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Events

January 1, 2005

• The world rings in 2005. Some nations observe a moment of silence with candles and white roses for the at least 150,000 dead and 5,000,000 left homeless after the 26 December tsunamis. In many countries flags are flown at half staff. (Reuters)
• A group of Peruvian army reservists from the Movimiento Etnocacerista seize a police station in Andahuaylas, Apurímac Region, demanding the resignation of President Alejandro Toledo. Four police officers die in a shootout, another dozen police are taken as hostages, and a state of emergency is declared in the region. (BBC)
• The Turkish currency is revalued at a rate of 1,000,000 "old" lira for 1 New Turkish Lira. (BBC)
• Israeli-Palestinian conflict:
  • Israeli troops allegedly misfire a tank shell and kill a 9-year-old Palestinian girl; her 11-year-old sister was also injured. (Al Bawaba)
  • Palestinian militants allegedly misfire a Qassam rocket and kill a Palestinian girl in Jabalia. (Haaretz)
  • IDF soldiers kill 11 Palestinians, 9 of whom are alleged to have been militants and 2 said to have been civilians in Khan Yunis. (Haaretz)
  • IDF soldiers kill 3 suspected Palestinian militants who were allegedly planting explosives near the border with Egypt in Rafah. (Haaretz)
    • Palestinian sources say the 3 men killed by the IDF near the border with Egypt in Rafah were unarmed. (Haaretz)
  • Palestinian militants fire four Qassam rockets at the Negev and 3 at Sderot, Israel causing damage but no casualties. (Haaretz)
• Luxembourg takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

(AP)

January 2, 2005

• Aníbal Acevedo Vilá officially becomes governor of Puerto Rico. He is the eighth popularly elected governor of the Commonwealth. (El Vocero, in Spanish)
• Global tsunami aid donations exceed USD 2 billion (EUR 1.5 billion). (Xinhua)
• The Washington Post and Reuters report that the US government is preparing to keep suspected terrorists in detention without charge for life. (Reuters)

January 3, 2005

• In Iraq, a spate of suicide bombings (including one near Iraqi National Accord headquarters) kills 27. Interim defence minister Hazim al-Shaalan hints that the assembly elections scheduled for 30 January could be delayed to allow for Sunni Muslim participation. (Oman Times) (Al Jazeera)
• 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake:
  • The United Nations accepts Singapore's offer to set up a UN Regional Coordination Centre to coordinate relief efforts to stricken areas. This centre will see an influx of UN staff and it is likely to be a long-term infrastructure to help reconstruction efforts. John Budd, UNICEF head of communications in Indonesia, said, "The Singapore government's military (SAF) response to the emergency in Aceh has been nothing less than outstanding. It has done a phenomenal job; all the aid agencies and the UN are very grateful for the enormous and fast response the military in Singapore brought to bear on this disaster." (CNA)
  • Three U.S. Presidents – George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George H. W. Bush – make a joint appeal urging Americans to aid the tsunamis' victims. (BBC) Bush makes a presidential proclamation to fly the U.S. flag at half staff from 3-7 Jan in honor of the tsunami victims. (whitehouse.gov)
  • The United Kingdom's Metropolitan Police announces that they have arrested a suspect in a hoax case where Britons missing relatives or friends in the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake received e-mail messages informing them that the person had died. The messages came from the improbably fake address ukgovfoffice@aol.com . (Telegraph) (BBC) (London Free Press)
• In Peru, 200 men from the ultranationalist Movimiento Etnocacerista who took over the town of Andahuaylas and its police station first say they intend to give up their weapons, then retract, saying the government had reneged on a surrender deal. (BBC) (Bloomberg) (New York Times)
• In the Croatian election, incumbent President Stipe Mesic receives 49% of the vote. He will face Deputy Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor in a second round commencing on January 16. (Reuters) (BBC)
• In Uganda, a seven-week ceasefire between the government and the Lord's Resistance Army ends with the rebel ambush of government troops near the town of Gulu. President Yoweri Museveni promises to increase military action against the rebels. (BBC)
• Ethiopian opposition groups demonstrate against the government's plan to reopen border talks with Eritrea. (IOL) (BBC)

January 4, 2005

• 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake: Three Free Aceh Movement (GAM) rebels are killed in a clash with the Indonesian military in the northern Aceh province. Fighting broke out apparently when Indonesian troops attempted to escort aid trucks. Both sides claim the other are taking advantage of the devastation left from the tsunamis. (ABC Australia) (News.com.au)
• Conflict in Iraq: Governor of Baghdad Ali al-Haidri is assassinated in a roadside ambush in the Iraqi capital. (BBC)
• Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: Seven Palestinians are killed when an Israeli tank opens fire on farmland in the northern Gaza Strip. Palestinian presidential candidate and Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas responds to the deaths with a strong verbal attack on the "Zionist enemy" Israel. Six of the dead were from the same family, including an 11-year-old boy. All the dead were civilians younger than 18. (The Guardian) (BBC) (BBC)
• In Peru, Antauro Humala, the leader of the Movimiento Etnocacerista, turns himself in, thereby ending the hostage crisis. (Reuters) (BBC)
• The Algerian government announces a crackdown on the GIA rebel organization. Its leader Nourredine Boudiafi was arrested and his deputy Chaabane Younes killed in operation two months ago. (Afrol) (Reuters) (BBC)
• In Burundi, government forces and members of various armed groups begin to join to form a national army. (BBC)
• In Malawi, three members of the ruling United Democratic Front party are arrested for carrying guns to a meeting with the president Bingu wa Mutharika. They are later released on bail. (Reuters Alertnet) (Nation Onliune, Malawi) (BBC)

January 5, 2005

• According to The 2005 Index of Economic Freedom , the USA has for the first time dropped from the top 10 free nations of the world, Hong Kong continues its number one ranking for the 11th consecutive year, released by the Heritage Foundation and the Wall Street Journal . (The Heritage Foundation | 2005 Index) (Financial Times)
• Venezuela promises to investigate claims that Rodrigo Granda, a prominent member of the Colombian rebel group FARC, was captured from Caracas instead of from inside Colombia. Granda was arrested December 13, 2004. (BBC)
• Serbian Justice Minister Zoran Stojkovic rejects the U.N. ICTY war crimes tribunal's demands that Serbia arrest four generals accused of committing atrocities in Kosovo. (B92) (BBC)
• The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission accuses Mexican broadcaster TV Azteca of involvement in a massive debt fraud; TV Azteca stock on the New York and Mexico City exchanges drops 9% on the news. (BBC)

January 6, 2005

• Former South African President Nelson Mandela breaks a strong taboo when he announces that the death at age 54 of his sole surviving son, Makgatho Mandela, was caused by AIDS, which kills about 600 people daily in South Africa. His action is viewed as being critical of his successor, Thabo Mbeki, who has denied a link between HIV and AIDS. (ABC), (BBC).
• 2004 U.S. presidential election controversy:
  • U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary Democratic Staff releases a 100 page report on the Ohio election.
  • For the first time since 1877 the Electoral vote certification in Congress was interrupted by a formal challenge to an entire state's Electoral votes. The challenge of Ohio's Electoral votes, brought by U.S. Representative Stephanie Tubbs Jones and U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer, lead to a 2-hour debate. The challenge was rejected by a vote of 1-74 (Yea-Nay) by the Senate and by a vote of 31-267 in the House; the electoral vote for the United States Presidency is officially certified as 286 for Republican George W. Bush, 251 for Democrat John Kerry, and 1 for Democrat John Edwards, leading to Bush's reelection. (CNN)
• Camp X-Ray: The United States Department of Defense announces a new investigation into allegations of prisoner abuse at the Camp X-Ray detention center in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. (BBC)
• Conflict in Iraq: An Iraqi civilian testifies that U.S soldiers, including Sergeant Tracy Perkins, forced him and his cousin to jump into the Tigris River and laughed as his relative was swept to his death. (BBC)
• 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake: World leaders gather in Jakarta, Indonesia, for an emergency summit with the United Nations. Aid pledges since the Asian Tsunami disaster are near USD 4 billion (€ 3 billion). Nearly 150,000 people have been confirmed dead in the four hardest hit nations - Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka and Thailand. (CNA)

January 7, 2005

• 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake:
  • Japan sends its largest military deployment since World War II to tsunami-hit countries, with around 1,000 troops on standby. (CNA)
  • The Group of Seven Industrialised Nations (G7)

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