December 19, 2003

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December 19

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December 19, 2003

Italian dairy company Parmalat declared a 3.96 billion euro hole in its accounts when the amount held by Cayman Islands-based unit, Bonlat Financing Corporation, was declared false by Bank of America. {Link without Title}

Libya n leader Moammar Al-Qadhafi acknowledges that his Country was pursuing a development program for Weapons Of Mass Destruction but now agrees to its dismantling. {Link without Title}

A revised plan is unveiled for the new Freedom Tower which will be erected on the site of the World Trade Center in New York City . At a symbolic height of 1,776 Feet (541 M ) ( 1776 is significant as the year of the United States Declaration Of Independence ) the projected edifice will be among the tallest buildings in the world. [http://www.cbc.ca/stories/2003/12/19/tower_freedom031219

Occupation Of Iraq :

--- U.S. -appointed civil administrator of Iraq , L. Paul Bremer reveals that he survived an attack on his convoy on December 6 . {Link without Title}

--- Prime Minister Of Japan Junichiro Koizumi orders the deployment of Japanese forces for non-combat duties in Southern Iraq; polls show that most Japanese voters are opposed to the mission. {Link without Title}

Flights from Vancouver International Airport bound for the U.S. are delayed following the discovery of an envelope containing suspicious white powder and a threatening note at one of the terminals. {Link without Title}

SARS quarantine orders are lifted on up to 75 people in Singapore but concerns remain that the deadly Virus could yet make a comeback across Asia . {Link without Title}

Australia sends AU$ 1.2m to Nauru so that the Pacific island-state can pay its public servants before Christmas in a move that Foreign Minister Alexander Downer says illustrates the need for long-term solutions to the island's deep-seated problems. {Link without Title}

In a major blow to the Recording Industry's efforts to stamp out online File Sharing , a United States federal Appeals Court invalidates Subpoena s issued against Verizon to identify individual P2P users. {Link without Title}

The British spacecraft Beagle 2 successfully separates from the ESA 's Mars Express orbiter and is now less than 10 days away from its scheduled landing on the surface of Mars ; it will attempt to parachute onto the surface on Christmas Morning . [http://spaceflightnow.com/mars/marsexpress/031219deploy.html [http://www.esrin.esa.int/export/esaCP/SEMSSY274OD_index_0.html]

Police seal off the printing plant and offices of Zimbabwe 's last remaining independent daily newspaper, '' The Daily News ''. {Link without Title}

court rules that Canadians whose same-sex partners died after 1985 are entitled to Survivors' Benefits . It is believed to be the first Class-action Lawsuit awarding compensation to Gay s and Lesbian s anywhere in the world. {Link without Title}

The University Of Delaware 's Blue Hens shut out Colgate University to win the NCAA Division I-AA Football national championship. {Link without Title}