November 3, 2003

=November 3, 2003=

*Occupation 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." [http://www.al.com/news/huntsvilletimes/index.ssf?/base/news/1067885186126782.xml] [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/3238459.stm]
* Occupation of Iraq: Attacks consisting 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. [http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,102051,00.html] [http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/AD3C25C9-F2C0-4214-82F8-16CC4EB10439.htm]
* 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. [http://gandalf.ics.uci.edu/blog/2003/11/eurobarometer_iraq_and_peace_in_the_world.html]
* The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission finds further evidence of widespread irregularities in the mutual fund industry. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/3238985.stm] The head of Putnam Investments has resigned. [http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=E1Y0MT232C3LOCRBAELCFEY?type=businessNews&storyID=3746739]
* Embattled energy tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky has quit as CEO of Yukos. [http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=E1Y0MT232C3LOCRBAELCFEY?type=worldNews&storyID=3746830]
* 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". [http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,7763652%5E1702,00.html] [http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,102009,00.html]