March 15, 2004

• Four U.S. Baptist missionaries working on a water purification project are killed in a drive-by shooting in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul. (CNN)
• The city of Aliso Viejo, California, nearly bans foam cups when they learn they are produced from a substance known as Dihydrogen monoxide (water), a substance that could "threaten human health and safety." (MSNBC)
• Pavlo Lazarenko, former prime minister of Ukraine, stands trial in a U.S. federal court in San Francisco for money laundering. (AP)
• Same-sex marriage in the United States: Commissioners of Multnomah County, Oregon dismiss state attorney general Hardy Myers' non-binding opinion that same-sex marriages are illegal and vow to continue issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. (Seattle Times)
• Newly elected Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero announces his government's opposition to the invasion and continued occupation of Iraq and his intention to withdraw Spanish troops from Iraq by June 30, unless they are part of a U.N. force. (BBC)
• Astronomers announce the discovery of 90377 Sedna, a Pluto-like planetoid which is the most distant individual object known to orbit the Sun. (Caltech) (BBC) (The Australian)
• Iran will reallow the entry of UN nuclear inspectors after March 27, says IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei. (BBC) (AFP)
• Haiti recalls its ambassador of neighbouring Caribbean state Jamaica, where ousted president Jean-Bertrand Aristide is said to be making a personal visit. Haiti also threatens to boycott a 2-day Caricom meeting. (AP) (BBC) (Reuters)
• In the aftermath of nomination day for the Malaysian general election, Barisan Nasional wins 4 more seats in various state assemblies and another parliamentary seat, uncontested. (ChannelNewsAsia) (Toronto Star)
• Exiled Syrian Kurds storm the Syrian consulate in Geneva and other Kurds protest in Turkey and Germany at weekend violence in northeast Syria. (BBC)