November 2003 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December Events November 1, 2003Israeli-Palestinian conflict : In Israel, a hard-hitting UN report says that Israel will effectively annex large areas of Palestinian territory as a result of the permits it intends to issue to Palestinians near the wall being built. The Israeli West Bank barrier has been built inside the internationally recognised Green Line about 18,000 acres (73 km²) and cuts off the rest of the West Bank. It has been declared a "closed military zone". The October Taylor Nelson Sofres / EOS Gallup EU poll reportedly shows that 59% of Europeans think that Israel is a threat to world peace (greater threat to world peace than North Korea, Iran, or Afghanistan). Also according to the poll, Europeans believe the United States surpasses the "axis of evil" (i.e., Iran, Iraq, and North Korea) and Afghanistan for countries that contribute most to world instability. Around 7,500 people from 15 different European countries were surveyed. Some of the results not yet published are still reportedly "unstable". Representatives will be meeting the EU's foreign policy chief Javier Solana to discuss the results of the poll and issues around combating anti-Semitism in Europe. Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe announces an overhaul of his cabinet and changes to the central bank aimed at tackling acute economic problems. Communications in the United Kingdom are disrupted as the Royal Mail faces a wave of unofficial strikes. North Korea nuclear weapons program: A North Korean defector to the South says the US cannot trust Pyongyang to stick to any deal about nuclear weapons. Fire fighters in California begin to gain the upper hand as they battle against the wildfires in Southern California. The United States prosecutes Greenpeace for protesting illegal mahogany trade under an 1872 law against "sailormongering". Taipei celebrates the first gay pride parade in either part of China. Approximately 1,000 people march. November 2, 2003Occupation of Iraq: In the heaviest single loss for the coalition troops since cessation of the military campaign in Iraq two US Chinook helicopters are fired on by two surface-to-air missiles and one crashes near Fallujah and on its way to Baghdad airport; 16 soldiers are killed and 20 wounded. A blast damages an oil pipeline near Kirkuk, north of Baghdad. War on Terrorism: The New York Times reports that militant Muslim recruits are "streaming into Iraq" and answering the call of Osama bin Laden and other extremists. These individuals are joining the fight against the coalition's occupation in Iraq, state counterterrorism officials. Intelligence officials (in six countries) have detected an estimate of hundreds of militant young Muslims from various countries headed for Iraq (primarily by crossing the Syrian or Iranian borders). The Yukos crisis continues, and Dmitry Medvedev, the new Chief of Staff of the Russian president, warns of risks to the economy. Following his appointment, the siloviks continue to dominate Putin's administration in a larger degree than in the Yeltsin and Gorbachev years. In the United Kingdom, Tony Blair faces a formal complaint that has been made to the International Criminal Court about the prosecution of the Iraq War. In Hawaii, a shark bites the arm off a 13 year-old girl surfing at Kauai, the fourth such amputation in Hawaiian waters in 20 years. In the Sudan, Locusts cause breathing difficulties and some deaths in Sudan. Former brokers of Prudential Securities are to be charged in Massachusetts as part of a widening investigation into abuses at mutual funds. November 3, 2003Occupation of Iraq: US Congress allocates $87 billion for occupation and reconstruction of Iraq and Afghanistan. The funding bill omits a provision included in the Senate version of the bill, demanding that Iraq repay some of the $20 billion of the funds dedicated for rebuilding. U.S. President Bush had been strongly opposed to this provision.At a campaign fundraiser in Birmingham, Alabama, President George W. Bush states that the tax cuts are working to help the economy. Bush also vows that the coalition forces will stay in Iraq. The president states the deaths of 15 soldiers in an attack on a helicopter will not deter the United States. Bush states, "The enemy in Iraq believes America will run. That's why they're willing to kill innocent civilians, relief workers, coalition troops. America will never run." Occupation of Iraq: Attacks comprising of six explosions, reportedly coordinated, occur (one in Kirkuk, five in Baghdad). The series of explosions in Baghdad, which may have come from mortar shells, is in an area that is home to several coalition headquarters buildings. The Kirkuk bomb blast northeast of Baghdad kills one Iraqi and wounds 15. The target of this explosion was the deputy governor of the northern Diyala province Aqil al-Hamid, who was in a convoy driving near the city of Baquba. He escapes uninjured. Also, another blast occurs near a holy Shiite Muslim shrine in the city of Karbala kills three people and injured 12. The European Commission comes out with another Eurobarometer, a survey of EU citizens. According to the survey, most Europeans think that the war in Iraq is not justified, that UN should supervise Iraq and provide security, and that U.S. should pay for the rebuilding of Iraq. As to which countries pose a threat to world peace, 59% think it's Israel, and 53% that it's United States. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission finds further evidence of widespread irregularities in the mutual fund industry. The head of Putnam Investments has resigned. Embattled energy tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky has quit as CEO of Yukos. War on Terrorism: Saudi Arabian authorities have broken up, for the second time, a militant ring in Mecca amid a wide crackdown on Islamic extremists. The police combated militants in the streets of the holy city of Mecca, killing two of the suspects and uncovering a large cache of weapons. The raid on two buildings in Mecca's al-Share'a neighborhood foiled a terrorist operation "that did not respect the sanctity of holy places and the month of Ramadan". November 4, 2003The U.S. National Cancer Institute is funding human clinical studies to test experimental reovirus-based cancer treatments, after initial studies show promising results against a number of different types of tumor which contain the Ras oncogene. War on Terrorism: In Saudi Arabia, an attempt at a terror attack on Saudi officials and/or pilgrims in the holy city of Mecca is foiled; plotters believed to be linked to Al Qaeda. Occupation of Iraq: For the second night running the HQ of the coalition in central Baghdad comes under attack; huge explosions are heard. Spain, one of the staunchest supporters of the USA in the Iraq war, withdraws many of its staff from its embassy in Iraq. Whilst the Sri Lankan prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe is visiting the United States, the country's president Chandrika Kumaratunga suspends parliament and deploys troops, effectively putting the country into a state of martial law.The Anglican Church splits over gay bishop. Half the archbishops of the Anglican union denounce the Episcopal Church's consecration of the world's first openly gay, non-celibate bishop and vowed not to recognize the appointment. The sun surprises astronomers by launching another solar flare, this time the largest ever recorded.Software company Novell has announced that it will purchase Linux distributor SuSE. A study in Germany shows that leeches can help with arthritis pain, apparently because their saliva contains anti-inflammatories. Mark Messier of the New York Rangers scores two goals against the Dallas Stars, giving him 1851 to pass Gordie Howe and to move into second place on the NHL career points list. Mexican President Vicente Fox begins a three state trip to the United States with a stop in Arizona, where he addresses immigration issues. A man is reportedly injured at a shooting near the place Fox spoke.Canadian author M.G. Vassanji is awarded the Giller Prize for his book The In-Between World of Vikram Lall. In Ecuador, Angel Shingre, a campesino leader and human rights campaigner who played a key role in bringing to light environmental problems caused by oil exploration in Ecuador's Amazon region, is assassinated in the city of Coca. November 5, 2003United States - Politics : Democratic intel memo by staff disturbs the US Senate. Senator Zell Miller (D-GA) states "heads should roll" over the memo of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence that outlines a strategy to politicize intelligence data. After 26 years, and at a distance from Earth of over 8 billion miles, Voyager 1 exits the solar system. It is expected to keep on transmitting into the 2020s. The Australian Central Bank raises interest rates by 0.25% in a bid to curb surging consumer borrowing. Saskatchewan general election, 2003: The NDP government of Lorne Calvert is returned to power with a majority government.The third Matrix movie, The Matrix Revolutions, opens simultaneously worldwide. The European Union says it will press ahead with retaliation against US steel tariffs if the WTO rules in its favour next week. Occupation of Iraq:The United States states foreign terrorists are slipping into Iraq and believes the people behind recent attacks in Iraq have come in from neighbouring countries. Iraq's Governing Council head, Jalal Talabani, urges Iraq's neighbours to crack down on "terrorists" crossing into Iraq. Talabani states terrorists had entered from Syria, Saudi Arabia and Iran. Syria urges America to withdraw troops from Iraq. Soldiers recount crash horror. One soldier states that he "heard a crash and prayed". Recovering from wounds suffered when their helicopter was shot down in Iraq, the U.S. soldiers expect to be needed in action again. Turkey says it will not send troops to Iraq without a significant improvement in security there. Talabani plans visit to Turkey in bid to ease crisis over Turkey's troops to Iraq. An Iraqi senior judge, Muhan Jabr al-Shuwaili, investigating former officials of Saddam Hussein's regime is kidnapped and shot dead. The Najaf prosecutor-general, Aref Aziz, was also kidnapped and later released unharmed. A second judge, Ismail Yussef Saddek, investigating members of Saddam Hussein's ousted regime is shot dead in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul. US intelligence-gathering in Iraq is being questioned partly as a result of disbanding the army. The ninth case of mad cow disease is confirmed in Japan. An article in the November issue of J. Climate argues that global warming will bring more snow to the Eastern Great Lakes region. The United Nations votes again and overwhelmingly in a non-binding and non-enforceable resolution for an end to sanctions against Cuba; only the USA, Israel, and the Marshall Islands vote against. The US's United Nations ambassador John Negroponte avoided the forum. Washington responded to the vote through a mid-level diplomat, Sichan Siv, who tells the Gene