January 2005 - January 14, 2005

January 14, 2005

• Saudi Arabia's supreme judicial council announced that the ritual of the Day of Arafa would take place Wednesday rather than Thursday as expected. This means that Eid ul-Adha will begin a day earlier than thought. (The Guardian), (Arabicnews.com)
• Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: The Gaza Strip has been completely sealed off by Israel, following yesterday's events which saw the first major attacks by Palestinians on Israeli civilians since Mahmoud Abbas was elected, and followed several Israeli raids in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. (BBC) (Al Jazeera)
• Embattled Canadian Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Judy Sgro resigns in order to clear her name. She is replaced by Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development Joe Volpe who in turn is replaced in that ministry by Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs Lucienne Robillard.
• In what is expected to be one of the major scientific events of this decade, the Huygens probe successfully lands on Saturn's largest moon Titan. Data sent back from the probe via the Cassini orbiter is now being analysed. Three low-resolution pictures have been released, including one from an altitude of 16 km that appears to show channels cut by liquid, and another from the surface of Titan showing rocks or ice. (New Scientist) (Reuters) (Wired) (BBC) (ABC News) (ESA)
• The World Health Organization reports that worldwide polio cases rose by more than one-third in 2004, from 784 in 2003 to 1,185 last year. The increase is attributed to a boycott on vaccines in Kano, Nigeria led by a group of hard-line Islamic clerics who claim that vaccines are part of an American conspiracy. (CNN)
• An Argentine ex-naval officer Adolfo Scilingo goes to trial in Spain accused of killing political prisoners during Argentina's "Dirty War". He was declared fit for trial despite a hunger strike. (Reuters Alertnet) (BBC)
• Somalian transitional parliament in Kenya has approved the second suggested cabinet of prime minister Ali Mohammed Ghedi. They rejected his earlier suggested cabinet four weeks ago (AllAfrica) (Reuters Alertnet) (BBC)
• Venezuela recalls its ambassador to Colombia because of the disagreement over capture of FARC member Rodrigo Granda (BBC)
• Malaysia and Singapore have agreed to a truce on the disagreement over land reclamation project in Johor Straits (Malaysian Star) (CNA) (Reuters)