February 15, 2005

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[edit] February 15, 2005

• A state of emergency is announced in Samoa and American Samoa as South Pacific cyclones Olaf and Nancy make landfall on Savai'i. (CNN)
• The Nigerian government will not rule out military actions against the coup regime in Togo if it does not comply with demands from West African leaders to step down. (AFROL)
• Yusuf Islam, formerly known as Cat Stevens, receives substantial damages from two British newspapers, The Sun and The Sunday Times, which alleged that the United States was correct to ban him from the country. The Sun has published, and The Sunday Times will publish, acknowledgments that he is not, and never has been, involved in or supported terrorism, and that he abhors all such activities. They also highlight that Islam was recently presented with the Man for Peace award by a group of Nobel Peace Prize laureates. (BBC)
• The United States recalls its ambassador to Syria, Margaret Scobey, in protest of alleged Syrian involvement in the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. (Houston Chronicle) (AP)
• At least 209 people die in a mining disaster in Fuxin City, in China's north-eastern Liaoning province. During the first nine months of 2004, an average of 15 people died every day in China's mines. (BBC)
• The European Court of Human Rights, deciding about the so-called McLibel case, rules in favour of environmental campaigners Helen Steel and David Morris and their claim that their trial was unfair. The pair said their human rights were violated when their criticism of McDonald's was ruled libel. The case has taken 15 years. (BBC) (Scotsman)(CNN)
• In South Africa, President Thabo Mbeki announces that the country's elite crime-fighting unit Scorpions will be investigated. There have been claims of political vendettas and mismanagement of funds. (AllAfrica) (IOL,SA) (BBC)
• United States, India and European Union countries recall their ambassadors from Nepal in protest of the takeover by King Gyanendra. (Bloomberg) (World Peace Herald)(BBC) (Reuters)
• Germany's foreign minister Joschka Fischer accepts political responsibility for immigration policies that allowed criminals to enter the European Union. (Deutsche Welle) (Reuters) (BBC) (Expatica)
• Microsoft announces its intentions to release Internet Explorer version 7.0. This is seen by some as a response to the growing popularity of the Mozilla Firefox browser. (News.com) (Reuters UK)
• Youtube (Currently (in 2006-2007)one of the most popular websites) was officially activated