Portal:Current events/2004 January 12

January 12, 2004 (2004-01-12) (Monday)

• The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office announces the ten top United States patent recipients. For the 11th year in a row, IBM tops the list; the next three in the list are headquartered in Japan. Companies from the Netherlands (Philips) and Korea (Samsung) also make appearances.
• The U.S. State Department concludes that the Israeli attack on USS Liberty in 1967, although probably accidental, was an act of gross negligence and that Israel should be held responsible.
• Canadian federal election, 2004: Stephen Harper announces his entry into the race to lead the new Conservative Party of Canada. Earlier today, Jim Prentice drops out of the leadership contest, citing a lack of funds.
• Israeli-Palestinian conflict: Over 100,000 people rally in Tel Aviv to protest Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's plans to withdraw from parts of Gaza and the West Bank, which would involve abandoning some Israeli settlements in those areas.
• The deadline for SCO Group to present evidence "with specificity" in the SCO v. IBM lawsuit expires
• IBM and Intel Set Up $10m SCO Defense Fund.
• Astronauts on board the International Space Station think that a leak in a hose used to stop the fogging of an Earth observation window was causing the slow loss of pressure in the station. Although it would have taken a couple of months for the crew to be in any danger, some equipment on the station was only rated to just below the normal pressure. Although the cause appears to have been located, ground controllers are still getting the crew to close the station into three sections to allow them to get baseline pressure readings and to make sure that there are no more leaks.
• Iran's provincial governors are threatening to resign unless a decision by the conservative Guardian Council is reversed.
• Mars Exploration Rover Mission: The Spirit's air bags that cushioned its landing on Mars have been obstructing the vehicle's path, and this complication has postponed its exit of the launch vehicle until Wednesday or Thursday.
• The World Wildlife Fund-UK reports that the orangutan is in danger of becoming extinct within the next 20 years because of commercial logging and clearance for oil palm plantations.
• Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, religious leader of Iran, announces that he will not intervene in a growing political confrontation between progressives and hardliners after the Guardian Council, which he controls, barred thousands of candidates from running in upcoming Parliamentary elections (including 80 current members of Parliament).

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