March 2005

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This article covers breaking news and events in March 2005.

Daily events

Tuesday March 1, 2005

Steve Fossett's aircraft

• Ituri / DR Congo : Soldiers from the MONUC peacekeeping mission attack armed fighters from the Front for Nationalism and Integration . 60 people are killed, including women and children. The action is in response to an attack on a UN patrol near Kafé on February 25, which left nine people dead.
• Copenhagen / Denmark : According to an analysis by the Swiss bank UBS , the Danish capital is the city with the highest wage level in the world. At the same time, Copenhagen is now the second most expensive city in the world, behind Oslo . Last year Hong Kong was the second most expensive city, but is now only in 10th place. Life in New York is now cheaper than in all Scandinavian capitals.
• Salina / United States : To 00:45 UTC starts billionaire Steve Fossett to a non-stop - world flight in Virgin Atlantic Global Flyer company Scaled Composites . The estimated flight duration is less than three days. The flight is intended to break various records of the International Aeronautical Association .
• Washington, DC / United States : The Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional to impose and enforce the death penalty for crimes committed by those under 18 at the time. Death sentences that have already been imposed on 72 offenders who were minors at the time of the crime must be converted to prison terms.

Wednesday March 2, 2005

• Berlin / Germany : The federal government approves the 2nd poverty and wealth report . The proportion of people living in relative poverty rose from 12.1% in 1998 to 13.5% in 2004.
• Ituri / DR Congo : Soldiers from the United Nations Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo say they kill around 60 fighters during skirmishes with armed fighters in the troubled province of Ituri .

Thursday March 3, 2005

• Salina / United States : The billionaire Steve Fossett completed 19:48 UTC with his Globalflyer a three records of the International Aeronautical Federation -breaking non-stop - world tour , u. a. He succeeds in the first circumnavigation of the world in an airplane without refueling .

Friday March 4, 2005

• Baghdad / Iraq : The Italian journalist Giuliana Sgrena is released by her kidnappers after a month in Iraq. While driving to the airport in Baghdad, where she was accompanied by Italian intelligence officials, her car comes under fire from US soldiers. One of the companions, Nicola Calipari , is killed and Sgrena is slightly injured.

Saturday 5th March 2005

• Damascus / Syria : Syrian President Bashar al-Assad announces the withdrawal of 14,000 Syrian troops stationed in Lebanon ; these are initially to be relocated to the Bekaa Valley near the Syrian border. The declaration by al-Assad is a consequence of the Cedar Revolution following the attack on Prime Minister Rafiq al-Hariri's convoy on February 14, for which Syria is blamed in Lebanon.

Sunday March 6, 2005

• Chișinău / Moldova : In the parliamentary elections , the reform communists under President Vladimir Voronin received 56 out of 101 seats.

Monday March 7, 2005

• Higüey / Dominican Republic : During a violent dispute among inmates, a large fire develops in Higüey prison. 133 people lose their lives.
• New York / United States : US President George W. Bush appoints John R. Bolton as US Ambassador to the United Nations.

Tuesday March 8, 2005

• Dresden / Germany , Prague / Czech Republic : For the same , the Vltava River and its tributaries as the trough and Weißeritz a flood expected in the next week. There are record amounts of snow in the catchment area of ​​the Elbe.
• Rome / Italy : The Italian government is not satisfied with the statement by the US Department of Defense on the background to the death of secret service agent Nicola Calipari and contradicts the Pentagon.
• Tolstoy-Yurt / Russia : In Chechnya , the leader of the separatists Aslan Maskhadov is killed in an operation by the Russian secret service FSB.

Wednesday March 9, 2005

• The Hague / Netherlands : Ramush Haradinaj , who resigned as Prime Minister of Kosovo the day before , faces the war crimes tribunal in The Hague, which accuses him of crimes against civilians during the Kosovo war .
• Gauteng / South Africa : A magnitude 5.3 earthquake causes 40 miners to be buried in the Hartebeestfontein gold mine. Two workers are killed in the accident, the rest are rescued in an extensive rescue operation.

Thursday March 10, 2005

• Hong Kong / China : Tung Chee-hwa resigns from the post of Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Donald Tsang is his successor .

Friday March 11, 2005

• Madrid / Spain : Madrid commemorates the terrorist attacks from a year ago in which 191 people were killed. The forest of the absent is dedicated to them, inaugurated as a memorial on the first anniversary.

Saturday March 12, 2005

• Kiev / Ukraine : Ukraine begins withdrawing its troops from Iraq .
• Lisbon / Portugal : José Sócrates becomes the new Portuguese Prime Minister.

Sunday March 13, 2005

• Istanbul / Turkey : After a liquid gas tanker sinks in the Bosporus , the important shipping route has to be closed to shipping for hours.
• Vaduz / Liechtenstein : In the state elections , the Christian-conservative Progressive Citizens' Party ends up before the socially conservative Fatherland Union (VU), as in 2001, and continues to provide government.

Monday March 14, 2005

• Beirut / Lebanon : Around 800,000 people demonstrate in Beirut against the Syrian military presence in Lebanon.
• Beijing / China : The Chinese People's Congress passes the anti-secession law with 2 abstentions and 2998 endorsements . The law threatens Taiwan with the use of force if it unilaterally declares its independence.

Tuesday March 15, 2005

• Jerusalem / Israel : The new building of the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum is inaugurated in Jerusalem . Kofi Annan also takes part in the ceremony .
• Niamey / Niger : In the Nigerien capital Niamey, thousands demonstrate against the policies of President Mamadou Tandja ; there are riots.

Wednesday March 16, 2005

• Brussels / Belgium : The European Union is postponing EU accession negotiations with Croatia because it does not cooperate sufficiently with the Hague War Crimes Tribunal.
• Jericho / Israel : Israel hands over the administration of the city in the West Bank to the Palestinian Authority .

Thursday March 17, 2005

• Kiel / Germany : In the election of the Prime Minister of Schleswig-Holstein , Heide Simonis ( SPD ) will not be re-elected, contrary to expectations. In the last vote of the day, she received 34 votes, the same number as her opponent Peter Harry Carstensen ( CDU ). The state parliament is adjourned to the end of April, until then the election of the prime minister will not continue.
• Moscow / Russia : Anatoly Chubais, the former Russian Vice Prime Minister and current board member of the Russian state electricity company EES Rossii, is assassinated in a suburb of Moscow .

Friday March 18, 2005

• Netherlands : Dutch businessman Frans van Anraat is charged with selling poison gas to Iraq under Saddam Hussein , which was then used against the Kurdish population.

Saturday March 19, 2005

• Fatahpur / Pakistan : 39 people die in a bomb attack on Shiite pilgrims in the city in southwest Pakistan.
• Kyushu / Japan : The südjapanische island of Kyushu is from an earthquake shakes of magnitude 7.0.
• Lohme / Germany : At Lohme on the island of Rügen , part of the steep coast breaks off over a length of 100 m and a width of 200 m . A care home for addicts barely escapes a catastrophe. The break edge is only 2.5 m in front of the house.
• Pakistan : Pakistan is successfully testing the Shaheen-II medium-range missile, which has a range of 2,000 km and is also capable of transporting nuclear warheads.

Sunday March 20, 2005

• Vatican City : For the first time during his pontificate, Pope John Paul II cannot personally lead the Easter celebrations, which begin on Palm Sunday , for health reasons .

Monday March 21, 2005

• Frankfurt am Main / Germany : The DFB would like to lift the restriction on the award of championship stars , which has been limited to Bundesliga champions since 1963. The DFL will make the final decision.
• Kyrgyzstan : Kyrgyz opposition officials who accuse President Askar Akayev of fraud in the recent elections organize mass rallies in several Kyrgyz cities.
• Red Lake / United States : A massacre takes place at Red Lake High School in Minnesota : the student Jeffrey Weise kills nine people and ultimately himself.
• Tallinn / Estonia : The right-wing liberal Estonian Prime Minister Juhan Parts resigns after a vote of no confidence. Andrus Ansip is his successor .
• Windhoek / Namibia : In Namibia, President Sam Nujoma , who is handing over his office to Hifikepunye Pohamba, is stepping down.

Tuesday March 22, 2005

• Chile : In Chile, Paul Schäfer , head of the Colonia Dignidad , is charged with being responsible for the disappearance of opposition member Juan Maino in 1976.
• New York / United States : UN-Water organizes World Water Day , with which the International Decade of Action “Water - Source of Life” begins.
• Tikrit / Iraq : In the vicinity of Tikrit, around 100 people are killed in fighting between US and Iraqi armed forces on the one hand and insurgents on the other.
• Tulkarem / Israel : The State of Israel hands over the administration of the city in the West Bank to the Palestinian Authority .

Wednesday March 23, 2005

• Monaco / Monaco : Prince Rainier III. , who has been in intensive care since March 21, has to be artificially ventilated due to severe heart and kidney problems.
• Texas City / United States : An explosion in the Texas City BP oil refinery kills at least 15 and injures over 100.

Thursday March 24, 2005

• Bishkek / Kyrgyzstan : In the course of the so-called tulip revolution, there are massive protests against the Kyrgyz head of state Askar Akayev , who is accused of manipulating the recent parliamentary elections. A crowd storms his official residence, the opposition declares him deposed. Akayev flees the capital by helicopter without giving up his claim to the government.
• Geneva / Switzerland : According to the World Health Organization , the number of tuberculosis cases in some African countries has tripled since 1990.
• Nagoya / Japan : The world exhibition opens.
• Reykjavík / Iceland : Former world chess champion Bobby Fischer travels from Japan to Iceland and receives asylum there. He is accused of violating US sanctions guidelines against Serbia and Montenegro by participating in a tournament there.

Friday March 25, 2005

• Kyrgyzstan : The political power struggle in Kyrgyzstan ("Tulip Revolution") is intensifying. While Kurmanbek Bakiyev claims the office of head of state and government, Askar Akayev refuses to resign. Riots broke out in the capital, Bishkek . At times there are also two parliaments side by side, each supporting one of the rulers. A few days later, the power struggle was decided in Bakiyev's favor after the old parliament that supported Akayev approved its dissolution.

Saturday March 26, 2005

• Taipei / Taiwan : In the island state, several hundred thousand people demonstrate against the anti-secession law of the People's Republic of China , which was ratified on March 14 and which allows the use of force in the event of a unilateral declaration of independence by Taiwan.

Sunday March 27, 2005

• Vatican City : Pope John Paul II shows himself at the end of the Easter celebrations in St. Peter's Square at a window of the papal apartments and silently gives the blessing “Urbi et Orbi” because his voice has failed.

Monday March 28, 2005

• Indonesia : An earthquake measuring 8.7 magnitude off the west coast of North Sumatra kills around 2,000. However, there will be no tsunami , as feared, like the catastrophe three months ago.

Tuesday March 29, 2005

• Bishkek / Kyrgyzstan : The Kyrgyz Parliament appoints Kurmanbek Bakiyev as the new President; he replaces Askar Akayev .
• New York / United States : An independent commission headed by Paul Volcker sees no evidence of a direct involvement of UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan in the scandal over the oil-for-food program , but accuses him of not being strictly controlled to have.

Wednesday March 30, 2005

• Düsseldorf / Germany : The North Rhine-Westphalian police have announced increased safety belt checks for the next few weeks . Police spokesman Günter Weilandt announced that this measure was intended to halve the number of deaths in accidents by 2007.
• London / United Kingdom : After several years of work on the u. a. The “ Millennium Ecosystem Assessment ” study, commissioned by the United Nations and involving more than 1,300 experts, publishes its findings on the state and prospects of life on earth . She concludes that without radical changes in human consumer behavior, in forty to fifty years from now the planet will no longer be able to provide the resources that are substantial for the well-being of humanity.
• Vatican City : Pope John Paul II appears surprisingly at a window of the papal apartments during the general audience on St. Peter's Square and gives the blessing, as in this year's Easter blessing again silently.

Thursday March 31, 2005

• Harare / Zimbabwe : The parliamentary elections in Zimbabwe end with a clear majority for President Robert Mugabe's ZANU-PF . However, observers rate the election as neither free nor fair.
• Kirchheim unter Teck / Germany : Sensational discovery of an Alemannic royal grave paralyzes all inner-city traffic for the time being. During construction work on the new underground car park, an Alemannic royal tomb was found in Kirchheim Teck. “What came to light yesterday during excavation work on the site can simply be described as a sensation,” says museum director Rainer Laskovski.
• Pinellas Park / United States : The coma patient Terri Schiavo dies 13 days after a court order had her diet stopped.
• Vatican City : Around 11 p.m. local time, the Vatican announced that Pope John Paul II had contracted a urinal infection and that his health was deteriorating dramatically. Believers then flock to St. Peter's Square and begin a prayer vigil in front of the lighted windows of the papal apartments.

See also

• Nekrolog March 2005 for deaths this month
• List of annually recurring commemorative and action days in March
• Category for commemorative days, holidays or action days in March

Web links

Rome in March 2005

Commons : March 2005  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

 Wikinews: Article Published March 2005  - In The News

Individual evidence

1. ↑ "The Security Council urges MONUC to continue to carry out its mandate with determination". In: ag-friedensforschung.de . March 2005, accessed June 20, 2019 . 
2. ↑ dr.dk : København i top med priser og lønninger ( Memento from March 5, 2005 in the Internet Archive ) (Danish)
3. ↑ Steve Fossett circled the earth in a non-stop flight. In: wdr.de . March 3, 2010, accessed November 28, 2018 . 
4. ^ Supreme Court, 5-4, Forbids Execution in Juvenile Crime. In: nytimes.com . March 2, 2005, accessed November 22, 2018 . 
5. ^ Living conditions in Germany - The 2nd report on poverty and wealth of the federal government. In: bmas.de . April 2005, accessed November 22, 2018 . 
6. ^ Christoph Butterwegge : Crisis and future of the welfare state . 6th edition. Springer VS , Wiesbaden 2018, ISBN 978-3-658-22104-1 , p. 216 .
7. ↑ Wikinews: Blue helmets kill at least 50 militiamen in the Congo
8. ↑ Steve Fossett, the First Man to Fly Solo Around the World, Unrefuelled. In: fai.org . March 3, 2015, accessed November 28, 2018 . 
9. ↑ The worst prison fires in years. In: mz-web.de . October 27, 2005, accessed February 28, 2020 . 
10. ^ Closure of the North West operations. In: drdgold.com . 2006, accessed on October 9, 2018 . 
11. ↑ Landtag elections 2005. In: Landtagswahlen.li , Government of the Principality of Liechtenstein . Retrieved February 10, 2017 . 
12. ↑ Hot leads in the "Hariri Murder Case"? In: core.ac.uk, Connecting Repositories, material from the German Institute of Global and Area Studies . 2010, accessed August 24, 2019 . 
13. ^ The election of the Prime Ministers in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein. In: nomos.de , material from NordÖR . September 2013, accessed on October 21, 2017 : "Day of the Prime Minister's Election, Name of the Prime Minister" 
14. ^ Mass rally against China. In: stern.de . March 26, 2005, accessed August 18, 2019 . 
15. ↑ History of the Milliennium Assessment. In: millenniumassessment.org . 2005, accessed on July 28, 2019 .