May 23, 2004

• Villagers in Abga Rajil, western Sudan, claim 56 people are killed in a raid by janjaweed militia. The UN says conflict in the Darfur area has displaced around a million people. (Reuters)
• Iraq Occupation and resistance:
  • Twenty insurgents loyal to Moqtada al-Sadr are killed by Coalition forces during a raid on the Selah mosque compound in Kufa, Iraq. Twelve insurgents are killed in other fighting in Kufa. (ABC AU)
  • Muqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army appears to have retreated from Karbala, Iraq. Karbala, Najaf, and Kufa were the only cities in Iraq with active Mahdi Army members. (NYT)
• Explosions occur at three banks in Jiutepec, Morelos state, Mexico. In a communiqué left at the blast stite, a previously unheard-of rebel group called the Commando Jaramillista Morelense 23 de Mayo claims responsibility. (Reuters)
• Prime Minister of Canada Paul Martin asks Governor General Adrienne Clarkson to dissolve Parliament; an election will be held on June 28. (CBC)
• China announces that tests of a SARS vaccine have started on humans. (ABC AU)
• At least 28 people are killed in Indian-controlled Kashmir when a bus carrying Indian soldiers and family hits a landmine. Hizbul Mujahideen claim responsibility. (ABC AU)
• A bomb explodes in a discotheque in Bogotá, Colombia, on Saturday night (local time): five people are killed. The authorities blame the FARC paramilitary rebel group. (Reuters)
• 2 Palestinians die and another suffers seriously injuries due to an explosion in Nablus on the West Bank. It is believed the explosion resulted from improper handling of explosives. (Reuters)
• A ship carrying 4,000 Hyundai cars sinks south of Singapore after colliding with an oil tanker. All crew are safe, there is no oil spill, and the cars were insured. (ABC AU)
• Horst Köhler is elected as the President of Germany by a special federal assembly in the Reichstag. (Reuters)
• Part of a new terminal roof collapses at Roissy-Charles de Gaulle International Airport near Paris just before 07:00 hrs local time, killing at least 6, and injuring several others. (CNN) (Reuters)
• Two Bangladeshi river ferries capsize at 03:30 hrs local time during a sudden storm; 240 passengers are reported missing. (Reuters)
• Libyan leader Moammar Al Qadhafi walks out of the Arab League Summit in Tunis, Tunisia stating: "There is one agenda laid out by the Arab people and another by the Arab governments." (NYT)
• Israeli Justice Minister Tommy Lapid causes consternation when he says that an image of an old Arab woman rummaging through rubble in Rafah reminded him of his grandmother, a Holocaust victim. (BBC)
• Jarno Trulli wins Monaco F1 Grand Prix driving a Renault. (BBC Sport)