February 1, 2005

February 1 2005

• Pope John Paul II is taken to a hospital suffering from a serious case of influenza. (CNN)
• Same-sex marriage in Canada: The Liberal government presents Bill C-38, an act to legalize same-sex marriage nationwide, to the Canadian House of Commons. (CBC)
• Arab-Israeli Conflict:
• The Palestinian Authority arrests a Palestinian man who had been shooting in the air, on suspicion that he had killed a Palestinian girl the day before. The original shooting sparked Palestinian accusations that the girl had been shot by Israeli soldiers, and Hamas fired mortars at Israeli settlements in response. (Jerusalem Post) (Reuters)
• The Attorney General of Israel, Meni Mazuz, tells the government to call an immediate halt to confiscating Palestinian property in East Jerusalem under a 1950 land law. The legislation entitles Israel to take Arab-owned land, and Mr Mazuz described it as illegal. (BBC) (Al Jazeera)
• Five people are suspected to have died following clashes between Egyptian security forces and Bedouins suspected of being involved in last years bombings in Taba, which was aimed at Israeli holiday makers. (BBC)
• Israel announces that it intends to bring the last 20,000 Falash Mura, Ethiopian Jews who converted to Christianity in the 19th and 20th centuries, to Israel by 2007. (Reuters) (Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs) (Jerusalem Post) (Haaretz)
• Indonesian cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir denies any involvement in the Bali bombing and the Marriott Hotel attack, saying that the bombings were wrong. He also denies being a member of Jemaah Islamiah. (BBC)
• A man who had been detained since December 2001 in the UK without a trial, or a charge, on suspicion of being involved in terrorism has been released without conditions, his lawyer states. (BBC)
• A United Nations report makes accusations of killings, torture and rape of civilians in Sudan's Darfur area, and calls for those accused of carrying out war crimes to be put on trial. The report stops short of calling the events a genocide. (BBC)
• At least three people are known to have died following a bomb blast in Gori, northern Georgia. (BBC)
• King Gyanendra of Nepal sacks the government of Sher Bahadur Deuba and takes direct power for himself. (Reuters) (Rediff)
• The government of the People's Republic of China issues emergency orders to stop a meningitis outbreak that has killed 16 people. (Xinhua) (ChinaDaily) (BBC) (Reuters AlertNet)
• Ex-president of Kenya and chairman of KANU party, Daniel Arap Moi, is due to step down. His successor will be Uhuru Kenyatta, son of Jomo Kenyatta. (Standard, Kenya) (Reuters SA) (BBC)
• South Korea's foreign minister believes that North Korea will re-enter talks about its nuclear proliferation. (Reuters)
• A consortium of micro-lenders supported by U.S. investors announces plans to "play a big role in rebuilding the jobs and small businesses of Asia" in the areas devastated by the recent tsunami and earthquake.