October 21, 2003
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "October_21,_2003".

October 21, 2003

• War on Terrorism: US officials state that they believe Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl was killed by Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. [1]
• North Sea: Scientists call for a total ban on fishing for cod in the North Sea to allow stocks to recover from near extinction. [2]
• Afghanistan: The commander of UN forces in Afghanistan warns that the security of Kabul is at risk if security is not achieved in the Afghan countryside. [3]
• Occupation of Iraq: Human Rights Watch (HRW) accuses US troops of using excessive force against civilians in Iraq. [4]
• Iran's Supreme Council agrees to comply with the International Atomic Energy Agency, allow inspections of its nuclear facilities, and suspend its uranium enrichment program. [5][6][7]
• Africa: Outbreaks of locusts are reported in Mauritania, Niger and Sudan and might spread to other areas of north Africa. [8]
• Northern Ireland: In a series of moves designed to bring about final implementation of the Good Friday Agreement, the British Government confirms that elections to the region's devolved administration will be held on November 26. The Provisional IRA announces a further act of weapons decommissioning. Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams declares "the end to physical force republicanism". Statements from all the major parties involved are expected over the course of the day.[9][10][11]
• Israeli-Palestinian conflict: The UN General Assembly approves a resolution demanding that Israel remove a security fence in the West Bank. The resolution passes by an overwhelming majority of 144 to 4 with the USA voting against the motion. [12][13]
• Newfoundland and Labrador general election, 2003: The Tories of Danny Williams defeat the incumbent Liberals under Premier Roger Grimes, taking more than two-thirds of the seats in the House of Assembly. [14]
• Ecuador - A trial opens in Lago Agrio in which US oil company ChevronTexaco is charged with polluting a once-pristine swath of the Amazon rainforest. The plaintiffs' lawyers have put a US$1 billion price tag on clean up and medical care for the region's inhabitants.

[15]