Portal:Current events/2003 September 24
September 24, 2003 (Wednesday)
- Swedish police arrests a new suspect in the murder of Anna Lindh. Per-Olof Svensson is no longer a suspect and has been released.
- Belgium's highest court, the Court of Cassation, throws out case against Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Israeli General Amos Yaron. Also, a case against former U.S. President George H. W. Bush (for war crimes in Iraq) and Secretary of State Colin Powell is dismissed.[1][2]
- Israeli-Palestinian conflict: A protest letter by a group of 27 Israeli pilots to the Israeli air force is publicized. In the letter, the pilots announce their refusal to fly further missions to bomb leaders of Palestinian terrorist groups in civilian areas. The pilots' letter calls the attacks "illegal and immoral". It draws quick condemnation from commentators, from politicians and from military leaders, with calls for severe punishment including jail, although a dismissal is considered the most likely result. The pilots' protest is a reaction to attacks like the one on Hamas leader Salah Shehade in July 2002, which killed Shehade, his bodyguard and 15 civilians, among them nine children.,[3][4][5]
- Computer and Communications Industry Association report, written by a handful of security experts, Microsoft's dominance in key technologies poses security risk and threatens the national infrastructure. Computer and Communications Industry Association states reliance on a single technology, such as the Windows operating system, threatens economic security and critical infrastructure. The paper warns that many security improvements planned by Microsoft are likely designed to deter customers from switching to another operating system.[6]
- After several postponements the European Parliament finally passes a directive concerning the "patentability of computer-implemented inventions". The final text differs substantially from the original proposal and is seen as going a long way in addressing the concerns that it would legalize patents on software and business methods. The directive should now be under review by the Council of the European Union.[7][8]
- Judge Lee Roy West of the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma rules that the Federal Trade Commission lacks the authority to create the National Do Not Call Registry. The ruling came in response to a suit filed by the telemarketing industry.[9]
- ^ "Breaking News, Top News & Latest News Headlines - Reuters.com". Archived from the original on 12 April 2005. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
- ^ "Belgium's Highest Court Throws Out Case Against Sharon". Haaretz.com. Archived from the original on 2 October 2003. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
- ^ "Israel vows to punish rebel pilots for act of conscience". Retrieved 17 October 2015.
- ^ "Business & Financial News, Breaking US & International News - Reuters.com". Archived from the original on 2 October 2003. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
- ^ "MSNBC". MSNBC. Retrieved 17 October 2015.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Report: Microsoft dominance poses security risk". archive.is. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
- ^ "Latest Topics". ZDNet. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
- ^ "European Parliament castrates software patent regs". Retrieved 17 October 2015.
- ^ Dan Ackman (25 September 2003). "Do-Not-Call List Likely To Call Back". Forbes. Retrieved 17 October 2015.