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World News - September 2004
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In the city of Beslan in the Russian republic of North Ossetia near Chechnya, an estimated 400 school children and adults have been taken hostage as a school is attacked by armed terrorists with explosive belts. Alu Alkhanov has won the Chechnya presidential election with a strong 73.67% majority of the votes, while John Kerry has critized Dick Cheney's acceptance of re-nomination for Vice President. The number of United States soldiers killed in Iraq stands at 975, which is 300 higher than at the handing over of power on June 28. The day also saw the release of seven truck drivers who had been kept hostage for the past six weeks. Reuters has meanwhile reported that Iran may be considering building five nuclear bombs, although officials deny the claims.
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Russia refuses to use force as the Beslan school siege continues into another day, as two large explosions are seen and thirty-two women and children are released. The famous Duchess Anna Amalia Library in Weimar, Thuringia, Germany, which holds a large collection of German documents and literature of historical importance, has been attacked by a fire overnight, with millions of dollars damage. The National Republican Convention comes to a close with George W. Bush's acceptance of his nomination for a second term. An air strike by the United States in the Iraqi city of Falluja costs of the lives of seventeen, including three children.
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The number taken hostage in the Beslan school is closer to 1500 than 400, say hostages released yesterday. Several explosions and gunfire were heard after 0900 UTC or 1PM local time and this was followed by the collapse of the roof. Although soldiers were reported to be in control of the situation, journalists in the area reported a lack of organization with parents having to act themselves to save their children and no boundary being set to stop hostages escaping. Around 150 bodies are found in the school gym, with many more dehydrated, naked and in need of urgent medical attention. Further reports talk of children having to squeeze water out of their clothing before resorting to drinking urine. Elsewhere in the world former United States president Bill Clinton shall undergo heart bypass surgery and President Lahoud will continue another term after a controversial change in the Lebanon constitution.
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Hurricane Frances forces around 2.5 million people in Florida to leave their homes after striking the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos Islands. Around 360 are now thought dead after the Beslan school siege, including 156 children, 10 Russian Special Forces troops and 26 terrorists. Another three terrorists have been captured and around 700 have been reported injured. President Putin visited the city, speaking of possible counterterrorism measures. A suicide bomber kills 17 outside a Kurkuk police academy in Iraq, while the fighting continues between Iraqi and United States forces and Shiite insurgents in Mosul.
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In Russia the funerals begin today for those killed in the Beslan school hostage, over half of which were children. President Putin spoke of improving Russia's reaction to terrorist and said the terrorism attack was the result of the country's "weakness". Japan is hit by two large earthquakes that are thought to bring tsunamis. Former Iraqi military commander Izzat Ibrahim Al-Douri, who was the most wanted man in Iraq after the capture of Saddam Hussein, is still in hiding despite earlier reports of his capture. The man in captivity is a relative, medical tests revealed.
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In Iraq, the United States military planes have bombed Najaf, telling its residents to leave as it hunts the Mahdi army in the central city. In Fallujah, seven United States soldiers and another three Iraqi soldiers have been killed in a car bomb as another day of fighting continues. Hurricane Ivan gathers strength as it nears Barbados and other Carribean islands. As the United States Presidential Election nears, Democrat John Kerry criticizes George Bush's policies on health and the economy. He has the support of fomer United States President Bill Clinton, who is expected to recover from his heart bypass surgery.
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An attack by Israelis has killed 14 Hamas members involved in violent guerrilla tactics. Two Italians and two Iraqis have been kidnapped in Iraq and 34 are dead in conflict between Americans and Shiites as the British Royal Institute of International Affairs called for action to prevent a civil war in the country. Hurricane Frances has died down after killing 12 in the Bahamas, Florida and Georgia. Afghani presidential candidate Hamid Karzai is looking towards refugees to support him. The United States Congress has returned from a summer break to consider what actions need to be taken following the release of a report from the 9/11 Commission.
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The Russian government has offered 300 million rubles for help that may lead to the arrest of Chechen rebel leaders Shamil Basayev and Aslan Maskhadov. A Palestinian girl is in a critical condition after Israeli sniper attacks on a school, the UN reports. Questions continue to be raised about the military service of President George W. Bush, as the United States Department of Defense releases further documents about the President's Texas Air National Guard service. Vice President Dick Cheney has suggested that if John Kerry wins November's presidential elections the USA will no doubt face another terrorist attack. NASA's unmanned Genesis spacecraft crashed tragically in the desert because of parachute failures.
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9 are dead and another 180 are wounded in a direct car bomb attack by Jemaah Islamiyah on the Australian Embassy in the Indonesian city of Jakarta, with threats of more attacks if Australia does not pull troops from Iraq. The Pakistani airforce have killed 50 militants and several civilians in an attack on suspected Al-Qaeda members on the Afghan border. Forces of the United States and Iraq continue to fight against Shiite militia in Talafar, with casualities exceeding 17. Israeli forces invaded a refugee camp, provoking gunfire and killing 5 Palestinians, including 1 child. Hurricane Ivan causes more damage in the already battered Jamaica, Cuba and Florida, while US Secretary of State Colin Powell officially marks the actions of Arab militia in Sudan as genocide. Almost two years on from the September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States, rescue workers are found to be suffering from breathing and psychological problems.
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Hurricane Ivan has hit Jamaica with heavy wind and rain, causing flooding and destruction as emergency workers were robbed at gunpoint. Upcoming Iraqi elections will most likely be dominated by the political parties lead by former Iraqi exiles because of their involvement in the Coalition Provisional Authority, reports say. With Presidential Elections in the United States less than two months off, the terrorism-prevention policies of leaders has become more important and George W. Bush has critized John Kerry's uncertain position on Iraq. CBS News Anchor Dan Rather is standing by the validity of memos suggesting President Bush received special treatment in the Texas National Guard. Controversial Disney CEO Michael Eisner has announced his retirement in 2006.
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On the anniversary of the tragedy of the September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States of America, the country mourns the tragic events with moments of silence started by President George W. Bush. Three years on from the attacks, al Qaida leader Osama bin Laden is still at large and believed to be involved in the continuing terrorist activity of the group in the Middle East. Also in the Middle East, United States soldier Armin J Cruz was today jailed for abusing prisoners in Iraq. Hurricane Ivan causes 25-m high waves in Jamaica as another day of looting and caos continues in the capital Kingston.
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Fighting between militants and Americans sees 24 dead in another day of fighting. In the North Korean province of Ryanggang an explosion is reported to have occurred on September 9 that created mushroom clouds and could possibly be a nuclear explosion, although U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell has expressed doubt. The explosion has raised concern over the status of North Korea's nuclear testing. The Hong Kong Legislative Council election gets a 53% turnout with 1.7 million braving long queues to vote, with pro-Beijing campaigners expected to better and pro-democracy campaigners only have minor gains. Saudi Arabian elections will occur for the first time next year.
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Air strikes by the US Military in the Iraqi city of Fallujah killed 16, including a television reporter who died while filing a report. Elsewhere in the Middle East, 22 Afghani Taleban and al-Qaeda members have been killed. A protestor from British father's rights activism group Fathers 4 Justice dressed as comic superhero Batman and climbed the side of Buckingham Palace in a daring act that lead to a review of the palace's security. United States Secretary of State Colin Powell told American television broadcaster NBC he could see no relation between Saddam Hussein and the September 11 terrorist attacks of 2001. Former Protestant terrorist Ken Barrett has pleaded guilty to killing Pat Finucane in Northern Ireland during 1989 and Ontario Court of Appeal has accepted the divorce of a lesbian couple.
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Hurricane Jeanne has left at least 556 dead and much country of Haiti underwater with more deaths expected to be reported. Abu Musab al-Zarqawi-lead Tawhid and Jihad has beheaded American Eugene Armstrong and threatens to do the same to two other American hostages if the USA does not meet their demands. The UN has expressed concern that 1.5 million women and children in flood-stricken Bangladesh could be at risk of acute malnutrition. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has from President Megawati Sukarnoputri in the Indonesian presidential elections. As the United States Presidential Election nears, John Kerry has claimed George Bush made "colossal failures of judgment" and both have agreed to three television debates starting September 30.
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A car bomb near a police station in Baghdad killed 45 and injured another 100, while the US stops attacking Tall Afar, a city in Northern Iraq populated by Turkomen, after Turkey threatened to withdrawal support for the United States. Tropical Storm Jeanne raises concern as Hurricane Ivan creates flooding and damage in Cuba and nears the Gulf Coast. September 11 terrorist suspect Zacarias Moussaoui has been refused the right to call fellow Camp X-Ray prisoners as witnesses in the first trial of a suspect in the US. In China, Three Gorges Dam is being protected by soldiers in case of a possible terrorist attack. The security of United Nations officials involved in next year's Afghani elections is uncertain. In world business news, Japan's Sony Corporation has paid almost US$5 billion to purchase MGM and their extensive film library that includes classics like James Bond.
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Hurricane Ivan saw 1.9 million told to evacuate from their homes on the Gulf Coast, inlcuding 1.2 million in the city of New Orleans, which is predicted to become flooded with chemical-polluted water if it is hit hard by the 16 km/h storm. A law against hound hunting in Britain was passed with majority support as violence erupted between Countryside Alliance protestors and police and four activists stormed the Commons chamber, lead by rock star Brian Perry. Three Americans in Afghanistan are appealing a 10-year jail sentence for setting up a private jail and torturing Afgahnis. An Israeli raid sees 10 Palestinian victims, including an 11-year-old girl and 6 gunmen. The National Hockey League in the United States has been suspended because of pay concerns.
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In the early morning Hurricane Ivan reached the city of Mobile and passed through the Gulf Shores of Alabama, causing huge damage as it delivered strong winds, brought sea water a mile inland from the shore, cost the life of 33, left 1.5 million without power, covered the roads in debri and caused up to US$10 billion damage. Tropical Storm Jeanne reached hurricane level before passing through Dominican Republic in the Caribbean and could potentially be develop into another hurricane. In Iraq two Americans and one British person working for the Gulf Services Company have been kidnapped and America's NPR reported that the number of foreigners kidnapped has exceeded 120. Also in the Middle East, Afghan President Hamid Karzai has avoided an assassination attempt.
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60 fighters were killed when the US attacked Abu Musab al-Zarqawi loyalists in Fallujah from the air, although many others are thought dead, including children. 5 others were killed and 20 were injured in a Baghdad car bomb. Chechen separatist Shamil Basayev has claimed responsibility, on behalf of his Riyadus-Salikhinhas group, for the Beslan school siege. US Secretary of State Colin Powell has spoken out against State Department concerns about Saudi Arabia's restrictions on religious freedoms, while the mother of a US soldier killed in Iraq feels her freedom of speech is restricted after she is arrested for interupting a speech by First Lady Laura Bush. Peace talks in Sudan between the government and rebels in Darfur have failed.
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23 die in attack on Iraqi Military Headquaters. 23 are dead in a car bomb attack on Iraq's National Guard Headquaters in Kirkuk, Shia cleric Sheikh Kadhim al-Hany is killed in ambush, fighting rages between British forces and Moqtada Sadr supporters in Basra, a bomb kills one and wounds two on a Baghdad roadside and nine are injured in a mortar shell attack on a Baquba school. UN threatens Sudan with sanctions. The UN Security Council resolution to threaten sanctions against Sudan if the country fails to control Darfur militia passes without opposition. 95,000 left homeless by Ivan in Grenada. In the Caribbean island of Grenada 95000 are left homeless after Hurricane Ivan, with 90% of buildings and the essential nutmeg industry are almost totally destroyed. Ivan hits Tennessee and North Carolina. After strong rain hit from Hurricane Frances, rivers in east Tennessee and North Carolina are now overflowing. Paralympics are underway in Athens. The Paralympics officially get underway in the Greek capital of Athens
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Iraqi elections will go ahead. Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi delayed the coming Iraqi elections despite heavy violence continuing across the country. Peaceful president changeover in China. Former Chinese President Jiang Zemin resigned from his final position as Chairmanship of the Central Military Commission as Hu Jintao replaces him in the first orderly change of power since 1949. Suspected Palestinian bombers surrender. Two Palestinian women Israel suspected to be suicide bombers have surrended. Bush tours Florida as storm Jeanne nears. President Bush visited areas in Florida hit by Hurricane Ivan, which killed 49, as tropical storm Jeanne reached the sea after causing devastation in the Caribbean. Iran refuses to stop uranium testing. Iran has refused to stop its uranium enrichment activities after a UN request and has threatened to end inspections
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President Bush has spoken to the United Nations with a request for support in the reconstruction of Iraq, although Kofi Annan and others are still against the actions of the US-led coalition and Kerry has suggested he was "in denial" over the conflict. While Bush spoke, Tawhid and Jihad beheaded American hostage Jack Hensley and threatened the life of Briton Kenneth Bigley. In Haiti 691 are dead and another 1,000 as Hurricane Jeanne floods Gonaïves and leaves thousands homeless. America's tobacco industry looks set to suffer with a US$280 billion trial by the Federal Government for misleading the American public about the dangers of smoking. Trade sanctions by the United States against Libya have been removed after Libya last year decided to reduce its nuclear weapons. Syria appears to be removing its 20,000 troops from Lebanon in accordance with a UN Resolution.
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Kenneth Bigley, the British hostage of a terrorist group in Iraq, has pleaded with Tony Blair for his life in a newly released video after his two American colleagues were beheaded in the past two days, while two Italian women are also thought to have been taken hostage. A variety of officials from the International Criminal Police Organization and various countries have met together to discuss measures to prevent terrorism in Africa. Hurricane Ivan has moved to the Gulf of Mexico and is set to pass over Texas as a tropical storm. American terrorist suspect Ahmad al Halabi has pleaded guilty to four charges and will no longer face charges of espionage from the US Military while enemy combatant Yaser Hamdi will give up his US citizenship in return for being released to Saudi Arabia. Porter Goss is the new director of America's Central Intelligence Agency after a Senate vote.
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Atlantic storm Ivan develops into a tropical storm and heads for the Texas-Lousiana border. Hurricane Jeanne's Haiti death toll is currently at 1080 and is expected to rise to 2000. The UK and Iraq are refusing to meet the demands of the Tawhid and Jihad group despite the life of a British hostage being at stake. In the race to become US President both Kerry and Bush have launched new advertisements, with Bush using windsurfing to represent Kerry's changing mind in what Kerry calls "tasteless and juvenile". British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw has criticized America's decision to refuse former pop star Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens) entry into the United States on apparent security concerns.
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US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi say the insecurity in Iraq may prevent some parts of the country from being included in the elections, although their suggestion has met strong opposition. Meanwhile, the Muslim Council of Britain has sent representatives to Iraq to try and get British hostage Kenneth Bigley released. In Canada, the Nova Scotia Supreme Court has ruled same-sex marriages legal in the province without any government opposition. Tropical storm Ivan is developing again within the Gulf of Mexico as Florida prepares for Hurricane Jeanne on Sunday Septmeber 26. US presidential candidate Kerry has announced a seven-step plan against terrorism as absentee ballots open in more than half of the states.
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The United States denies reports of 8 dead in air strikes on the Iraqi city of Fallujah. British Prime Minister Tony Blair told the country's national Observer newspaper that the terrorists who had taken British Kenneth Bigley hostage had put the British government in an uncomfortable decision because of the way they used the media. The US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage offers reassurance that Iraqi elections will go ahead as planned. An Israeli is reported killed by mortar attacks in the Khan Yunis refugee camps, leading the Israeli forces to destroy the camp housing an estimated 200 Palestinians. As Hurricane Jeanne hovers over the northern Bahamas three million in Florida are told to evacuate the area.
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1: The Royal Air Force of Britain sent planes to ensure the safe landing at London's Stansted Airport of a Greek Olympic Airlines airplane after bomb threats.
2: Two car bombs in Baghdad wound soldiers of Iraq and the United States and a senior Iraqi commander has been arrested for suspected involvement in the activities of insurgents.
3: Hurricane Jeanne has killed 4 and left a million without power in Florida as Haiti struggles to recover with the looting of supplies.
4: Al-Qaeda member Amjad Farooqi has been killed by Pakistani forces. He is the suspected murderer of American journalist Daniel Pearl.
5: A duet with British pop stars Yusuf Islam and Ronan Keating is expected to be released this Christmas and looks set to hit number one in the British and American charts.
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1: Violence conflicts between Palestinians and Israelis continue with Israel raiding Jenin on the West Bank, four Palestinians kidnapping Israeli journalist Riad Abu Ali and the road at the Gaza Strip being closed because of the violent outbursts of Israelis.
2: Iraq: Seven are dead in two more car bombings and a mortar attack on police buildings, Sadr City is targeted by US air strikes and Iranian Fereidoun Jahani is freed.
3: The hurricane season appears to have cost Florida $20 billion, while concerns of Hurricane Jeanne's forest destruction cause concern to Haiti.
4: Paralympic Closing Ceremony celebrations will not go ahead as planned after seven school-aged Greek children were killed when their bus crashed.
5: Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group conglomerate is set to offer a very expensive travel alternative with the launch of commercial space airline Virgin Galactic and Branson is also launching an online music service.
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1: In Iraq a day fighting saw eight die in US air strikes on Fallujah and two British soldiers die in a battle in Basra. Security concerns are being raised about the Syrian border with Iraq, which is allowing foreign fighters through. The two Red Cross aid workers and two other Iraqi workers have been released after being kidnapped for more than two weeks ago. Another four Egyptians have been released. The security of international workers remains a major concern with claims US aid money for Iraq is not being able to be efficiently used. The fate of Britian's Kenneth Bigley remains uncertain.
2: Israeli CNN producer Riad Abu Ali has been released a day after being taken hostage by four Palestinians. The West Bank killing by Israelis of a mentally-ill Palestinian has gained international controversy.
3: World oil prices have dropped back slightly after 21-year highs of over US$50 per barrel. The rise was part of continuing rising oil prices, but a contributing factor was the news that Nigerian militia have threatened
4: Thursday's US Presidential Debate nears with the candidates preparing debate strategies and Bush increasing his lead over Kerry.
5: Spacecraft SpaceShipOne, a joint venture between aircraft designer Burt Rutan and Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, is scheduled to fly on Wednesday morning and Monday in hope of winning the $10-million Ansari X Prize competition which is aimed at attracting private sector investment into spacecraft research. Another $50 million competition is planned.
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