JULY-AUGUST 2005

Saudi Arabia

A series of raids against al Qaeda in Riyadh, Medina and elsewhere in late July and August resulted in the deaths of Saleh Mohammed al-Aoofi, said to be the al Qaeda chief in the country, and Majed Hamed Abdullah al-Haasiri, also among the kingdom’s most wanted. Dozens were arrested, including Mohammed Saeed Mohammed al-Sayam al-Umari (AP).

3 JULY 2005

Albania, politics

Parliamentary elections were held for all 140 seats in the People’s Assembly. Former president Sali Berisha’s Democratic Party (PD) and its allies won 73 seats. Prime Minister Fatos Nano’s Socialist Party (PSSH) and its allies won 64. Both parties had supported membership in NATO and the EU and a pro-US foreign policy, but the PD also advocated major tax cuts to promote investment (www.rulers.org, IFES, AP).

4 JULY 2005

Democratic Republic of Congo

UN forces began an operation against local militias in South Kivu province (AP).

Burundi, politics

Parliamentary elections were held. The National Council for the Defense of Democracy-Forces for the Defense of Democracy (CNDD-FDD) won 59 of 100 seats while President Domitien Ndayizeye’s Front for Democracy in Burundi (FRODEBU) won 24 seats (www.rulers.org).

6 JULY 2005

Myanmar, civil affairs

The government released about 240 political detainees and opposition politicians. Over 1,060 political prisoners were still being held including Suu Kyi, who is under house arrest.1

Iraq

Egypt’s ambassador to Iraq, Dr. Ihab al-Sharif, was executed after being kidnapped by the terrorist group ‘al Qaeda in Iraq’ (CNN.com).

6-8 JULY 2005

Diplomatic affairs

The Group of Eight summit was held in Gleneagles, Scotland. Leaders of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States agreed to significant increases in aid for Africa. On the issue of global warming, they agreed that “Climate change is a serious long term challenge that has the potential to affect every part of the globe” and that “we know enough to act now” to slow the growth of ‘greenhouse’ gasses (AP).

7 JULY 2005

Britain

Four terror bomb attacks in London -- three against the Underground train system and one against a double decker bus -- killed over 50 people and wounded about 700. On 1 September, Al Jezeera broadcast a video purportedly from al Qaeda which appeared to take responsibility for the attacks(CNN.com).

8 JULY 2005

Philippines, politics

Eight of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s 24 cabinet members resigned and called on her to step down. Arroyo is being accused of misconduct in the last presidential election (AP).

10 JULY 2005

Kyrgyzstan, politics

In a presidential election, acting president Kurmanbek Bakiyev overwhelmingly defeated his challengers (AP).

12 JULY 2005

Asia and the Pacific, diplomatic affairs

North and South Korea agreed in talks on a number of economic cooperative steps. These included increased food aid by the South to the North and the North’s granting to the South of investment rights in North Korean mining operations (AP).

Israel

A suicide bomber killed two Israelis in Netanya (CNN.com).

Britain, Northern Ireland

There were sometimes violent confrontations in Belfast, Londonderry and elsewhere between police and Catholics protesting the annual Orangemen marches. In some places, Catholic leaders and police would agree on the staging of a protest but Catholic youths would instigate violence (AP).

13 JULY 2005

Philippines

There was a rally against President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in Manila by about 40,000 people (AP).

14-15 JULY 2005

Israel, West Bank and Gaza Strip

On both days there were clashes in Gaza between Palestinian Authority (PA) security forces and Hamas militants. On the 15th there were Israeli airstrikes against Hamas in Gaza and the West Bank in response to rocket attacks into Israel (CNN.com).

Thailand

Unidentified militants conducted a series of bombing and shooting attacks in Yala, near the Malaysian border. This was the latest violence in the Muslim far south, where over 800 people have died in separatist violence since early 2004. On the 15th parliament passed an ‘Emergency Powers Law’ which gives Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra increased powers to impose law and order (Reuters).

16 JULY 2005

Iraq

A suicide attack in Musayyib, south of Baghdad, which involved a bomber and a fuel tanker killed at least 90 people (Reuters).

Turkey

A bomb attack on a bus in Kusadasi killed five (AP).

18 JULY 2005

Diplomatic affairs

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh met US President Bush in Washington. Bush said he would seek to change US law restricting civilian nuclear technological cooperation with India. India agreed to not share its nuclear technologies with states which do not have them and to allow international oversight of its civilian nuclear program (AP).

19 JULY 2005

Thailand, civil affairs

The government imposed emergency rule in Yala, Narathiwat and Pattani provinces, the country's Muslim-dominated provinces, located in the south (AP).

Pakistan

The government began raids against banned extremist groups and individuals, resulting in hundreds of arrests (CNN.com).

19-21 JULY 2005

Kenya

There were some violent clashes in Nairobi and elsewhere between police and protesters unhappy with the work taking place on a draft constitution (AP).

20-21 JULY 2005

Yemen

There were violent anti-government protests in San’a and several other cities. The immediate catalyst was a cut by the government of subsidies on oil products, but there also appears to be discontent over the economy and perceived corruption (AP).

Within a week the government decided to reverse the cuts (Reuters).

21 JULY 2005

Britain

It appeared that another attempt by terrorists to bomb three subway trains and a bus in London failed when the explosives failed to detonate (CNN.com).

23 JULY 2005

Egypt

Three terror bomb attacks in the Sharm el-Sheikh area killed 67 people and wounded over 200. In August, security forces arrested Hassan el-Arishi, the alleged mastermind of the attack, in northern Sinai. Later that month they carried out raids, mostly in the area of El Arish, which resulted in the arrest of about 650 people (AP).

24 JULY 2005

Guinea Bissau, politics

In the presidential runoff, Joao Bernardo Vieira defeated Malam Bacai Sanha 55.25% to 44.75% (www.rulers.org).

Russia

A bomb exploded under a train in Dagestan, killing one person (AP).

26 JULY 2005

Nepal, civil affairs

The Royal Commission on Corruption Control (RCCC) convicted former prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba of corruption and sentenced him to two years in prison (CNN.com).

26 JULY-7 AUGUST 2005

Asia and the Pacific, diplomatic affairs

Talks on North Korea’s nuclear weapons program were held between representatives of China, Japan, North Korea, Russia, South Korea and the United States in Beijing, China (AP). The North said it wanted normalized relations with the US and incentives to end its nuclear weapons program, while the US demanded the North end its program verifiably before receiving concessions. Much was made in the US media over apparent differences between the two sides’ positions concerning the ‘sequencing’ of steps. It appeared though that the main differences are in the preferred outcomes of the sides. The North seems focused on normalization of relations and the retention of a civilian nuclear program, and in the days following the talks, expressed a willingness to rejoin the NPT. The US seems to regard the issue of disarming the North of its nuclear weapons as distinct from the issue of peace and is focused on the former. The US is also opposed to the North retaining a civilian nuclear program. In the days following the talks South Korea expressed its willingness to allow the North to retain such a program.

28 JULY 2005

Asia and the Pacific, diplomatic affairs

Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea and the United States announced the formation of the Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate, an initiative to collaborate on the development of cleaner energy technologies, so as to meet long-term energy needs while reducing pollution and addressing climate concerns (AP).

Western Hemisphere, economic affairs

The US House of Representatives ratified the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) 217-215. The Senate had already ratified it in June by a 54-45 margin; President Bush was expected to sign the measure. CAFTA will eventually eliminate tariffs and other trade barriers between Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and the US (AP).

Britain, Northern Ireland

The Irish Republican Army (IRA), which declared a cease-fire in 1997, released a statement saying that “The leadership has formally ordered an end to the armed campaign....All volunteers have been instructed to assist the development of purely political and democratic programs through exclusively peaceful means....volunteers must not engage in any other activities whatsoever.” The IRA appealed to Britain and Northern Ireland’s Protestant majority to accept its new position as sufficient to renew negotiations on power sharing between Protestants and the Catholic minority, the core goal of the 1998 Good Friday Peace Agreement (CNN.com).

29 JULY 2005

Uzbekistan, foreign policy

The government terminated its agreement with the US allowing US use of Karshi-Khanabad air base. No reason for the action was given but recently there have been strains between the two countries over the civil rights situation in Uzbekistan. The US reportedly has six months to remove its forces. Karshi-Khanabad, or ‘K2', has been an important facility for supporting US forces in Afghanistan, but Kyrgyzstan recently told the US it can use Manas air base for as long as the Afghan war requires, and Defense Secretary Rumsfeld said it would not be a problem (AP).

30 JULY 2005

Egypt

A small demonstration in Cairo against President Hosni Mubarak was attacked by police and government supporters (AP).

30 JULY-11 AUGUST 2005

Sudan

Vice President John Garang was killed when his helicopter crashed, apparently due to bad weather, near the Sudanese-Ugandan border late on the 30th or early 31st. He was returning to Sudan from a visit to Uganda. His death was followed by severe rioting in Khartoum and elsewhere. Garang was replaced as leader of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) by Salva Kiir, who was sworn in as Vice President on the 11th (CNN.com, Reuters, AP).

Notes

1. "Myanmar releases 240 prisoners", AP, 6 July 2005.