September 2005 - 3 September 2005 (Saturday)

3 September 2005 (Saturday)

• William Rehnquist, Chief Justice of the United States, dies of thyroid cancer at the age of 80. He was appointed Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court in 1971 by Richard Nixon and was named Chief Justice by Ronald Reagan in 1986. (San Francisco Chronicle)
• Hurricane Katrina:
  • The oil-rich nation of Qatar has offered the United States $100 million to assist in the humanitarian crisis triggered by Hurricane Katrina. (CNN)
  • Spain joins the global effort to prevent a US oil crisis caused by Hurricane Katrina by providing the United States with 70,000 barrels per day (11,000 m3/d) during September. (International Herald Tribune)
  • Over 40,000 military personnel will be deployed along the Gulf Coast in the coming week: President George W. Bush is ordering 7,023 additional active duty forces to the Gulf Coast to add to the 4,000 active duty personnel and 21,000 National Guard troops already in the area. The Pentagon announced an additional 10,000 troop deployment from the National Guard. (The White House) (BBC)
  • The White House announced that President George W. Bush will return to undisclosed parts of the Gulf Coast on Monday. (BBC)
  • The racial and socio-economic fallout from response to Hurricane Katrina continues to grow. Poor black people, says Lani Guinier, a Harvard University law professor, are "the canary in the mine. Poor black people are the throwaway people. And we pathologize them in order to justify our disregard." (Washington Post)
  • "The people of our city are holding on by a thread," Mayor Ray Nagin says. (The Argus)
• People's Republic of China President Hu Jintao has postponed his scheduled visit to Washington in the coming week. He plans to meet with President Bush later in the month while attending the United Nations General Assembly in New York City. (Seattle Times)
• A unilateral three-month ceasefire is declared by Nepal's Maoist rebels as negotiations begin with an alliance of political parties. Their leader, Pushpa Kamal Dahal, said they would "not launch any offensive" during the truce. (BBC) (ABC)
• The Japan Meteorological Agency announces Category 5 Typhoon Nabi is set to hit Okinawa and the Ryukyu Islands and possibly Kyūshū on Monday. (ABC)
• French President Jacques Chirac, 72, will be hospitalised for a week after suffering a "minor vascular incident" which is affecting his vision. (BBC)