January 2005 - January 17, 2005

January 17, 2005

• Zhao Ziyang, former Premier of the People's Republic of China and General Secretary of the Communist Party of China, dies at age 85. (XinhuaNet), (Reuters), (CNN), (BBC).State television and radio in the People's Republic of China make no announcement of Zhao Ziyang's death. Newspapers carry a short five-line announcement. Zhao's secretary Bao Tong and other dissidents and activists call for democratic reforms. Messages of condolence posted on the People's Daily and sina.com message boards are promptly deleted. (BBC) (BBC)
• An Indian train fire that killed up to 60 Hindus and sparked deadly religious riots in 2002 was started by accident - not firebombs thrown by Muslims as had been reported, an Indian Railways inquiry headed by a retired Judge Bannerjee has said. Justice Banerjee said that according to eyewitness accounts people had been cooking in the carriage at the time it caught fire. (BBC)
• Investigative reporter Seymour Hersh writes in The New Yorker that sources inside the military and the intelligence communities say the United States administration has indicated its resolve to attack Iran and to conduct broad covert action in many countries. The Pentagon released an official statement saying "Mr. Hersh's article is so riddled with errors of fundamental fact that the credibility of his entire piece is destroyed." (BBC) (DOD)
• Croatian president Stipe Mesic is elected for a second term. (Reuters)
• A subway crash in Bangkok, Thailand, injures over 100. (Malaysia Star) (BBC)
• Scandinavian prime ministers Göran Persson, Kjell Magne Bondevik and Matti Vanhanen visit Thailand in the aftermath of the 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake. (ScandAsia) (Bangkok Post) (BBC)
• James T. Morris, the head of the United Nations World Food Program, visits Tamil Tigers over the objections of the Sri Lankan government (Bloomberg) (BBC)
• Venezuela has rejected the suggestion of Colombia to hold a regional summit to resolve the dispute over the capture of FARC leader Rodrigo Granda. Hugo Chávez states that he is willing to discuss the matter personally with Álvaro Uribe. (MercoPress) (BBC)
• Two people sue the Metropolitan Police in London, which detained them after the May Day riots in 2001. (BBC) (Guardian) (Politics.co.uk)
• In Kobe, Japan, people remember the victims of the 1995 Kobe earthquake. At the same time, there is a large disaster conference in the city. (Asahi Shimbun) (Bloomberg) (Channel News Asia)