Digest/29November2004

November 29, 2004  Digest for 29 November-5 December 2004

< 22-29 November 2004 • Index • 6-13 December 2004 >

Articles dated 29 November to 5 December 2004 are included in the compilation below. Their status in the current proposed review policy at time of compilation is noted next to each date of articles of some length, with articles only in development being listed at bottom.

Articles
Aljazeera says United States have used napalm in Fallujah

29 November 2004 | Review failed

Fallujah, Iraq - According to Al-jazeera, an Arabic television channel based in Qatar, the United States military have used napalm in its assault on Fallujah. Civilians, it has been reported, have been killed in these latest attacks. The information has not been supported by international mainstream news agencies.

Ukrainian opposition leader calls for police and army to join revolution

29 November 2004| Not participating

KIEV, UKRAINE - President Leonid D. Kuchma Monday proposed holding a new election to end the political crisis threatening to tear the country apart, according to the New York Times.

American teenage girl charged with murder of her own mother

29 November 2004 | Under review

United States - Rachelle Waterman, (aka Rachelle Ann Monica Waterman and "smchyrocky"), a 16-year-old girl from Craig, Alaska, USA, has been charged with the first degree murder of her mother.

Ruling party ahead in Romanian elections

29 November 2004 | Under review

Bucharest. Romania's ruling Social Democrat Party (PSD) has emerged ahead in yesterday's legislative and presidential elections. The voter turnout was around 57% of all eligible voters, which number 18 million people in a country of 21.7 million.

Lycos launches screensaver to increase spammers' bills

29 November 2004 | Peer reviewed

EUROPE - Internet portal and mail-provider Lycos Europe has launched a program to increase spammers' bills by having thousands of voluntary users' computers repeatedly query websites from which spam originates. Such a tactic would increase the bandwidth costs for these websites. However, it also faces legal questions.

US president Bush visits Canada

30 November 2004 | Peer reviewed

OTTAWA - United States President George W. Bush made his first official state visit to Canada this week.

China and South East Asian nations to create the world's largest free trade area

30 November 2004 | Under review

VIENTIANE, Laos - The People's Republic of China has signed an agreement with ASEAN to establish the world's largest free trade area. Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, India and Australia are considering joining. ASEAN members include Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam, Singapore and Indonesia.

Outgoing U.S. Congress takes parting jabs at wildlife protection

30 November 2004 | Under review

Washington, DC –– In what is likely to be its final action this term, the 108th Congress nullified the effects of three recent court rulings extending key wilderness protections to wildlife refuge, national park and forest lands, according to Wilderness Watch and Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). Through unrelated provisions inserted in the $388 billion omnibus bill, Congressional leaders cut back wilderness safeguards in Alaska, Idaho and the Georgia seacoast.

Hopes rise for breakthrough in Northern Ireland Peace Process

30 November 2004 | Under review

Belfast - Hopes were rising that the impasse in the Good Friday Agreement could be broken with high level talks in Downing Street between the British Prime Minister Tony Blair and the Democratic Unionist leader Ian Paisley.

Valech Report released

30 November, 2004 | Under review

CHILE - The Valech Report, officially titled The National Commission on Political Imprisonment and Torture Report, was made public yesterday (November 29, 2004) by Bishop Sergio Valech, the head of the eight-member panel commission into abuses committed in Chile between 1973 and 1990 by agents of Augusto Pinochet's military regime. It was prepared by the National Commission on Political Imprisonment and Torture at the request of the president, and it is freely available to the public as a document on the Internet.

ITMS Canada launched

1 December 2004 | Peer reviewed

CANADA - Late today, Apple Computer's iTunes Music Store (iTMS) was opened to Canada. The 700,000+ songs are priced at CAD 99¢ (USD 84¢) making it the lowest price of any iTMS localization to date.

Arrested Marxist leader Apablaza charged in Chile

2 December 2004 | Under review

Chile – Sergio Galvarino Apablaza,aged 54, nicknamed "Comandante Salvador"(Salvador commander), has been charged by the Chilean judge Hugo Dolmestch for the following crimes: the kidnapping of Cristian Edwards(son of Agustin Edwards, owner of the newspaper El Mercurio) and the assassination of Senator Jaime Guzman Errazuriz.

Ukraine and Western bias

2 December 2004 | Under review

KIEV - As events unfold in Ukraine, there is a noticeable tendency in news media to see the issues as a black-and-white struggle. They portray the current election crisis as a popular revolution reacting to the gross manipulation of an election in favour of the establishment candidate Viktor Yanukovich. However a look below the surface would show these issues to be more complex than appearances would suggest.

ETA bombs five gas stations in Madrid

3 December 2004 | Peer reviewed

MADRID -The Basque separatist group ETA was blamed for five explosions at gas stations in the Spanish capital of Madrid on Friday. The explosions claimed no casualties, but two police officers were lightly wounded.

Federally-funded abstinence programs fraught with problems: Report

3 December 2004 | Under review

According to a report issued by U.S. House of Representatives Congressman Henry A. Waxman (D-CA), the majority of abstinence-only sexual education programs in schools contain incorrect or misleading information.

ETA detonates explosives in Madrid

3 December 2004 | Under review

Madrid - Five bombs exploded at suburban Madrid gas stations as millions of vacationing Madrileños left town for a bank holiday.

Chinese film won Golden Horse Award

4 December 2004 | Under review

Taichung, Taiwan - Chinese film Hoh Xil: Mountain Patrol (also known as Kekexili) beat Wang Kar-wai's 2046 to win the Best Picture Award while Hong Kong pop star Andy Lau won the Best Leading Actor Award in the 41th Golden Horse Film Festival, the most prestigious film event for Chinese-language film industry.

Twin bombings hit Baghdad's Green Zone

4 December 2004 | Under review

BAGHDAD - Suicide bombers detonated two car bombs outside the Iraqi al-Karkh police station near Baghdad's Green Zone on Saturday. 16 people were killed including 4 police officers and between 35 and 60 people were reportedly wounded.

Napster founder Shawn Fanning introduces new file-sharing project

5 December 2004 | Under review

SAN FRANCISCO - Shawn Fanning, the creator of Napster and a founder of Snocap, Inc., on Friday revealed his plans for a legal peer-to-peer file-sharing platform. Snocap has signed an agreement with Universal Music Group to make the company's entire catalogue available through the new service. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Thai government drops origami cranes as message of peace

5 December, 2004 | Under review

Thailand - Millions of origami cranes have been dropped on Thailand's three southern provinces following violence between the government and ethnic minority Muslim populations. The move has been called a "goodwill gesture" towards Muslims.

Police deactivate explosive device in Andalucía, Spain

5 December 2004 | Peer reviewed

Andalusia. A small explosive device was deactivated today by the Spanish police in Almería, Andalusia.

United States anti-drug efforts in Latin America criticized by report

5 December, 2004 | Under review

WASHINGTON - The "War on Drugs" waged by the United States has been criticized in a report released by the Washington D.C.-based human rights group Washington Office on Latin America. The report, "Drugs and Democracy in Latin America: The Impact of U.S. Policy" (Summary, PDF), investigated "the impact of drug control policies on human rights and democracy" and declared that present policies in the War on Drugs have failed to achieve any meaningful success. The United States government has criticized it, claiming progress is shown by street prices for drugs being near an all-time low.

Firefox 1.0 Internet Browser released by Mozilla Foundation

Four NBA players suspended indefinitely for brawl

In development
These articles were begun in the past week but are under development at the time of compilation.


 * US Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge resigns - 30 November 2004
 * Red Cross discovers abuse in Guantánamo - 30 November 2004
 * U.S. Department of Defense committee releases report critical of war on terror - 1 December 2004
 * Ukraine parliament sacks government - 1 December 2004
 * Kerik nominated as U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security - 2 December 2004
 * Ukraine Supreme Court orders new election - 3 December 2004
 * Rumsfeld to Stay on as Defense Secretary - 3 December 2004
 * Delta 4 Heavy rocket poised for maiden launch - 4 December 2004
 * Tommy Thompson steps down as Secretary of Health and Human Services - 4 December 2004
 * Humans may have contributed to 2003 European heatwave - 4 December 2004