Portal:Current events/2004 April 8

April 8, 2004 (Thursday)

Bulgaria Mourning Day - Bulgaria mourns twelve children who died in a bus crash between Serbia and Montenegro on April 4.
Bangladesh is paralysed by a general strike called in protest at alleged government corruption. (Morning Star)
US National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice testifies before the September 11 Commission. Rice states President George W. Bush understood threat from al-Qaeda before September 11. She asserts "the terrorists were at war with us, but we were not yet at war with them." She also says that President George W. Bush came into office in 2001 determined to develop a "more robust" policy to combat Al-Qaida. The commission asks the White House to declassify a key August 2001 document entitled "Bin Ladin Determined to Strike in US". (Transcript) (BBC) (AP) (Democracy Now!) (CNN)
Iraq Occupation and Insurgency:
- Iraq Alliance^{[disambiguation needed]} troops are locked in heavy fighting. Ukrainian troops cede Kut to Moqtada al-Sadr supporters. Sunni Muslim insurgents engage in two fronts west of Baghdad; a Shiite uprising spreads in southern and central Iraq. (IHT) (Democracy Now!)
- Militiamen in black outfits of Moqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army are visible at the grand mosque of Kufa; Moqtada al-Sadr is in the golden-domed mosque. (IHT)
- Shiite Muslim militias holding two southern Iraqi cities kidnap three Japanese, eight South Korean, and two Israeli Arab civilians. The South Koreans are later released. Al-Jazeera television airs a videotape of militants threatening to burn alive the blindfolded Japanese hostages unless Tokyo withdraws its troops from Iraq. (IHT) (INN) (NYT)^{[permanent dead link‍]}
- 30 Americans and more than 150 Iraqis are dead in the fighting for the city in Fallujah. A U.S. helicopter hits militants in a mosque with three missiles; 40 individuals are killed in the mosque. Marines and rebels continue to exchange fire. (TWEAN)
Militia forces loyal to Abdurrashid Dostum take Meymaneh, the capital of Faryab province, Afghanistan, from the interim government and force the governor to flee. (WP)^{[permanent dead link‍]}
The Middle East Forum is seeking support to form the Islamic Progress Institute, a progressive Islamic institute, that would represent liberal Muslims living in the United States. (UPI)
NASA announces that the mission of Spirit and Opportunity will be extended by five months. (Reuters) Archived 2004-12-08 at the Wayback Machine (CNN)