Portal:Current events/2003 November 8

November 8, 2003 (2003-11-08) (Saturday)

• Saint John's University football coach John Gagliardi breaks Eddie Robinson's record of 408 career coaching victories to become college football's all-time winningest coach with 409 wins.
• The Countess of Wessex has given birth to a daughter by Caesarean section one month early. As the first child of Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, the baby is eighth in the line of succession to the throne of the United Kingdom.
• In Pakistan, United Press International reports a letter sent to members of the opposition in Pakistan on a military letterhead causes panic in President Pervez Musharraf's government because it says he "has been imposed on this nation." The letter reportedly states that "We want to assure the nation that this army belongs to you and to Pakistan ... Pervez Musharraf and his clique has been imposed on this nation".
• The All Blacks defeat South Africa in the first quarter final of the rugby World Cup.
• Occupation of Iraq:
  • Two US paratroopers are killed west of Baghdad.
  • US forces bomb homes in Tikrit, following the shooting down of a helicopter. Iraqi and American rights investigators state to a conference they had identified 260 mass graves containing the bodies of at least 300,000 Iraqis murdered by Saddam's regime.
  • Debate intensifies about the choices the U.S. faces in devising a strategy for Iraq. U.S. Senator John McCain argues that force levels are inadequate.
  • The International Red Cross, which was already planning to reduce staff in Iraq following a deadly attack on its Baghdad headquarters, states it is temporarily closing its Baghdad and Basra offices due to dangerous conditions.
  • A US Army study concludes that Iraqi intelligence was excellent during the conflict (in which their fighting forces collapsed), and probably still is.
  • Much work is still needed to win over hearts-and-minds in Iraq.
• British scientists develop a gel that allows wounds to heal in the half the time it took formerly; the gel speeds wound closure and reduces inflammation.
• Germany's upper house rejects controversial economic policy changes (tax cuts and changes to labour law) aimed at kick-starting Europe's largest economy. Social Democrat Chancellor Gerhard Schröder has invested much political capital in the reforms, but they are opposed by many labour unions and left-wing politicians.
• An expert says that the AIDS epidemic in the People's Republic of China is reaching major proportions.
• North Korea nuclear weapons program: The CIA says North Korea already has one or two nuclear devices and does not need to test them to confirm they are viable.
• Faced with a hazardous-waste crisis, The Pentagon is pushing to exempt itself from United States environmental laws.
• The longest U.S. hiring slump in more than 60 years appears to be ending.
• War on Terrorism: The Commission set up to investigate the September 11, 2001, attacks votes to serve a subpoena on the North American Aerospace Defense Command but rejects a proposal to subpoena the daily counter-intelligence briefings that the CIA receives from the president. After a series of field inquiries and interviews with NORAD personnel, commission staff realize that the materials NORAD had provided were incomplete.

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