Portal:Current events/2004 June 28

June 28, 2004 (Monday)

Chinese lawyers visit the victims of last year's deadly accident involving an abandoned WWII-era cache of mustard gas in Qiqihar. The chemical weapons were left behind by invading Japanese troops during the war. The lawyers are preparing to sue the Japanese government. (Xinhuanet)
Canadian federal election, 2004: Results give the Liberal Party a minority government; in a likely alliance with the NDP, they will together hold exactly half the Commons seats. Despite the heated nature of the campaign, turnout was the lowest in recent memory. (CBC)
The United States Supreme Court rules six-to-three that "illegal combatants" such as those held in Guantánamo can challenge the basis of their detentions, yet can also be held without charges or trial. (BBC) (NYT)
The currencies of Estonia (the kroon), Lithuania (the litas), and Slovenia (the tolar) enter ERM II, the European Union's Exchange Rate Mechanism, in a move towards joining the euro. (BBC) (ECB1) (ECB2) (ECB3)
Iraq Occupation and resistance:
- At a low key ceremony in Baghdad, Paul Bremer hands over power in Iraq two days before the U.S.-imposed deadline. (BBC)
- The Islamic Retaliation Movement/Armed Resistance Wing threatens to decapitate Hassoun Wassef Ali, a Muslim U.S. Marine of Lebanese descent, if detainees in US-led occupation prisons are not freed. (AlJazeera) (NYT)
- A previously unknown Iraqi group claimed that it has executed Keith Matthew "Matt" Maupin, a U.S. Army Private First Class captured on April 9. (AlJazeera)
In Mongolia, the ruling Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party suffers considerable losses in the general election. Official results have not yet been announced, and it remains unclear whether the MPRP will retain its majority. The MPRP has accused the opposition of vote rigging, and has refused to concede defeat. (Ulaanbaatar Post) (Reuters)^{[permanent dead link‍]}
José Manuel Barroso, the Prime Minister of Portugal, gains the backing of the United Kingdom and Germany as the next President of the European Commission (The Independent)
A Hong Kong appellate court rules 2–1 that a will presented by Nina Wang of her abducted and presumed dead husband Teddy Wang is a forgery. (CNN)