December 2003: January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December - → Look up December in Wiktionary, the free dictionary Template:DecemberCalendar2006 December is the twelfth and last month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of seven Gregorian months with the length of 31 days. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2003: January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December A timeline of events in the news for January, 2003. ... 2003 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December A timeline of events in the news for February, 2003. ... 2003 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December - → A timeline of events in the news for March, 2003. ... 2003 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December - → A timeline of events in the news for April 2003. ... 2003 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December - → A timeline of events in the news for May, 2003. ... 2003 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December A timeline of events in the news for June, 2003. ... 2003 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December A timeline of events in the news for July, 2003. ... 2003 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December A timeline of events in the news for August, 2003. ... 2003 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December A timeline of events in the news for September, 2003. ... 2003 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December A timeline of events in the news for October, 2003. ... 2003 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December A timeline of events in the news for November, 2003. ... 2004 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December- → January 31, 2004 The United States defence budget is set to exceed US$400 billion next year—an almost 7% increase—according to budget proposals inadvertently posted on the Pentagons website. ...

Events

(Redirected from 2003 occupation of Iraq timeline) Timeline of events during U.S.-led occupation of Iraq, following 2003 invasion of Iraq, and relevant quotations about nature of occupation from officials. ...

December 31, 2003

• In Taiwan, President Chen Shui-bian signs a law that allows referendums to be held. The People's Republic of China condemns this. [1]
• Occupation of Iraq: A car bomb detonates outside an upmarket Baghdad restaurant much favoured by foreign journalists, killing five New Year revellers. [2]
• The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences mails nomination ballots in which it qualifies 254 films released in 2003 as eligible for Oscar consideration. [3]

December 31 is the 365th day of the year (366th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Office of the President of the Republic of China is located in Zhongzheng District, Taipei City. ... Chen Shui-bian, President of the Republic of China Chen Shui-bian (ch. ... A referendum (plural: referendums or referenda) or plebiscite is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. ... This article deals with the post-invasion period in Iraq and its occupation. ... A car bomb is an improvised explosive device that is placed in a car or truck and is intended to be exploded while there. ... Location of Baghdad within Iraq Baghdad (Arabic: , Persian: بغداد (Meaning in Persian : from angels) is the capital of Iraq and of Baghdad Province. ... Founded on May 11, 1927 in California, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) is a professional honorary organization dedicated to the advancement of the arts and sciences of motion pictures. ... Film refers to the celluloid media on which movies are printed Film is a term that encompasses motion pictures as individual projects, as well as the field in general. ... This is a list of film-related events in 2003. ... Although he never won an Oscar for any of his movie performances, the comedian Bob Hope received two honorary Oscars for his contributions to cinema. ...

December 30, 2003

• The European Union is investigating a series of parcel bombs targeting the European Central Bank in Frankfurt and Europol headquarters at The Hague. Investigators state that it is too early to draw any connections between these bombs and the letter bomb sent two days ago to the Bologna home of Romano Prodi, the head of the European Commission. [4]
• The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announces a ban on the sale of dietary supplement ephedra, citing "an unreasonable risk of illness or injury" from the use of the drug. [5]
• U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft recuses himself and his office from the CIA leak scandal, in which the identity of Valerie Plame, a CIA operative, was leaked by Washington insiders. Democratic political leaders had been calling for Ashcroft's recusal. [6]
• The man who was convicted of breaking into mainland China cable television networks and broadcasting footage of the banned Falun Gong spiritual movement reportedly dies in prison. Pro-Falun Gong groups and the Hong Kong-based Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy claim he was beaten to death.[7]

December 30 is the 364th day of the year (365th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 1 day remaining. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A mailbomb (or mail bomb), also called parcel bomb or letter bomb, is an explosive device sent via the postal service, and designed to explode when opened, injuring or killing the recipient, usually someone the sender has a personal grudge against, or more indiscriminately as part of a terrorist campaign. ... The European Central Bank (ECB) in Frankfurt am Main, Germany is the central bank of the eurozone, in charge of monetary policy for the 12 countries that use the euro currency. ... ▶ (help· info) is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany. ... Europol (the name is a contraction of European Police Office) is the European Unions criminal intelligence agency. ... Arms of The Hague The Hague (with capital T; Dutch: Den Haag, or officially s-Gravenhage) is the administrative capital of the Netherlands, located in the west of the country, in the province South Holland of which it is also the capital. ... Bologna (from Latin Bononia, Bulåggna in the local dialect) is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna in northern Italy, between the Po River and the Apennines. ... Romano Prodi (born in Reggio Emilia on August 9, 1939) is an Italian politician and a former President of the European Commission. ... The European Commission (formally the Commission of the European Communities) is the executive of the European Union. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... A prescribed dietary supplement supplies nutrients (usually vitamins or minerals) that are missing or not consumed in sufficient quantity in a persons diet. ... Species See text Ephedra is a genus of gymnosperm shrubs, the only genus in the family Ephedraceae and order Ephedrales. ... A medication is a licenced drug taken to cure or reduce symptoms of an illness or medical condition. ... The United States Attorney General is the head of the United States Department of Justice concerned with legal affairs and is the chief law enforcement officer of the United States government. ... John David Ashcroft (born May 9, 1942) was the 79th Attorney General of the United States. ... This article is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... The CIA Seal The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is an American intelligence agency, responsible for obtaining and analyzing information about foreign governments, corporations, and individuals, and reporting such information to the various branches of the U.S. Government. ... For detail on the political scandal, see Plame affair Image:Plame and Wilson. ... The Democratic Party is one of the two major United States political parties. ... In this map of China, the light-coloured areas represent Mainland China, while yellow coloured area refers to Taiwan. ... Falun emblem. ... The Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy is a human rights organization based in Hong Kong that provides information human rights abuses in mainland China for news outlets. ...

December 29, 2003

• Papal Nuncio to Burundi, Irish-born Archbishop Michael Courtney, is killed in an ambush. [8]
• The United States Department of Homeland Security announces that it will require armed security personnel on all airline flights, whether US or foreign carriers, when the department has intelligence that there is a threat to a flight. [9]
• Cuban officials are investigating who is responsible for altering a photograph of Fidel Castro on the front page of the official government newspaper, Granma, to make him look like Adolf Hitler. [10]
• The Federal Bureau of Investigation issues a memo instructing police to be alert of people carrying almanacs, stating that information in these reference works could be used to aid in the planning of terrorist attacks. [11]

December 29 is the 363rd day of the year (364th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 2 days remaining. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A Papal Nuncio (also known as an Apostolic Nuncio) is a permanent diplomatic representative (head of mission) of the Holy See to a state, having ambassadorial rank. ... In Christianity, an archbishop is an elevated bishop heading a diocese of particular importance due to either its size, history, or both, called an archdiocese. ... The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is a Cabinet department of the federal government of the United States that is concerned with protecting Americas people from harm and its property from damage. ... Fidel Castro Ruz (born August 13, 1926) has been the leader of Cuba since 1959, when, leading the 26th of July Movement, he overthrew the regime of Fulgencio Batista. ... The yacht Granma Granma is the ship that transported the fighters of the Cuban Revolution to Cuba in 1956. ... ▶ (help· info) (April 20, 1889 – April 30, 1945) was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 and Führer (Leader) of Germany from 1934 to his death by suicide. ... Official FBI Seal The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is a Federal police force and intelligence agency which is the principal investigative arm of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ). ... An almanac (also spelled almanack, especially in Commonwealth English) is an annual publication containing tabular information in a particular field or fields often arranged according to the calendar. ...

December 28, 2003

• Serbian parliamentary election, 2003: Serbia holds a parliamentary election. The Serbian Radical Party wins 81 seats in the 250-seat parliament. [12]
• Guatemala election, 2003. Óscar Berger wins the second round of the presidential election with a 54% share of the vote.

December 28 is the 362nd day of the year (363rd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 3 days remaining. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Parliamentary elections were held in the Republic of Serbia on December 28, 2003. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... An election is a decision making process whereby people vote for preferred political candidates or parties to act as representatives in government. ... The Serbian Radical Party (Serbian: Српска радикална странка, Srpska radikalna stranka) is a Fashist political party in Serbia. ... A General Election was held in Guatemala on 9 November 2003. ... Pres. ...

December 27, 2003

• The estimate of the number of dead in the Bam earthquake increases to 40,000, according to the provincial governor. Iran has refused earthquake aid from Israel.[13]
• The U.S. Department of Agriculture announces that it believes the BSE infected cow detected in Washington State was imported from Canada in 2001. The location of the other 73 cows imported with it is unknown. [14]
• Romano Prodi, the President of the European Commission, survives a letter bomb attack. [15] [16]
• British scientists are continuing their efforts to make contact with the Mars probe Beagle 2, which was designed to perform advanced studies of the Martian soil in an effort to find microbial life. [17]

December 27 is the 361st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Bam (Persian: بم), pronounced [bæm], is a city in southern Iran, in Kerman Province, south of city of Kerman and north of the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. ... The U.S. Department of Agriculture, also called the Agriculture Department, or USDA, is a Cabinet department of the United States Federal Government. ... Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), commonly known as mad cow disease, is a fatal, neurodegenerative disease of cattle, which infects by a mechanism that shocked biologists on its discovery in late 20th century and appears transmissible to humans. ... Official language(s) None Capital Olympia Largest city Seattle Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 18th 184,824 km² 385 km 580 km 6. ... A U.S. state is any one of the fifty states (four of which officially favor the term commonwealth) which, with the District of Columbia, forms the United States of America. ... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ... Romano Prodi (born in Reggio Emilia on August 9, 1939) is an Italian politician and a former President of the European Commission. ... The President of the European Commission is notionally the highest ranking unelected official within the European Union. ... The European Commission (formally the Commission of the European Communities) is the executive of the European Union. ... A mailbomb (or mail bomb), also called parcel bomb or letter bomb, is an explosive device sent via the postal service, and designed to explode when opened, injuring or killing the recipient, usually someone the sender has a personal grudge against, or more indiscriminately as part of a terrorist campaign. ... Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the solar system, named after the Roman god of war (the counterpart of the Greek Ares), on account of its blood red color as viewed in the night sky. ... Beagle 2 was an unsuccessful British landing spacecraft that formed part of the European Space Agencys 2003 Mars Express mission. ...

December 26, 2003

• A powerful earthquake occurs near the southern Iranian city of Bam at 0156 GMT (5.26am local time). The USGS estimates its magnitude as 6.7 on the Richter scale. The BBC reports that "70% of the modern city of Bam" is destroyed. Iranian government officials estimate the death toll at over 20,000 with a further 50,000 injured. Bam Citadel the largest adobe structure of the world is destroyed. The area of the citadel is about 180,000 square meters and the construction date of parts of it goes back for about 2500 years. [18][19][20]
• The death toll in the Chinese gas-leak rises to 191. [21]
• Fearing the state's BSE outbreak may extend beyond a single farm, the U.S. Department of Agriculture quarantines a second cattle farm in Washington State. [22]

December 26 is the 360th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, 361st in leap years. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Global earthquake epicenters, 1963–1998 An earthquake is a sudden and sometimes catastrophic movement of a part of the Earths surface. ... Bam (Persian: بم), pronounced [bæm], is a city in southern Iran, in Kerman Province, south of city of Kerman and north of the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. ... The United States Geological Survey (USGS) is a scientific agency of the United States government. ... The Richter magnitude test scale (or more correctly local magnitude ML scale) assigns a single number to quantify the size of an earthquake. ... The Arg-é Bam (ارگ بم in Persian, Bam citadel) was the largest adobe building in the world, located in Bam, a city in the Kerman province of southeastern Iran. ... Renewal of the surface coating of an adobe wall in Chamisal, New Mexico Adobe is a building material composed of water, sandy clay and straw or other organic materials, which is shaped into bricks using wooden frames and dried in the sun . ... Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), commonly known as mad cow disease, is a fatal, neurodegenerative disease of cattle, which infects by a mechanism that shocked biologists on its discovery in late 20th century and appears transmissible to humans. ... The U.S. Department of Agriculture, also called the Agriculture Department, or USDA, is a Cabinet department of the United States Federal Government. ... Official language(s) None Capital Olympia Largest city Seattle Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 18th 184,824 km² 385 km 580 km 6. ... A U.S. state is any one of the fifty states (four of which officially favor the term commonwealth) which, with the District of Columbia, forms the United States of America. ...

December 25, 2003

• Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf survives a suicide bomber attack on his motorcade, the second attempt to assassinate him in two weeks. [23]
• Following Beagle 2's expected landing, US probe Mars Odyssey (already in Martian orbit) listens for the lander's distinctive musical callsign. A further scan for the lander is conducted using the Jodrell Bank radio telescope. No signal is detected. [24][25]
• Israeli-Palestinian Conflict:
  • An Israeli helicopter gunship attacks a car in Gaza City, killing Islamic Jihad commander Mekled Hameid and two fellow militants, together with two bystanders. [26]
  • A suicide-bomber strikes a bus stop Tel Aviv, killing four civilians and himself. [27]
  • Israel announces closure of the West Bank and Gaza. [28]
• A UK lab confirms the presence of BSE in samples taken from a cow in Washington [29]. Mexico joins the list of countries which have banned imports of US beef.
• Reports emerge of a major leak of natural gas in a gas field near the south-western Chinese city of Chongqing. Over 100 people are believed dead and up to 40,000 people have been evacuated from the area surrounding the leak. [30]
• A Boeing 727 of United Transit Airlines originating in the Guinean capital, Conakry, stopping in Freetown, Sierra Leone, and bound for Beirut, clips a building during takeoff and crashes into the Atlantic Ocean off Benin. Over 100 people die, most of them Lebanese. [31]

December 25 is the 359th day of the year (360th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 6 days remaining. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... A suicide bombing is a bomb attack on people or property, committed by a person who knows the explosion will cause his or her own death in addition to the attacks primary purpose (see suicide, suicide weapons). ... Beagle 2 was an unsuccessful British landing spacecraft that formed part of the European Space Agencys 2003 Mars Express mission. ... Artists concept of the 2001 Mars Odyssey Spacecraft 2001 Mars Odyssey is an unmanned spacecraft orbiting the planet Mars. ... Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the solar system, named after the Roman god of war (the counterpart of the Greek Ares), on account of its blood red color as viewed in the night sky. ... The 76m Lovell Telescope at Jodrell Bank Observatory. ... The Parkes 64 metre radio telescope in New South Wales, Australia (the bigger of the two shown) In contrast to an ordinary telescope, which produces visible light images, a radio telescope sees radio waves emitted by radio sources, typically by means of a large parabolic (dish) antenna, or arrays of... Israel, the West Bank and Gaza Strip are at the center of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. ... The article is about the Middle Eastern city. ... Islamic Jihad (Arabic: Harakat al-Jihad al-Islami) is a militant Islamist group based in the Syrian capital, Damascus. ... Tel-Aviv was founded on empty dunes north of the existing city of Jaffa. ... Map of the Gaza Strip from The World Factbook. ... Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), commonly known as mad cow disease, is a fatal, neurodegenerative disease of cattle, which infects by a mechanism that shocked biologists on its discovery in late 20th century and appears transmissible to humans. ... Natural gas (commonly referred to as gas in many countries, but note that gas is also an American and Canadian shortening of gasoline) is a gaseous fossil fuel consisting primarily of methane. ... Chongqing (Simplified Chinese: 重庆; Traditional Chinese: 重慶; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Chung-ching; Postal System Pinyin: Chungking) is the largest and most populous of the Peoples Republic of Chinas four provincial-level municipalities, and the only one in the less densely populated western half of China. ... Sun Country Airlines B727-200 The Boeing 727 is a large commercial jet airliner carrying as many as 189 passengers. ... Union des Transports Aeriens (UTA) (United Transit Airlines in the English language) was a French international airline. ... Conakry (also Konakry, Malinké Kɔnakiri), population 2,000,000 (2002), is the capital of Guinea. ... Freetown, population 1,070,200 (2004), is the largest city and capital of Sierra Leone, lying on the Freetown Peninsula on the Atlantic coast. ... Central Beirut (2004) Beirut (Arabic: , transliterated Bayrūt - the French name, Beyrouth, was also commonly used in English in the past) is the capital, largest city and chief seaport of Lebanon. ...

December 24, 2003

• An explosion occurs at Baghdad's Sheraton Ishtar hotel, probably caused by a rocket-propelled grenade. [32]
• Following the detection of BSE in a Mabton, Washington cow, several countries (including Japan, Russia, Singapore, Taiwan, and Hong Kong) announce a ban on the importation of U.S. beef. [33] [34]
• Three Air France flights from Paris to Los Angeles are canceled due to security concerns expressed by the US embassy in France. [35]
• Bolivian President Carlos Mesa declares a state of emergency because of flooding in central Bolivia, which killed at least 19 people and collapsed a bridge crucial to Bolivian exports. [36]

December 24 is the 358th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (359th in leap years). ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Location of Baghdad within Iraq Baghdad (Arabic: , Persian: بغداد (Meaning in Persian : from angels) is the capital of Iraq and of Baghdad Province. ... The Sheraton Ishtar is a hotel in Baghdad, Iraq. ... A rocket propelled grenade (RPG) is a man-portable, shoulder-launched weapon capable of firing an explosive device longer distances than an otherwise unassisted soldier could throw. ... Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), commonly known as mad cow disease, is a fatal, neurodegenerative disease of cattle, which infects by a mechanism that shocked biologists on its discovery in late 20th century and appears transmissible to humans. ... Mabton is a city incorporated during the first few years of the 20th century, and located in Yakima County, Washington, at the eastern edge of the Yakama Indian reservation. ... Motto: E pluribus unum (1789 to 1956) (Latin: Out of Many, One) In God We Trust (1956 to present) Anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington, D.C. Largest city New York City Official language(s) None at federal level; English de facto Government  â€¢ President  â€¢ Vice President Federal republic George... Beef A salt beef with mustard bagel Beef is meat obtained from a bovine. ... Air France Boeing 747 Air France (Compagnie Nationale Air France) is a subsidiary of Air France-KLM. Before the take-over of KLM, it was essentially the national airline of France, employing 71,654 people (at January 2005). ... The neutrality and factual accuracy of this article are disputed. ... The City of Los Angeles (from Spanish; Los Ángeles) is the second-largest city in the United States in terms of population, as well as one of the worlds most important economic, cultural, and entertainment centers. ... Wikiquote has a collection of quotations by or about: United States Wikinews has news related to this article: United States United States government CIA World Factbook Entry for United States House. ... Carlos Diego Mesa Gisbert (born August 12, 1953) was the President of Bolivia from October 17, 2003 until his resignation on June 6, 2005. ...

December 23, 2003

• The Supreme Court of Canada announces (in a 6-3 decision) that the criminalization of marijuana was not unconstitutional. [37]
• The United States Department of Agriculture confirms the first case of BSE (mad cow disease) in the United States, detected at a small slaughter house. The USDA has found no evidence that the infected materials made it into the food supply. Specimens have been sent to the United Kingdom for further analysis. Authorities quarantined a ranch near Yakima where the animal was raised. [38] [39]
• California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declares a state of emergency in San Luis Obispo County, following an earthquake in that county on the previous day. [40]
• Beltway sniper attacks: A Virginia jury recommends a life sentence without possibility of parole for Lee Boyd Malvo, who was earlier convicted of capital murder, among other charges, in connection with the shootings. Malvo had faced the possibility of execution.[41]
• Antonia born

December 23 is the 357th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (358th in leap years). ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Supreme Court Building in Ottawa The Supreme Court of Canada (French: Cour suprême du Canada) is Canadas highest court and is located in the capital city of Ottawa. ... Species Cannabis indica Cannabis ruderalis Cannabis sativa Cannabis is a genus of flowering plant that includes one or more species. ... The U.S. Department of Agriculture, also called the Agriculture Department, or USDA, is a Cabinet department of the United States Federal Government. ... Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), commonly known as mad cow disease, is a fatal, neurodegenerative disease of cattle, which infects by a mechanism that shocked biologists on its discovery in late 20th century and appears transmissible to humans. ... City seal Yakima (IPA: ) is a city in central Washington and the county seat of Yakima County, USA. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 71,845 and a metropolitan of 229,094. ... Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 3rd 410,000 km² 402. ... Governors Arnold Schwarzenegger and Gray Davis with President George W. Bush (2003) Seal of the Governor of California (without the Roman numerals designating the governors sequence) See also: List of pre-statehood governors of California, List of Governors of California The Governor of California is the highest executive authority... â–¶ (help· info) (born July 30, 1947) is an Austrian-American bodybuilder, Actor, and Republican politician, currently serving as the 38th Governor of California. ... ... Location in the state of California Formed 1850 Seat San Luis Obispo Area  - Total  - Water 9,364 km² (3,616 mi²) 806 km² (311 mi²) 8. ... Global earthquake epicenters, 1963–1998 An earthquake is a sudden and sometimes catastrophic movement of a part of the Earths surface. ... Locations of the 15 sniper attacks numbered chronologically. ... Official language(s) English Capital Richmond Largest city Virginia Beach Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 35th 110,862 km² 320 km 690 km 7. ... This article may be confusing for some readers, and should be edited to be clearer. ... Life imprisonment is a term used for a particular kind of sentence of imprisonment. ... Parole can have different meanings depending on the context. ... Lee Boyd Malvo Lee Boyd Malvo (alias John Lee Malvo) (born February 18, 1985), along with John Allen Muhammad, was arrested on October 24, 2002 in connection with the Beltway sniper attacks. ... In the criminal law, murder is the crime where one human being causes the death of another human being, without lawful excuse, and with intent to kill or with an intent to cause grievous bodily harm (traditionally termed malice aforethought) (see attempted murder where the mens rea (the Latin for...

December 22, 2003

• After getting FCC approval on December 19, News Corporation Ltd. completed a US$7.6 billion cash and stock deal to buy control of Hughes Electronics and its DirecTV satellite television division from General Motors. [42]
• The People's Republic of China plans to peg its currency, the yuan, to a basket of ten currencies instead of only the U.S. dollar, according to its state press. [43]
• Parmalat is likely to declare "controlled administration" as Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said the government would intervene and "above all save the industrial part of the company and jobs". [44]
• Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher is assaulted by Palestinians during prayer at the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. Mr. Maher was taken to an Israeli hospital for observation as a result of the incident after being treated at the scene by the Magen David Adom. After several hours care in the hospital, he was escorted to his airplane by an Israeli cardiologist and paramedic. [45] [46]
• A list of people who have declined a British honour was leaked to The Sunday Times. The list includes David Bowie, David Hockney, Aldous Huxley, Nigella Lawson, and Harold Pinter. [47], [48], [49]
• The Gulf Cooperation Council announces that they will revise school textbooks and remove from them material describing followers of other religions as infidels and enemies of Islam. [50]
• SCO v. IBM:
  • SCO claims in a press release to be sending DMCA notication letters alleging copyright infringement [51][52]
  • Linus Torvalds says, in a post to the Linux kernel mailing list, "... I think we can totally _demolish_ the SCO claim that these 65 files were somehow "copied". They clearly are not." [53]
  • Novell has also registered their claim to the copyright of original UNIX source code, effectively challenging SCO's registration of the same code [54] [55]
• An earthquake strikes near San Simeon, California, at 19:15 UTC (11:15 PST). The quake registers a 6.5 magnitude on the Richter Magnitude Scale, and causes two deaths from the collapse of a building in the town of Paso Robles. [56],[57]
• The Philippines declares a calamity in a southern province after floods killed up to 209 people. [58]

December 22 is the 356th day of the year (357th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The FCCs official seal. ... December 19 is the 353rd day of the year (354th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... News Corporation (abbreviated to News Corp) NYSE: NWS is one of the worlds largest media conglomerates. ... DirecTV Group Inc. ... DirecTV is a direct broadcast satellite (DBS) service that transmits digital satellite television and audio to households in the United States and the rest of the Americas. ... You may be looking for the arena found in Vancouver, see GM place General Motors Corporation NYSE: GM, also known as GM, is a United States-based automobile maker with worldwide operations and brands including Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, Holden, Hummer, Opel, Pontiac, Saturn, Saab and Vauxhall. ... The renminbi (Traditional Chinese: 人民幣, Simplified Chinese: 人民币, literally means peoples currency) is the official currency of the Peoples Republic of China. ... The United States dollar is the official currency of the United States. ... Parmalat SpA, an Italian dairy and food company and Europes biggest dairy company, was declared bankrupt in late 2003. ... This is a list of Prime Ministers of Italy. ... â–¶ (help· info) (born September 29, 1936) is the current Prime Minister of Italy. ... A minister for foreign affairs, or foreign minister, is a cabinet minister who helps form the governmental foreign policy of a sovereign nation. ... Ahmed Maher (born 1935) was the foreign minister of Egypt from 2001 until 2004. ... The term Palestinian has other usages, for which see definitions of Palestinian. ... Prayer is an effort to communicate with God, or to some deity or deities, or another form of spiritual entity, or otherwise, either to offer praise, to make a request, or simply to express ones thoughts and emotions. ... Al-Aqsa Mosque The Al-Aqsa Mosque (Arabic: المسجد الاقصى, â–¶ (help· info), literally the farthest mosque), is part of the complex of religious buildings in Jerusalem known as either the Majed Mount or Al-Haram al-Sharif (the Noble Sanctuary) to Muslims and the Har ha-Bayit (Temple Mount) to Jews and... Emblem of the Municipality of Jerusalem Jerusalem and the Old City. ... The Magen David Adom emblem The Magen David Adom is Israels national emergency medical, disaster, ambulance and blood bank service. ... The following is a partial list of people who have declined a British honour, such as a knighthood or an Order of the British Empire. ... The Sunday Times is the name of several Sunday newspapers. ... David Bowie David Bowie (born David Robert Jones on January 8, 1947) is an English rock musician and actor. ... David Hockney,CH (born July 9, 1937) is a British artist, based in California. ... Aldous Leonard Huxley (July 26, 1894 – November 22, 1963) was a British writer who emigrated to the United States. ... The Honourable Nigella Lucy Lawson (born January 6, 1960) is a British journalist, cookery writer and television presenter. ... Harold Pinter Harold Pinter, CH, CBE (born October 10, 1930) is a British playwright and theatre director. ... ... An infidel Is an unbeliever with respect to a particular religion, especially Christianity or Islam. ... Islam (Arabic: ; ( â–¶ (help· info)), the submission to God) is a monotheistic faith, one of the Abrahamic religions and the worlds second-largest religion. ... On March 7, 2003, the SCO Group (formerly known as Caldera Systems) filed a $1 billion lawsuit in the US against IBM for allegedly devaluing its version of the UNIX operating system. ... The SCO Group, Inc. ... The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) is a controversial United States copyright law which criminalizes production and dissemination of technology that can circumvent measures taken to protect copyright, not merely infringement of copyright itself, and heightens the penalties for copyright infringement on the Internet. ... Linus Benedict Torvalds (born December 28, 1969 in Helsinki, Finland) is a Finnish software engineer best known for initiating the development of Linux. ... The Linux mascot Tux created by Larry Ewing The Linux kernel is a free software Unix-like operating system kernel that was begun by Linus Torvalds in 1991 and subsequently improved with the assistance of developers around the world. ... A mailing list is a collection of names and addresses used by an individual or an organization to send material to multiple recipients. ... Novell, Inc. ... Wikibooks has more about this subject: Guide to UNIX Unix or UNIX is a computer operating system originally developed in the 1960s and 1970s by a group of AT&T Bell Labs employees including Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, and Douglas McIlroy. ... Global earthquake epicenters, 1963–1998 An earthquake is a sudden and sometimes catastrophic movement of a part of the Earths surface. ... San Simeon (ZIP Code: 93452) is a settlement on the Pacific coast of San Luis Obispo County, California notable in two respects: Its position along Pacific Coast Highway is almost precisely halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco, each of those towns being roughly 230 mi (370 km) away. ... Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 3rd 410,000 km² 402. ... UTC also stands for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Coordinated Universal Time or UTC, also sometimes referred to as Zulu time, the basis for civil time, differs by an integral number of seconds from atomic time and a fractional number of seconds from UT1. ... Time zones are areas of the Earth that have adopted the same standard time, usually referred to as the local time. ... The Richter magnitude test scale (or more correctly local magnitude ML scale) assigns a single number to quantify the size of an earthquake. ... Paso Robles (full name: El Paso de Robles) is a city located in San Luis Obispo County, California. ...

December 21, 2003

• "The American Soldier" is named as TIME magazine's "Person of the Year". The periodical's editors chose the anonymous soldier to represent the 1.4 million men and women serving in the United States Armed Forces. [59] [60] [61] [62] [63] [64] [65]
• Citing increased "chatter" regarding potential terrorist attacks over the holiday period, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security raises its terrorism alert level from "elevated" (yellow) to "high" (orange). [66]
• A senior French police source claims Diana, Princess of Wales was pregnant when she was killed in a car crash in Paris in 1997. A Clarence House spokesperson for The Prince of Wales refuses to comment on the issue. Mohamed Al-Fayed, the father of Diana's partner Dodi Al-Fayed had long insisted that Diana was pregnant with Dodi's baby and that she was murdered to stop her from giving birth. [67] [68]
• Quoting an unnamed senior British military intelligence officer, a report in the Sunday Express (Britain) claims that before Saddam Hussein was captured by US troops, he had already been discovered by the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK). Kurdish forces had been alerted to his location by a member of the al-Jabour tribe whose daughter had been raped by Saddam's son Uday Hussein. [69]
• Retired Gen. Wesley Clark presented 4,000 petition signatures to qualify for South Carolina's Democratic presidential primary ballot today. He's the second of the nine candidates for the Democratic nomination to file for the February 3 ballot. Campaign workers for Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts gave the state Democratic Party a check for $2,500 last week to qualify.

December 21 is the 355th day of the year (356th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A watch Attempting to understand time has long been a prime occupation for philosophers, scientists and artists. ... A collection of magazines A magazine is a periodical publication containing a variety of articles, generally financed by advertising and/or purchase by readers. ... Person of the Year is an annual issue of U.S. newsmagazine TIME that features a profile ostensibly on the man, woman, couple, group, idea, place, or machine that for better or worse, has most influenced events in the preceding year. ... An Editor is a person who prepares text—typically language, but also images and sounds—for publication by correcting, condensing, or otherwise modifying it. ... ... A soldier is a person who has enlisted with, or has been conscripted into, the armed forces of a sovereign country and has undergone training and received equipment (such as a uniform and weapon) to defend that country or its interests. ... The armed forces of the United States of America consist of the United States Army United States Navy United States Air Force United States Marine Corps United States Coast Guard Note: The United States Coast Guard has both military and law enforcement functions. ... The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is a Cabinet department of the federal government of the United States that is concerned with protecting the American homeland and the safety of American citizens. ... The exact definition of terrorism is highly controversial. ... Diana, Princess of Wales (Diana Frances Mountbatten-Windsor, née Spencer) (1 July 1961–31 August 1997) was the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales. ... The neutrality and factual accuracy of this article are disputed. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Clarence House, London Clarence House is a royal home in London, situated in The Mall. ... The Prince of Wales The Prince Charles, Prince of Wales (Charles Philip Arthur George Mountbatten-Windsor) (born 14 November 1948), is the eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. ... Mohamed Abdel Moneim Fayed (Arabic: محمد الفايد ) (b. ... Emad El-Din Mohamed Abdel Moneim Fayed (April 15, 1955 - August 31, 1997) was the son of Mohamed Al-Fayed, owner of the British department store Harrods and the Hôtel Ritz Paris. ... Wikinews has news related to this article: Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti, (Arabic ), born April 28, 1937 , was President of Iraq from 1979 until his removal and capture after the 2003 invasion of Iraq. ... The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) (est 1975) (Kurdish: Yaketi Nishtimani Kurdistan) // Mission The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan has been working for self-determination, human rights, democracy and peace for the Kurdish people of Iraq, since its establishment in 1 June 1975. ... Uday Hussein Uday Saddam Hussein al-Tikriti (June 18, 1964 – July 22, 2003) Arabic: عدي صدام حسين; also transliterated as Odai) was the eldest son of Saddam Hussein, the deposed president of Iraq, and his first wife, Sajida Talfah. ... Wesley Clark Wesley Kanne Clark (born December 23, 1944) is a retired four-star general in the U.S. Army. ... State nickname: Palmetto State Official languages English Capital Columbia Largest city Columbia Governor Mark Sanford (R) Senators Lindsey Graham (R) Jim DeMint (R) Area  - Total  - % water Ranked 40th 82,965 km² 6 Population  - Total (2000)  - Density Ranked 26th 4,012,012 51. ... The Democratic Party is one of the two major political parties in the United States. ... February 3 is the 34th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is the junior United States Senator from Massachusetts. ... Official language(s) English Capital Boston Largest city Boston Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 44th 27,360 km² 305 km 80 km 25. ...

December 20, 2003

• The Holy See announces plans to beatify the last Austro-Hungarian emperor Karl. Karl, who was overthrown in 1918 and died in exile in 1922, is expected to be beatified, a step to sainthood, in the next year. Karl's widow, Zita of Bourbon-Parma died in 1989. His son, former Crown Prince Otto von Habsburg was until recently a German MEP. [70] [71]
• CCTV footage at Hampton Court Palace near London, once home of King Henry VIII of England, is released, and claimed to show a "ghost". The footage, taken in October 2003, shows a man in 16th century clothes closing a firedoor that had blown open. The palace markets itself as one of Britain's most haunted locations. [72] [73]
• Celebrations marking the Bicentennial of the Louisiana Purchase culminate in New Orleans, Louisiana. [74]
• Irish charity fundraiser John O'Shea attacks Manchester United football manager Sir Alex Ferguson as "greedy" for demanding £90,000 to attend a cancer charity function in Ireland in 1999. According to O'Shea, a sports celebrity demanding 'appearance money' from a charity is unheard of in his experience. Ferguson's appearance fee amounted to half the money raised. The fundraisers, until now unaware that Ferguson had taken half the proceeds, denounce his behaviour and say if they had known about it at the time they would have cancelled the event.
• Former Argentinian president Carlos Menem is charged with tax fraud for failing to declare a Swiss bank account containing $600,000. If convicted he could be debarred from public office. [75]
• The World Court says it will hear legal arguments about Israel's construction of a controversial barrier in the West Bank to separate Israeli and Palestinian areas. The hearings will begin on 23 February 2004. [76]
• Spanish Prime Minister José María Aznar pays a surprise visit to Spanish troops in Iraq. [77]
• Massive landslides in the Philippines caused by heavy rain result in the deaths of up to 90 people. [78]
• A Malaysian opposition website is shut down by its British web-hosting company amid claims of "political censorship" from the opposition. [79]
• Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai tells his supporters to "fight fear" as they campaign against President Robert Mugabe. His comments follow the decision of Zimbabwe's police to occupy the offices of Zimbabwe's only privately owned newspaper in defiance of a court order that the newspaper could resume publication. [80]
• Eleven people, mainly young people from Germany, die in a bus crash in Belgium. [81]
• In Comoros, leaders signed an agreement clearing the way for legislative elections in April. [82]

December 20 is the 354th day of the year (355th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... In Catholicism, beatification (from Latin beatus, blessed, via Greek μακαριος, makarios) is a recognition accorded by the church of a dead persons accessio