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United States President George W. Bush has proposed the formation of a national counterterrorism center as the presidential election nears. His opponent, John Kerry, only gained limited support following his speech in Boston during the Democratic Convention, according to a poll by ABC News and Washington Post. The United States have announced plans to move 3,600 troops from South Korea to Iraq, but the trucker's association of Turkey refuses to deliver goods to US forces following the killing of a Turk by Iraqi insurgents. Left-wing Jorge Hank Rhon has won the Tijuana mayoral election in Mexico. The Indian Army reports facing teenage militants in the state of Jammu and Kashmir.
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Chief Warrant Officer Paul Arthur, the lead criminal investigator in the case of Iraqi prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib, told a military court that the soldiers abused the prisoners for fun. Meanwhile, the daugther of Saddam Hussein is willing to employ an American lawyer to make sure her father's trial is fair. In the eastern Pakistani province of Punjab two notable al-Qaida terrorists have been arrested, both of African origin. In the United States the Messenger spacecraft was launched today by NASA and should reach the planet of Mercury by 2011, while New York's Statue of Liberty opens to the public for the first time since the World Trade Center attacks on September 11 of 2001.
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A bomb has exploded near Athens just nine days out from the 2004 Summer Olympics, raising fears of terrorism during the event. Meanwhile, FBI intelligence suggests that Mumbai, Delhi or Bangalore in India could be the target of terrorism attacks. India is also the victim of a monsoon that has so far caused the loss of over 1000 lives. O'Hare Airport in United States city of Chicago have been told commercial flights may be banned at the airport because of the delays being caused in flights around the country.
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A dozen Iraqis and one American soldier were killed in the Iraqi city of Najaf as fighting broke out between United States forces and a Shiite militia. Meanwhile, the more than one million people that were forced to flee their homes because of Arab militias and serious droughts in the Sudanese region of Darfur are being assisted by some aid from the United Nations and relief organizations. In the United States two men involved in a New York mosque have been arrested for attempting to launder money made from the sale of a shoulder-fired missile.
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Faris Ahmed Jamaan al-Showeel al-Zahrani, a suspected terrorist, has been arrested by Saudi authorities, while two Afghani men detained by the United States at Guantanamo Bay have denied that they were enemy fighters. In the middle east Israel has opened the Gaza Border after three weeks, a transport company in Kuwait have announced their willingness to pay ransom money to have hostages released and radical Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr has called for a truce in Iraq following fighting between his militia and United States military forces. Today also saw police in a Northern Ireland city of Londonderry attacked with petrol bombs.
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Fears of attack from Shiite militia has halted pumping at Northern Iraqi oil fields, rising already high world oil prices, while the militia continue fierce fighting with forces of the United States military. Four lives have been claimed at a Mihama non-reactive nuclear plant in central Japan, which is the first fatal incident since September 1999 in Tokyo but one of a series of nuclear accidents in recent times. In the South African capital city Cape Town, 15000 people have been left homeless as a result of heavy rain, while in Australia the resignation of Australia's Governor of Tasmania yesterday has followed almost a year of poor performance and controversial breaches of policy.
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Two people are dead and at least another nine injured in Turkey following bomb explosions at two hotels and a gas plant in Istanbul, reported by the city's chief of police Celalettin Cerrah to be a terrorist attack, although full details are uncertain. The supporters of Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr have stopped traffic and attacked police stations, with conflict continuing to raise world oil prices. Libya is offering up to $35 million to 1986's Berlin nightclub bombing victims. The United States is refusing an al-Qaeda member from testifying at the trial of September 11 2001 terrorist suspect Moroccan Mounir al-Motassadek and the country's president, George W. Bush, has nominated Porter J. Goss for the job of CIA Director.
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After a relay of 26 countries the Olympic Flame reached 2004 Summer Olympics hosting country Greece with the Olympic Opening Ceremony being held on Friday. In the trial of Mounir el-Motassadeq, a German court were told by captured Al Qaeda leaders that the man played no part in the planning of the September 11 2004 terrorist attacks. Meanwhile, United States military forces in Iraq are preparing for a major battle with the Shiite militia. The United Kingdom is the first European country to allow scientists to clone the embryos of humans.
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Hurricane Charley has taken four lives in Jamaica and Cuba and another in Florida, causing 15m-high waves as it reached Florida's west coast. Charley developed into a Category 4 with wind gusts of 145 mph. It moved south of the expected path, never reaching the heavily-populated Tampa and St. Petersburg, but instead passing through the Orange and Lee Countys. Shiite cleric Moqtada al Sadr has been reportedly injured in the Iraqi holy city of Najaf following another day's fighting, while in Basra freelance journalist James Brandon, who works for the British Sunday Telegraph newspaper, was held hostage and threatened with death until he was released under the request of al Sadr. The 2004 Summer Olympic Games in the Greek capital of Athens began officially as the national teams of 202 countries paraded in an emotional opening ceremony.
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The United Nations has reported that 156 Tutsi refugees, mostly women and children, were killed when their camp in Burundi was raided. The Iraqi city of Samarra near Baghad was bombed by United States military planes, while in Najaf a ceasefire was held while Muqtada al-Sadr negotiated with the Iraqi government, who withdrew in the afternoon. Hurricane Charley continues, hitting Punta Gorda city and earning the title of the most destructive Florida storm in 12 years. Tropical Storm Bonnie, meanwhile, causes tornadoes in North Carolina.
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As 1300 Iraqi delegates meet to appoint a national assembly, the conference is fired on with mortars in an terrorist attack that takes the life of one and wounds another 17. Around 1600 Palestinian inmates in Iraqi jails have gone on hunger strike for better conditions, but Iraqi Security Minister Tzahi Hanegbi says he'll rather let them "starve to death" than give in. A bomb blast at an Independence Day parade in India's northeastern state of Assam kills 18.
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In Iraq, the battle between Muqtada al-Sadr's al-Mahdi Army and a joint military force of the United States and Iraqi governments has lead to damage to parts of Najaf's Imam Ali Mosque where al-Sadr's forces are located. United States Presidential Candidate John Kerry calls an independent advertising campaign questioning his military service in Vietnam a 'front' for President George Bush and denies its claims. Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon has shown determination to carry out his disengagement plan despite opposition from his own party. Fighting has raged once again in the Georgian separated republic of South Ossetia between Georgian troops and separatists. Google Inc. began public trading of its shares today on the NASDAQ stock exchange, starting the day at around $100 and ending the day up 18%.
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American Federation of Teachers reports that charter school students are doing worse than public school students and the American state of California has closed down a company operating 60 such charter schools. Washington's World Bank has chosen to ignore a report it commissioned itself three years ago, which Nadia Martinez of the Christian Science Monitor says shows the bank is more interested in the needs of oil companies than the poor.
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In the Nepalese capital of Kathmandu, Maoist rebels have attacked a policeman and set off two bombs in the fourth day of blockades in the city which aim to force the release of rebels held by the Nepalese government. United States Airways is cutting pilot incomes by 16.5% in hope of avoiding a second backruptcy. The United States have arrested and charged two members of the Islamic extremist group Hamas. Oil prices are nearing $50 per barrel. Sportswear manufacturer Puma has threatened to pull sponsorship of a Olympics reggae concert after Jamaican reggae star Beenie Man caused protests with his anti-homosexual lyrics. Many Sudanese refugees are suffering from mental illness, but help is limited and many are being abused.
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The Chicago Tribune's William Rood, who served with presidential candidate John Kerry in the United States military, has defended the politician against questioning of his service in Vietnam. Fighting continued between the forces of the United States and al-Sadr today in the Iraqi holy city of Najaf as the Iraqi government failed to agree to disarmament and al-Sadr's loyalists continued to occupy the Imam Ali shrine. In the United States there is a strong call for allowing preventive detention to be given to terrorist suspects, while in California lawyers of Michael Jackson are trying to prevent evidence being used that they believe to was obtained in an inappropriate manner as the pop star faces charges of child molestation.
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American journalist Micah Garen has been released in the southern Iraqi city of Nasiriyah after being kept hostage for over a week and in Najaf militia loyal to al-Sadr in Iraq remain based in the Imam Ali shrine as fighting continues. The Iraqi Olympic team, meanwhile, are celebrating semi-final placement in Athens. A Jewish community in Paris has been attacked by arsornists who left the words "Jews get out" in graffiti. A mob of Awami League supporters have rioted in Bangladesh, setting passenger train and several stalls alight just a day after a grenade killed 19.
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Volga-AviaExpress Flight 1303 and Siberia Airlines Flight 1047, two Russian jets, crashed within a short time of each other just south of Moscow, with a total of 94 passengers and crew. Leading roles in the United States military are being blamed for possible involvement in the recent prisoner abuse scandal in Iraq, says a report by a team lead by James Schlesinger. The side affects of the drug Remicade are being raised by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Two ministers of the Iraqi government have avoided suicide attacks.
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South Africa: Sir Mark Thatcher has been released on bail following charges of involvement in an apparent coup in Equatorial Guinea, in what his lawyer later called a "showboating exercise to make a political point". An advistor of his mother, former British Prime Minister Lady Margaret Thatcher, later explained to Britain's Channel 4 she was "obviously distressed" at the matter. Lady Thatcher had been in the United States speaking at a guest dinner. Canada: Sugstan Anthony Brookes, a 45-year-old male with a history of domestic violence and assualt, was shot dead by police in Toronto while holding a woman hostage. He shot and pistol whipped his abused wife, before fleeing the scene and holding another woman hostage. Europe: Astronomers have a discovered a third extrasolar planet orbiting Mu Arae which could be the first rocky planet ever discoverd that does not orbit the sun.
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Iraq: Kufa's main mosque is the victim of a mortar attack that kills 25 and injures 100 as conflict continues in and around Najaf. In a Shiite march nearby another 20 were killed and 70 wounded after shots were fired, reportedly from the Iraqi National Guard. Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Husaini Sistani has meanwhile begun talking peace with Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, asking for three weeks without fighting. He has also called for peace from protesters and forces of the United States and Iraqi governments. Chile: Former military ruler Augusto Pinochet no longer has immunity against trials for charges of murder and torture. United Kingdom: Muslim cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri has been arrested for terrorism involvement under the Terrorism Act 2000. United States: Census Bereau data has revealed that the number of Americans living in poverty has risen by 1.3 million. Sudan: International aid organizations are trying to stop refugees from seeking asylum in the crouded refugee camps of Chad.
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Two people are being held for questioning over a suspected plot to set off a bomb in New York City as protests continue during the Republican National Conference. Ben F. Barnes, a former Texas lieutenant governor, has apologized for allowing US President George W. Bush into the Texas Air National Guard during 1968. Our Lady of Kazan, which represents the Virgin Mary, has been returned to Russia after a century of dispute between Vatican and the Russian Orthodox Church. The father of Australian Guantanamo Bay detainee David Hicks has travelled the Middle East in a television documentary released just days after Hicks was charged.
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In the United States, Tropical Storm Gaston has arrived in the South Carolina locality of Bulls Bay bringing with it a hurricane of 70 mph. An Afghani school has exploded and killed ten, according to the United States Military. The 2004 Australian Federal Election was announced by the country's Prime Minister and will be held October 9. A weekend of protesting in New York before the 2004 Republican National Convention continued as politicians arrived. The 2004 Olympic Games ended with a Closing Ceremony hours after a trip-up of the winning marathon runner saw him gain Bronze, a special sportsmanship award and an apology from embarassed organizers.
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The United States and the European Union protest against the disqualification of Malik Saidullayev in the Chechnya presidential elections that will see Alu Alkhanov win the election. The Republican National Convention begins in the United States city of New York, causing the National Federation of Independent Business and others to hold parties, while many protest. Also in the country a State of Emergency is announced in Central Virginia after Tropical Storm Gaston causes major rain and flooding, on the same day Hurricane Frances approaches Puerto Rico in the Carribean. Attempts continue to stop the Asian carp from entering North America's Great Lakes, while the United Nations has suggested that sanctions have failed to stop or restrict al Qaeda.
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Washington's World Bank and International Monetary Fund, the New York Stock Exchange and New York companies have all been placed on a level of high security alert by the government of the United States after intelligence suggested a chance of a terrorist attack by extremist group al Qaeda. In Iraq a dozen people have been killed in car bomb attacks on Christian churches and another ten have died in overnight fighting in Falluja. Sudan has rejected the UN sanction deadline, instead agreeing to an 90-day programme previously proposed by the UN. In Britain's Independent newspaper, the government body English Heritage has accused Hollywood of a poor portrayal of the country's history, with Saving Private Ryan being among those he claimed were 'prime offenders'.
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Flooding in Bangladesh and India have lead to over 19,000 fatalities, with sixty percent of Bangladesh underwater and many in desperate need of aid. The government of Iraq has stopped Arab cable network Al Jazeera from operating in the country because it was thought the network's news coverage encouraged violence. English soccer football coach Sven-Goran Eriksson is wanting his job back, while in horse racing The Rest of the World defeated Great Britain and Ireland in the Shergar Cup. As the Olympics nears, 400 meters hurdle champion Jana Pittman may be forced to withdrawal after an injury.
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Iran and North Korea have continued to quickly develop their nuclear weapon capapbilities, despite diplomatic efforts, say intelligence experts in the United States. In the Middle East Karbala's Iranian Consul has been taken hostage by Iraqi militants and at the Arab League sumitt in Egypt, Sudan is trying to discourage United Nations sanctions threatened after conflict in Darfur. In finance the week ended with international oil prices increasing dramatically and in several cases breaking 10-year records.
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Forces of the United States and Iraqi governments have surrounded the Imam Ali Shrine where Moqtada Sadr's radical Shiite militia have baricaded themselves. The Supreme Court of India ordered the country's first execution in 15 year when it sentenced Dhananjoy Chatterjee to death by hanging in Calcutta on August 14. José Durão Barroso, the President of the European Union, has allocated new portfolios to the new European Commission he has formed.
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Helicopters have moved 150 people to safer ground in the town of Boncastle in the English county of Cornwall, which has been hit by serious flash floods that swept cars, buildings and roads away. Conflict between the Jaish-i-Mahdi militia and forces of Iraq and the United States is set to get worse in the Iraqi holy city of Najaf, as journalists are ordered out. Cassini-Huygens, a NASA spacecraft, has found two natural satellites in Saturn.
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After Iraqi Prime Minister Dr. Iyad Allawi threatened to "liberate" the holy city of Najaf, Muqtada al-Sadr ordered his militia to leave the city and disband, although no deadline has been set. Columbia has agreed to let 50 imprisoned trade guerrillas go if the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia releases its hostages. In London eight men have been convicted of terrorism.
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Fighting continues in Najaf between militia and US forces that are some of the heaviest in the past 20 days. Arellano Félix gang member Gilberto Higuera Guerrero has been arrested in Mexico for drug smuggling. Days after an advertising campaign against presidential candidate John Kerry's military service was announced to the media and caused controversy, President Bush has asked for advertisements attacking both candidates to stop in an attempt to distance himself from who those made the anti-Kerry ad. The search continues for the missing "The Scream" painting and another by famous artist Edvard Munch that were taken in broad daylight by armed robbers Sunday.
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Iraq: The standoff in the Iraqi city of Najaf has come to a close, with both the al-Sadr militia and the United States military agreeing to leave the city, which will now be governmened by the Iraqi interim government. The resolution was the result of talks by Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani. Elsewhere in the country Islamic militants have killed an Italian journalist after holding him hostage. United States of America: CBS News program 60 Minutes has reported that an FBI espionage investigation could soon reveal an Israeli spy operating from within the Pentagon. The spy is thought to have been passing information on to Israel, which includes secret documents about Iran. Russia: Cyclotrimethylene trinitramine, an explosive material more commonly known as hexogen, has been found in the remains of two airplanes that crashed four days ago on August 24 2004. Islambouli Brigades, an Islamic extremist group, has claimed repsonsiblity for the attacks. United States of America: The Central Intelligence Unit has been expanded under the instruction of President Bush following recommendation in the 9-11 Commission report with Porter Goss has been nominated as Director. United States of America: Democratic Presidential Candidate John Kerry has spoke about the rising American poverty rate as the US Presidential Election draws near and he remains equal in the polls with current President George W. Bush.
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1: Palestinian suicide bombers linked to Hamas kill 16 Israelis and injure another 91 in an attack on two buses, months after the last successful attack.
2: In Moscow 10 are dead and 51 are injured in a suicide attack on a subway railway station. Islamic extremist group Army of Ansar al-Sunna kill 12 Nepalese hostages in Iraq in what they call "the sentence of God."
3: Despite threats to kill two French hostages in Iraq, France refuses to give in to demands by Muslim militants to lift bans on the wearing of Muslim hijabs in schools. Attacks on oil pipelines cause further reduce oil exports from Iraq.
4: An estimated 6 civilians are thought dead after a raid by the United States military forces in Afghanistan.
5: A new report shows that ten years after the United Nations set goals to improve access to contraception for women, 123 million women cannot access the contraception products they need, although many girls are staying in school and going on to better careers.
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