November 29, 2004
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November 29, 2004

• The People's Republic of China and Association of South East Asian Nations sign a trade pact that could eventually unite a quarter of the world's population in a free trade zone. (BBC)
• 2004 Ukrainian presidential election: The Supreme Court continues its public hearings of electoral fraud. Outgoing President Leonid Kuchma asks for a new election "to preserve peace and consensus and build this just democratic society". (Reuters) (BBC)
• Conflict in Iraq:
  • Two U.S. soldiers are killed and three wounded when a roadside bomb in Baghdad detonates. Four Iraqi National Guard are killed in an attack on a checkpoint in nearby Baghdadi. Six Iraqis are killed in a blast near a police station in Ramadi. The Iraqi Red Crescent establishes a relief center in Fallujah, while the International Red Cross says the city remains under siege and workers are unable to freely administer aid. (Reuters) (BBC)
  • Deputy leader of al Qaida Ayman al-Zawahiri releases a videotape vowing to continue fighting "until the last hour" and urging the U.S. to cooperate with Muslims and stop dealing "with them as free loot, robbed land and violated sanctity." (Reuters)
• Researchers from South Korea have successfully used stem cell therapy to allow a paralyzed woman with spinal cord injury to walk again. (WPH)
• U.S. President George W. Bush nominates Kellogg Company CEO Carlos Gutierrez to be the next Secretary of Commerce. (USA Today)
• Iranian-born Dutch national Seyed Mahmoud Namini is being detained by the Canadian government as a potential security threat. He was arrested a month ago when 30 books related to Kurdish revolts in Iran were found in his bag. (Toronto Star)
• Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of Myanmar's opposition National League for Democracy, will have her third period of house arrest extended. (BBC)
• Five record labels sue Sharman Networks, the owner of peer-to-peer file-sharing system Kazaa, for facilitating copyright violations in an Australian court. {The Times) (Financial Times) (Wired)
• Romania's ruling Social Democratic Party claims victory in the country's legislative election, and the simultaneous presidential election goes to a second round with Prime Minister Adrian Năstase leading.
• President of Chile Ricardo Lagos proposes special lifetime pensions (approx. €150 a month) for 28,000 survivors of the Pinochet regime's torture camps. (SwissInfo) (Reuters Alertnet) (Washington Post)
• A magnitude 7.0 earthquake hits Hokkaidō, Japan. (ABC News) (Bloomberg) (SwissInfo) (USGS)
• A huge number of whales and dolphins are beached on the King Island between the Australian mainland and Tasmania; rescue efforts are ongoing (SBS) (SwissInfo) (New Zealand Herald)
• The U.S. Supreme Court hears a landmark case to decide the rights of states to overrule federal restrictions on medical marijuana use. This case has important consequences for redefining the separation and limitation of powers between states and the federal government. (CSM)
• At the conclusion of The Greatest Canadian project, socialist politician Tommy Douglas was announced as being voted as The Greatest Canadian of all. Toronto Star