 million is kept by General Jabber each month.(HaAretz)
Second Intifada: Teenagers from areas controlled by thePalestinian Authority provoke a riot by throwing large stones atIsraeli police shortly after noon prayers at theWestern Wall. When police try to stop them, hundreds of other Muslims join the stone throwers. Resisting apprehension, the rioters seek refuge at theTemple Mount, site ofAl Aqsa Mosque, mostholy place toJews and third-holiest place for Muslims.(AP)
Calm returns toFalluja as the desecrated remains of four US civilians are handed over to occupation authorities; townspeople state they were torn between pride in the attack and shame over the mutilations.(International Herald Tribune)
A judge inNew York declares a mistrial after eleven days of deliberations in the case of formerTyco International chairman and chief executiveDennis Kozlowski and former chief financial officerMark Swartz after a juror received either a "threatening or coercive" letter in the previous 24 hours. Kozlowski and Swartz have been accused of stealing $600 million from Tyco.(AP)
Sun Microsystems announces that it moves to a new phase of legal and Technology/technical cooperation with longtime foe, Microsoft, that will involve a payment of $1.95 1,000,000,000 to Sun.(CNet)
The Spanish government discloses that a powerful bomb has been discovered on the high-speedAVE railway line betweenMadrid andSeville.(BBC) The bomb, found nearToledo, is revealed the next day to be the same type as those used in the11 March 2004 Madrid train bombings, which killed 191 people.(CBC)
The BBC announces thatMichael Grade will become its new Chairman on May 17, following the resignation of its previous ChairmanGavyn Davies in the fall-out from theHutton Inquiry report.(BBC)
An estimated crowd of between 10,000 and 19,000 mourners show up to pay their final respects toMexican singerAdán Sánchez inLos Angeles. Many in the crowd turn violent, jumping onto the van carrying the singer's body. Some are injured, and police and emergency rescue intervention is required.(Baltimore Sun)[permanent dead link]
Disney's 44th animated movie, "Home on the Range", is released in theatres.
At least three persons suspected in involvement in theMarch 11, 2004 Madrid bombings blow themselves up in an apartment building in the Madrid suburbLeganés as police officers try to arrest them. Besides the suspects, one police officer is killed and 11 injured.(CBC)
At least twoShiite Muslim followers ofmilitantIraqicleric,Moqtada Sadr, are killed early in the day after throwing themselves in front of United States tanks during a demonstration inBaghdad.(AFP)
Supporters ofMoqtada Sadr outside a coalition military base inNajaf, Iraq throw rocks and fire shots. Spanish troops andIraqi police return fire. Nineteen people (including some soldiers) are killed from thefire.(BBC)(VOA) (→2004 Iraq spring fighting)
Mordechai Vanunu seeks to renounce hisIsraeli citizenship to avoid confinement to the nation after his release from jail.(Reuters)
For the first time in six years, aNorwegian policeman is killed in the line of duty.(Aftenposten)
Economists fromHarvard andUNC - Chapel Hill determine thatpeer-to-peer file sharing and music downloads "have an effect on sales which is statistically indistinguishable from zero, despite rather precise estimates."(NYT)
A United States government study finds that anAfrican-American woman was 23 times more likely to be infected withAIDS than is a white woman. Recent studies suggest that 30 percent of all blackbisexual men may be infected with HIV.(NYT)
ABC reports that British government sources believe that suspects arrested last week in the UK may have been plotting to make an improvisedchemical weapon using the toxic agentosmium tetroxide.(ABC/US)(BBC)
Iraqi insurgents and rebelliousShiites challenge Coalition occupation forces. At least 30 Iraqis are killed. Sixteen Iraqis died in battles withMarines inFallujah. At least 18 American soldiers and more than 116 Iraqis have died in three days of clashes. ASalvadoran soldier and one fromUkraine also are killed.(AP)(Democracy Now!)
United States civilian administratorPaul Bremer states that there is "no question" that coalition forces are in control. "I know if you just report on those few places, it does look chaotic. But if you travel around the country ... what you find is a bustling economy, people opening businesses right and left, unemployment has dropped."(CNN)
Study reports estimates of how long it took for the last four reversals of theEarth's magnetic field. It also reports that the turnarounds occur more quickly nearer the equator than at higherlatitudes closer to thepoles.(MSN)
Militants inside theAbdul-Aziz al-Samarrai mosque shoot atUS Marines, and Lt. Col. Brennan Byrne orders his men to return fire. "If they use the mosque as a military machine, then it's no longer a house of worship and we strike", he said.(AP)
30 Americans and more than 150 Iraqis are dead in the fighting for the city inFallujah. A U.S. helicopter hitsmilitants in amosque with threemissiles; 40 individuals are killed in the mosque.Marines andrebels continue to exchange fire.(TWEAN)
South Korea announces the deployment of 3,700 soldiers in Iraq by August, despite recent attacks. The augmentation will make it thecoalition's third largest contingent.(World Tribune)
Coalition forces retakeKut, meeting little opposition.
US Marines resume their advance intoFallujah, after a pause to allowhumanitarian supplies to enter the city. An attempt to use the pause to negotiate terms of surrender fails when the representatives from the city fail to show.
Iraq marks the anniversary ofSaddam Hussein's fall with fighting and bloodshed.Kurds, in the relatively stable north, celebrate with parties and the melting of an ice statue of the ousted dictator.(Al Jazeera)
Food andsanitation are allegedly being denied to more than 2500 people who were arrested inNepal over the last few days for protesting against the suspension ofdemocracy.(Morning Star)
Three European researchers say that ifGreenland's average temperature were to increase by 3 °C (5.4 °F) or more, its massiveice sheet would melt, gradually swamping coastal communities as seas rise 7 metres (23 feet) over the next 1,000 years. They hypothesize that the upward trend of worldwidecarbon dioxideemissions could cause this.(Indianapolis Star)
Gunmen shoot down a helicopter during fighting in westernBaghdad.Rebels threaten to kill and burn a civilian, Thomas Hamill, unless the Alliance troops end their assault on Fallujah by 6 am. Thedeadline passes with no word on Hamill's fate.(Tribune India)
President Bush, praying with U.S. troops onEaster Sunday at a military base hit hard by hostilities in Iraq, acknowledges that it had been "a tough week" and it is unclear if the violence would ebb soon.(Reuters)[permanent dead link]
A new Iraqibattalion refuses to support Coalition forces in the town of Falluja after a command failure which lead tomiscommunication over their role in the area.(BBC)
Canadian scientists report on a study ofmammals from around the world that thespecies with the best-endowed males live inpolar regions, rather than in more equatorial climates.(Toronto Star)
West Indies captainBrian Lara sets the highest score inTest cricket - 400 not out on the third day of the fourth Test against England in Antigua. He makes his 400 in 773 minutes off 582 balls, hitting 43 fours and four sixes.(BBC)
Hungarian police detain a Hungarian citizen ofPalestinian origin and twoSyrian men who are alleged to have been planning to blow up aJewish museum inBudapest and assassinate Israeli presidentMoshe Katsav who arrived to attend the museum's inauguration ceremony.(HaAretz)
India beatsPakistan 2-1 in the historic friendshipTest cricket series. This is India's first away win after 11 years and the first against archrivals Pakistan, in Pakistan.
Long-time CanadianNDPmember of ParliamentSvend Robinson admits that he stole a piece of jewelry at a public sale in what he describes as "a moment of total, utter irrationality." He states he has turned the ring into police, with whom he is cooperating, and that he is putting his career on hold, taking medical leave to obtain psychological help. The auction house later accepted Svend's apology and decided not to press charges, but a special prosecuter was appointed by the government to weigh the decision of whether to prosecute Robinson.(CBC)
Three planets are discovered viagravitational microlensing orbiting stars many light years away, including one that is more than three times farther away than the previous record holder.(Space.com)
Hong Kong Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa submits a report on the constitutional development to NPC, asking Beijing's permission to reform the way HK's legislature and the top leadership are chosen in 2007 and 2008.
SheikhOmar Bakri Muhammad says the "life of an unbeliever has no value, it has no sanctity" and states that severalIslamicmilitant groups are planning aterrorist attack on London, making such an attack inevitable.(Reuters)
InKosovo, aJordanianUN police officer opens fire upon a convoy of UN police officers killing two female Americans and injuring eleven others. The attack reportedly stemmed from an argument between American andJordanian UN police overIraq policies.(BBC)
TenIraqi Kurds and North Africans are arrested by UK police on suspicion of violating theTerrorism Act 2000. The arrests are made in dawn raids inGreater Manchester and other parts of the North and Midlands.(BBC)
The law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell makes public a 463-page report onaccounting andcorporate governance issues affectingoil giantRoyal Dutch/Shell. The report, prepared at the request of Shell's audit committee, explains how lax standards have allowed the company to vastly overstate the extent of its oil andnatural gas reserves.(company website)
Three car bombs explode outside police stations inBasra, killing 68 people and wounding over 100 more.Iraqi officials blamesuicide bombers for theterrorism. 23 of the casualties are school children. A fourth car bomb explodes in Zubeir, south of Basra, killing three and wounding four. British soldiers assisting the wounded are pelted with stones, injuring four, two seriously.(BBC)(NYT)
Ryongchon disaster: at least 154 people are killed and over 1200 are injured, according to theRed Cross, in a massive explosion after a train carrying explosives came in contact with live electrical wires inRyongchon,North Korea. 1850 homes were destroyed and thousands more damaged.(BBC)(BBC)(NYT)
Palestinian gunmen attack a police station in theGaza Strip, freeing three men arrested for the October 2003 bomb attack against an Americandiplomaticconvoy. A fourth man arrested for the bombing refuses to leave the police station.(AP)
A major fire in downtownBangkok leaves thousands of residents homeless. Hundreds of buildings, including several hotels, are destroyed in the area near the Australian and German embassies.(AP)
A bomb inBaghdad'sSadr City market kills 12Iraqis. In a separate incident, five US soldiers are killed in a rocket attack on a military base north of Baghdad.(CNN)(AP)
Leaders of Australia andBulgaria visited their troops Sunday. Australian Prime MinisterJohn Howard joined Australian troops inBaghdad for ceremonies honoring the country's war dead.Bulgarian PresidentGeorgi Parvanov visited his country's troops two days after aBulgarian soldier was shot dead inKarbala, the sixth from that country to die in the war.
In an open letter toTony Blair, 52 former high ranking British diplomats, including former ambassadors toIraq andIsrael, condemn the Prime Minister's foreign policy stance in theMiddle East as "doomed to failure" and also condemnGeorge W. Bush's recent endorsement ofAriel Sharon's offer towithdraw settlers from the Gaza Strip while leaving some in the West Bank as "one-sided and illegal and which will cost yet more Israeli and Palestinian blood."[2]
Authorities inJordan announce that they have broken up an attempt to set off massive explosions inAmman, possibly including the release of toxic chemicals. Alleged targets include the office of the Prime Minister, Jordanian intelligence headquarters, and the US embassy. The plot is attributed toAl Qaida operativeAbu Musab al-Zarqawi.(CNN)
ThreeIrishmen arrested inColombia in August 2001 on charges of trainingFARC rebels are acquitted.(BBC)
Norwegianchess prodigyMagnus Carlsen (13) becomes the world's youngest internationalGrandmaster (GM), and the second youngest ever, after four wins and four draws out of nine games in the 6thDubai Open Chess Championship.(Aftenposten)
A bomb explosion and gun battle occur inDamascus,Syria between security forces and a "terrorist group," in which four people are killed and a vacantUnited Nations building badly damaged. The identity and motives of the attackers is unclear butIslamist militants are the prime suspects.(BBC).
South African presidentThabo Mbeki is sworn in for a second term after being overwhelmingly reelected on April 14. The event is marred by controversy over the attendance ofZimbabwean presidentRobert Mugabe.[4]
Intense fighting breaks out inFallujah as U.S. forces respond to attacks on their positions byinsurgents. Artillery andAC-130 gunships are used to bombard guerrilla positions, but the number of casualties is as yet unknown.(BBC)
According to aCNN/USA Today/Gallup poll, 71 percent of Iraqis see the U.S. troops in their country as "occupiers" while 19 percent see them as "liberators," although 61 percent say that oustingSaddam Hussein was worth any hardships they had suffered. Still, 57 percent would like U.S./British forces to leave immediately.(CNN)(USA Today)
Cable TV giantComcast abandons its US$66bn bid to take overDisney, citing a lack of interest from the Disney board.(BBC)
Google announces plans for aninitial public offering to raise as much as US$2.72 billion. The IPO will be unconventional in that it will use an auction process and a complex averaging formula designed to prevent brokers' elite customers from winning more shares than average investors.(SF Chronicle)(The Age)
Ten U.S. soldiers are killed in three attacks inIraq, raising the number of U.S. combat deaths in April to 126. More U.S. troops have been killed this month than during the six weeks of "major combat" in 2003.(Washington Post)[permanent dead link]
Federal authorities file the first criminal charges under theCAN-SPAM Act of 2003 against a group that had spammed ads for allegedly worthless "diet patch" products.(Detroit Free Press)
U.S. newscastNightline is taken off the air by several stations owned by theSinclair Broadcast Group because of its planned airing of a list ofU.S. soldiers killed in Iraq. Sinclair claims it is a political ploy, while networkABC says it is meant as "an expression of respect which simply seeks to honor those who have laid down their lives for this country.
PresidentGeorge W. Bush expresses his "disgust" at images ofIraqi prisoners being mistreated by U.S. soldiers: "Their treatment does not reflect the nature of the American people."[6]
Macedonian officials admit that they stageda bogus gun-battle with "terrorists" in March 2002 and that they knew the seven men slain had no terrorist connections. Four members of the security forces face murder charges for their staged killing.[7]
