- October 29, 2003
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October 29 ,2003 =*
Medicine : The US FDA approves Risperdal Consta (Risperidone long-acting injection) for the treatment ofschizophrenia . Although already approved in several other countries, it is the first long-acting,atypical antipsychotic medication to be approved by the FDA.
*Republic of Ireland : TheGarda Síochána , the Irish police force, opens a criminal investigation following ahoax telephone call on27 October from a woman claiming that she had abandoned her newborn baby in a derelict flat inDublin . Hundreds of Gardaí had mounted a round the clock search of thousands of derelict sites in the working class suburb of Ballymun to find the child, as fears grew for its safety amid plummeting temperatures. Police later concluded that no such child existed and that the series of phone calls made to them and to childcare charities had been a deliberate hoax.
*United Kingdom : British Conservative Party leaderIain Duncan Smith loses avote of confidence in his parliamentary party by 90 votes to 75 and, in accordance with party rules, resigns from the leadership. A new leadership election is called. Shadow Deputy Prime Minister David Davis, previously tipped as a future leader, surprises Westminster by announcing that he will not seek the leadership and endorses formerHome Secretary Michael Howard , who is now seen as the frontrunner to assume the leadership. Other leading politicians endorse Howard, once famously described by a colleague as having "something of the night about him." [http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=3717328] [http://interestalert.com/brand/siteia.shtml?Story=st/sn/10290004aaa01957.upi&Sys=siteia&Fid=LATEBRKN&Type=News&Filter=Late%20Breaking]
*Occupation of Iraq : The InternationalRed Cross announces that it is to scale back its commitments to Iraq. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3224723.stm] Two more GIs are killed, bringing the total killed sinceMay 1 to 115. [http://abcnews.go.com/wire/World/ap20031029_421.html]
*Earth's magnetic field : The Earth'smagnetosphere is hit by the recentsolar flare causing a brief but intensegeomagnetic storm , provoking unusual displays of Northern Lights. [http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/10/23/tech/main579650.shtml]
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