July 16, 2004

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[edit] July 16, 2004

• At least 88 children are killed and several others injured when a kitchen fire engulfs a thatched-roof school in the Kumbakonam district of Tamil Nadu, India. Five are arrested so far. (BBC) (Rediff News) (Times of India) (CNN)
• American celebrity Martha Stewart is sentenced to five months in a federal prison, five months of house arrest, two years probation, and ordered to pay a $30,000 fine, for attempting to cover up illegal stock trading. The sentence is stayed pending appeal. (Reuters)
• Acceding to the demands of Iraqi militants who kidnapped and threaten to behead truck driver Angelo de la Cruz, the Philippines agrees to withdraw from Iraq. Eleven soldiers leave today, while the remaining 32 are slated to withdraw at a later date. (BBC)
• Palestinian militants kidnap Ghazi al-Jabali, the Palestinian Authority Chief of Police of the Gaza Strip, at gunpoint following an ambush of his convoy and the wounding of two bodyguards. The Jenin Martyrs' Brigade claims responsibility. Hours later the police chief is released and another official of the Palestinian Authority kidnapped. (Reuters) (BBC)
• A United Nations tribunal trying the alleged masterminds of Rwanda's 1994 genocide convicts former finance minister Emmanuel Ndindabahizi on three counts of genocide and crimes against humanity, sentencing him to life in prison.
• The British government is reported to be considering the decriminalization of activities relating to prostitution, including the possibility of legal brothels. (BBC) (Independent)
• It is reported that former Chess World Champion Bobby Fischer was detained in Japan on July 13, 2004, and may face deportation due to competing in Yugoslavia in 1992. (ABC NEWS) (CNN)