Portal:Current events/2005 March 31

March 31, 2005 (2005-03-31) (Thursday)

• The last day to apply for the Sales Tax Amnesty Program from the California State Board of Equalization was March 31, 2005.
• The rebel Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, members of which had participated in the 1994 Rwandan Genocide, announces that it is giving up its armed struggle. The FDLR has been a key source of instability in the aftermath of the Second Congo War. (BBC)
• Pope John Paul II's condition has once again worsened. The pontiff, 84, suffers from a drop in blood pressure and a high fever. He is reportedly given Last Rites. (CNN)
• Terri Schiavo dies 13 days after her feeding tube was removed by court order in Florida, US. (Reuters) (BBC)
• Two days after surgery to repair a brain aneurysm, Neil Young collapses on a New York street, bleeding from a rupture in a femoral artery. He cancels a scheduled appearance at the Juno Awards and reveals his surgery to the press for the first time.
• Matthew Nagle, a 25-year-old paralysed man, has become the first person known to have benefited from a microchip implanted into his brain which can "read" thoughts. He can think his TV on and off, change channels and alter the volume thanks to the technology and software linked to devices in his home.(BBC)
• A UN report has stated that malnutrition rates in Iraqi children under five have almost doubled since the US-led invasion of Iraq. (BBC)
• The UN-backed Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, the most comprehensive survey of the Earth's ecological condition to date, finds that the condition of the world's ecosystems is deteriorating at a dangerous rate. There has been "substantial and largely irreversible" loss of biodiversity, the report says. Basic resources like timber, water, and food are at risk in some areas, and may be put at risk in more. (BBC) (Seattle PI) (Discovery) (UN News Centre)
• The elections in Zimbabwe have proceeded with large queues seen at many polling stations. No violence has been reported, and Incumbent president Robert Mugabe of the ZANU-PF party has declared the elections to be free and fair. Opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai of the party MDC, disputes this, but still believes his party will win. The election has already been branded unfair by both the U.S. and the EU and their observers have been barred from monitoring the poll. Results are expected in two days.(Bloomberg) (CNN) (News24) (Reuters) (BBC)
• Israel has allowed people who received non-Orthodox training in Israel but were converted overseas to become Jews. These people will now be eligible for Israeli citizenship. (BBC)
• Malta commemorates the 26th anniversary of the departure of the last British forces from the island (di-ve)
• Marburg virus death toll in Angola rises to 127 (AllAfrica) (IOL) (Reuters AlertNet) (Medical News Today)
• Canada and European Union plan to impose a 15% tariff on some US exports because Washington has not repealed anti-dumping law the Byrd Amendment. World Trade Organization declared the law illegal last August. The products include paper, cigarettes, oysters and live swine (Reuters) (Bloomberg) (Forbes)
• In South Africa, Johannesburg's Labour Court rules that the mining strike of the 30,000 employees of mining company Gold Fields is "unlawful and unprotected" and orders them to go back to work. The National Union of Mineworkers states that it expects its members to obey the ruling (Reuters SA) (BusinessWeek, SA) (SA)
• In Pakistan, Pakistan Oppressed Nations Movement organizes partial strikes in various cities to protest over Punjabi influence in the country (KeralaNext) (BBC)
• In Ukraine, security service states that the death of former interior minister Yuri Kravchenko was probably suicide (Moscos Times) (BBC)

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