- December 20, 2003
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December 20 ,2003 =* The
Holy See announces plans to beatify the last Austro-Hungarianemperor Karl. Karl, who was overthrown in1918 and died in exile in1922 , is expected to be beatified, a step tosaint hood, in the next year. Karl's widow,Zita of Bourbon-Parma died in 1989. His son, formerCrown Prince Otto von Habsburg was until recently a German MEP. [http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20031220/en_afp/vatican_pope_austria_031220185645] [http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20031220/od_uk_nm/oukoe_pope_emperor_1]
* CCTV footage atHampton Court Palace near London, once home of KingHenry VIII of England , is released, and claimed to show a "ghost ". The footage, taken in October 2003, shows a man in16th century clothes closing a firedoor that had blown open. The palace markets itself as one of Britain's most haunted locations. [http://www.itv.com/news/1720815.html] [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3336299.stm]
*Celebrations marking the Bicentennial of theLouisiana Purchase culminate inNew Orleans, Louisiana . [http://www.ajc.com/news/content/news/1203/20louisiana.html]
*Irish charity fundraiserJohn O'Shea attacks Manchester United football manager SirAlex Ferguson as "greedy" for demanding £90,000 to attend acancer charity function in Ireland in 1999. According to O'Shea, a sports celebrity demanding 'appearance money' from a charity is unheard of in his experience. Ferguson's appearance fee amounted to half the money raised. The fundraisers, until now unaware that Ferguson had taken half the proceeds, denounce his behaviour and say if they had known about it at the time they would have cancelled the event.
* Former Argentinian presidentCarlos Menem is charged with tax fraud for failing to declare a Swiss bank account containing $600,000. If convicted he could be debarred from public office. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3336367.stm]
*TheWorld Court says it will hear legal arguments aboutIsrael 's construction of a controversial barrier in theWest Bank to separate Israeli andPalestinian areas. The hearings will begin on23 February 2004 . [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3336229.stm]
*SpanishPrime Minister José María Aznar pays a surprise visit to Spanish troops inIraq . [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3336565.stm]
*Massive landslides in thePhilippines caused by heavy rain result in the deaths of up to 90 people. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3336327.stm]
*AMalaysia n oppositionwebsite is shut down by its British web-hosting company amid claims of "political censorship" from the opposition. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3337019.stm]
*Zimbabwe an opposition leaderMorgan Tsvangirai tells his supporters to "fight fear" as they campaign against PresidentRobert Mugabe . His comments follow the decision of Zimbabwe's police to occupy the offices of Zimbabwe's only privately ownednewspaper in defiance of a court order that the newspaper could resume publication. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3337147.stm]
* Eleven people, mainly young people fromGermany , die in abus crash inBelgium . [http://www.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30000-12955762,00.html]
* InComoros , leaders signed an agreement clearing the way for legislative elections in April. [http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=38549&SelectRegion=Southern_Africa&SelectCountry=COMOROS]
* CW meets KM
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