Portal:Current events/2005 April 8
April 8, 2005 (Friday)
- The funeral of Pope John Paul II takes place. (BBC)
- Eric Rudolph agrees to plead guilty to four bombings including the 1996 Centennial Olympic Park bombing in exchange for four life sentences. (AP/Yahoo! News) (Link dead as of 22:29, 14 January 2007 (UTC))
- Islamic insurgents kill 14 people in an attack outside Algiers, trapping the victims at a fake roadblock, then killing them and burning their vehicles. (AP\Ynet News)
- A suicide bomber kills two foreign tourists in a Cairo market and injures a further score of bystanders. A group called "Islamic Pride Brigades" claims responsibility. (Haaretz) (Link dead as of 22:29, 14 January 2007 (UTC)), (BBC)
- Israeli Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz announces that private homes in the Gaza strip settlements will not be demolished after the disengagement plan. Religious structures such as synagogues, Mikveh baths and cemeteries will be dismantled and transferred inside the "Green line". (Haaretz), Ynet News
- Scientists at Manchester's Christie Hospital claim a cure for cancer could be available in 5 years. (BBC)
- In an interview with the Financial Times, a Hezbollah leader announces that the group would be willing to discuss potential disarmament after Israel withdraws from the Shebaa Farms. Lebanon and Syria maintain that the Shebaa Farms are Lebanese territory, while the rest of the world community insists that the farms are part of the Golan Heights, thus part of Syrian territory occupied by Israel. (Financial Times) (Haaretz) (Link dead as of 22:29, 14 January 2007 (UTC))
- Presidential elections begin in Djibouti. Incumbent president Ismail Omar Guelleh is the only candidate. (BBC)