January 22, 2005

January 22 2005

* The Washington Post alleges that the Pentagon is running a clandestine military organization known as the Strategic Support Branch which is under the direct control of U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. Allegedly it is used to bypass the limitations of working with the Central Intelligence Agency. The Pentagon stated "There is no unit that is directly reportable to the secretary of defense for clandestine operations" and the department "is not attempting to 'bend' statutes to fit desired activities". [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6856550/ (Washington Post/MSNBC)] [http://in.news.yahoo.com/050123/43/2j6oz.html#Scene_1 (Yahoo News)]
* The Tsunami relief concert is held at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, in aid of the victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, raising over £1.25 million (€1.8 million or $2.4 million), making it the biggest charity concert in the United Kingdom since Live Aid in 1985. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/4195985.stm (BBC)]
* U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld cancels his attendance at the Munich Security Conference in February due to a war crimes investigation filed against him in Germany by the New York-based Center for Constitutional Rights in connection with detainee abuses at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison. [http://www.expatica.com/source/site_article.asp?subchannel_id=26&story_id=16014&name=Rumsfeld+scraps+Munich+visitover+%27war+crimes%27+probe (Expatica)] [http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,1564,1465263,00.html (DW)]
* Song Xiuyan is confirmed by the 3rd Plenum of the 10th Qinghai People's Congress as Governor of Qinghai, making her the only female Provincial Governor in the People's Republic of China at the time. [http://www4.chinesenewsnet.com/gb/MainNews/SinoNews/Mainland/zxs_2005-03-29_556207.shtml (ChineseNewsNet)]
* Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: The al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades agrees to a ceasefire if Israel will promise to fully halt military operations inside the West Bank and Gaza Strip, including arrest raids and assassinations and releases Palestinian prisoners from its jails. The militant group rejects Israel's offer to ease operations. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4198271.stm (BBC)] [http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2005-01-22T174931Z_01_N22668666_RTRIDST_0_NEWS-MIDEAST-DC.XML (Reuters)] (Link dead as of 02:35, 15 January 2007 (UTC)), [http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/530080.html (Haaretz)] (Link dead as of 02:35, 15 January 2007 (UTC))
* Conflict in Iraq:
** The Association of Muslim Scholars negotiates the release of 8 Chinese hostages kidnapped by the Islamic Resistance Movement. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4197405.stm (BBC)] [http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=7400128 (Reuters)] (Link dead as of 02:35, 15 January 2007 (UTC))
** The International Organization for Migration extends voter registration for 2 days for Iraqis living abroad due to low turnout. Ansar al-Sunna announces it has executed 15 kidnapped Iraqi National Guard. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4198071.stm (BBC)] [http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=worldNews&storyID=2005-01-22T191401Z_01_N22667410_RTRIDST_0_INTERNATIONAL-IRAQ-ELECTIONS-EXPATRIATES-DC.XML (Reuters)] (Link dead as of 02:35, 15 January 2007 (UTC))
* Eid ul-Adha the second in the series of Eid festivals that Muslims celebrate.
* In the basement of a hotel in the New York City borough of Queens, people hold a memorial service for the late Chinese leader Zhao Ziyang. This memorial follows the one held in the Shangri-la hotel yesterday. [http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/23/nyregion/23protest.html (NYT)] (registration required)