Portal:Current events/2004 March 26
March 26, 2004 (Friday)
- The United States Congress prepares legislation against peer-to-peer technology on multiple fronts. (Wired News)
- United Nations electoral experts and security support arrive in Baghdad. (UN News Center)
- The first South Atlantic hurricane ever recorded forms 275 miles off the coast of Brazil. (Miami Herald)
- Lord Carey, former Archbishop of Canterbury, says that Islam is authoritarian, inflexible and under-achieving; and that Muslim countries have contributed little of major significance to the world's culture for centuries, at the same time stating that most Muslims are peace loving people who should not be demonized. He, however, denounces moderates for not unequivocally denouncing the "evil" of suicide bombers. Critics said his critique of Islamic culture amounted to an "attack". (Daily Telegraph)
- ROC presidential election, 2004: The controversial victory of Chen Shui-bian is confirmed by the state electoral commission, with a margin of only 29,518 votes – 0.2% of the total – separating the candidates. Pan-Blue protestors storm and hurl eggs at the Central Electoral Commission building. (BBC)
- Israeli-Palestinian conflict: The United States vetoes a United Nations Security Council resolution (sponsored by Algeria and Libya) condemning the killing by Israel of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin along with six other Palestinians outside a mosque in Gaza City and calling for a complete cessation of executions. The veto is publicly motivated by the resolution making no mention of suicide bombings committed by Hamas and attributed to Yassin. 11 votes are recorded in favour, with three (United Kingdom, Germany, and Romania) abstaining and one (the United States) against. (BBC) (KC Star)