Portal:Current events/2005 January 3

January 3, 2005 (Monday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Iraq War:
- In Iraq, a spate of suicide bombings (including one near Iraqi National Accord headquarters) kills 27. Interim defence minister Hazim al-Shaalan hints that the assembly elections scheduled for 30 January could be delayed to allow for Sunni Muslim participation. (Oman Times) (Al Jazeera)
In Peru, 200 men from the Movimiento Etnocacerista who took over the town of Andahuaylas and its police station first say they intend to give up their weapons, then retract, saying the government had reneged on a surrender deal. (BBC) (Bloomberg) (New York Times)
In Uganda, a seven-week ceasefire between the government and the Lord's Resistance Army ends with the rebel ambush of government troops near the town of Gulu. President Yoweri Museveni promises to increase military action against the rebels. (BBC)
Ethiopian opposition groups demonstrate against the government's plan to reopen border talks with Eritrea. (IOL) (BBC)

Disasters and accidents

2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami:
- The United Nations accepts Singapore's offer to set up a UN Regional Coordination Centre to coordinate relief efforts to stricken areas. This centre will see an influx of UN staff and it is likely to be a long-term infrastructure to help reconstruction efforts. John Budd, UNICEF head of communications in Indonesia, said, "The Singapore government's military (SAF) response to the emergency in Aceh has been nothing less than outstanding. It has done a phenomenal job; all the aid agencies and the UN are very grateful for the enormous and fast response the military in Singapore brought to bear on this disaster." (CNA)
- Three U.S. Presidents – George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George H. W. Bush – make a joint appeal urging Americans to aid the tsunamis' victims. (BBC) Bush makes a presidential proclamation to fly the U.S. flag at half staff from 3-7 Jan in honor of the tsunami victims. (whitehouse.gov)
- The United Kingdom's Metropolitan Police announces that they have arrested a suspect in a hoax case where Britons missing relatives or friends in the earthquake received e-mail messages informing them that the person had died. The messages came from the improbably fake address ukgovfoffice@aol.com. (Telegraph) Archived 2005-12-08 at the Wayback Machine (BBC) (London Free Press)

Politics and elections

In the Croatian election, incumbent President Stipe Mesić receives 49% of the vote. He will face Deputy Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor in a second round commencing on January 16. (Reuters)^{[permanent dead link‍]} (BBC)