Portal:Current events/2004 December 21

December 21, 2004 (Tuesday)

European Union ministers postpone a controversial vote on the proposed Directive on the patentability of computer-implemented inventions in the EU after Poland asks for more time to think about it. (Reuters)^{[permanent dead link‍]}(BBC)
The Boeing Delta 4 Heavy rocket launches successfully for the first time. (MSNBC)
Conflict in Iraq:
- US forces say twenty-two people have been killed and at least 67 injured in an attack at a US military base in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul. The dead include 13 US Soldiers, making the attack one of the deadliest attacks on US forces since the start of the war. (BBC) (CNN)
- Christian Chesnot and Georges Malbrunot, the two French hostages held in Iraq since August, are freed. Their captors claim they were freed because of France's anti-war stance. (BBC)
Former British Home Secretary David Blunkett's office is found to have assisted in the fast-tracking of his lover's nanny's visa-application, thereby confirming the allegation that led to his dismissal. (BBC)
The White House announces that allegations of abuse of prisoners in Iraq and Guantanamo Bay by US military personnel will be "fully investigated". The allegations were prompted by a memo, obtained by ACLU FOIA requests, dated two months after the Abu Ghraib scandal broke which reference an executive order that authorized questionable interrogation techniques. The White House spokesman flat out denied this in saying "there is no executive order on interrogation techniques". (BBC) (White House) (ACLU)
Japan issues a tourist visa to former Taiwanese leader Lee Teng-hui despite protests from the People's Republic of China that such a move would harm bilateral relations. The PRC considers Lee a Taiwan independence agitator. (BBC)
Same-sex marriage in Canada: The Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador finds the banning of same-sex marriage unconstitutional, making that province the eighth of Canada's provinces and territories to legalize same-sex marriage. (CBC)
Arab-Israeli Conflict: The leaders of the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) urge US President George W. Bush to make the creation of an independent Palestinian state an absolute priority at their annual meeting, which is being held in Bahrain. (BBC)
UK Prime Minister Tony Blair makes a surprise visit to Baghdad. (BBC) (Guardian) (Number 10)
Author J.K. Rowling announces that the sixth book in her Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, will be published on 16 July 2005. The share price of her British publisher, Bloomsbury, rises 7.5% on the news. (Reuters) Archived 2005-04-05 at the Wayback Machine
Up to £30 million are reported stolen from the headquarters of the Northern Bank in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Two members of the bank's senior staff and their families are reported to have been held hostage before the robbery. This is likely to be the second biggest bank robbery in British history, and the fourth largest in the world. (BBC) (Reuters) (Glasgow Evening Times)^{[permanent dead link‍]}
Pakistan's Anti Terrorism Court cancels the bail of Asif Ali Zardari, leader of the Pakistan Peoples Party and husband of Benazir Bhutto. Zardari was released last month after eight years in prison. He was charged with corruption and conspiracy to murder. (GEO)^{[permanent dead link‍]} (BBC)
A court in Chile upholds the indictment and house arrest of Augusto Pinochet. Prosecution lawyers claim that his hospitalization for a heart condition was a political ploy. Pinochet's lawyers intend to appeal. (BBC) (Bloomberg)
A court in Nigeria upholds the election of Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo. Opposition parties, led by Muhammadu Buhari, have challenged the result, and the EU and U.S. question the election's validity. (AllAfrica) (BBC) (Vanguard, Nigeria)
Archaeologists in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, find the remains of a 7,500-year-old man on the island of Marawah. (Khaleej Times) (Reuters)
French President Jacques Chirac demands improved hospital security after two nurses are killed. A suspected mental patient was released. (Reuters Alertnet)
The US government decides to settle a suit in which Hungarian Jews have demanded compensation for a train full of valuables the US Army took at the end of World War II. (Wired News) (New York Post)
The US pressures Iceland not to grant Bobby Fischer sanctuary. (Reuters) Archived 2005-04-08 at the Wayback Machine
Zaheera Sheikh, a key witness in the Best Bakery case, is declared hostile by the prosecution after she goes back on her police statement during retrial of the case. (Times of India) Archived 2012-08-13 at the Wayback Machine (Indian Express)