Portal:Current events/2004 April 18
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April 18, 2004 (Sunday)
- The Iranian Vice Speaker of Parliament, Behzad Nabavi, resigns over "violation of public rights". (Payvand News) (Hi Pakistan)
- Sheikh Omar Bakri Muhammad says the "life of an unbeliever has no value, it has no sanctity" and states that several Islamic militant groups are planning a terrorist attack on London, making such an attack inevitable. (Reuters)
- Iraq Occupation and Insurgency:
- The new Prime Minister of Spain, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, orders that all Spanish troops should be brought home from Iraq "in as short a time as possible", in accordance with "the will of the Spanish people". (BBC)
- El País reports Spain's Foreign Minister Miguel Ángel Moratinos, after being sworn into office, will offer to replace Spanish troops in Iraq with non-military assistance when he visits Washington this week. (Reuters)
- In Kosovo, a Jordanian UN police officer opens fire upon a convoy of UN police officers killing two female Americans and injuring eleven others. The attack reportedly stemmed from an argument between American and Jordanian UN police over Iraq policies. (BBC)
- Fighting breaks out between Pakistani and al-Qaeda fighters near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. (Reuters)[permanent dead link]
- Hamas selects a new leader but keeps his identity secret, fearing he will be killed. (AP)
- 9-11 Commission member Jamie S. Gorelick receives death threats after allegations that her actions to keep law-enforcement from using military intelligence may have contributed to lapses leading to the attacks. Meanwhile, the Washington Times reports allegations by former FBI Director Thomas J. Pickard that Gorelick resisted efforts by the FBI to expand the counterterrorism effort beyond simple law enforcement tactics and agencies. (CNN) (Washington Times)