July 5, 2004

Australia and Thailand sign a free trade agreement. (Xinhua)
The International Committee of the Red Cross and UNICEF state that there are more than 100 Iraqi children in custody of the US-led coalition, and a US soldier reports of child harassment in Abu Ghraib. (Der Spiegel via Pakistan News Service)
The first direct Indonesian presidential election is held, with Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono expected to win with one-third of the vote. If no candidate wins at least 50 percent of the vote, the two top finishers will compete in a September runoff. The race for second place, between President Megawati Sukarnoputri and former army chief General Wiranto, is still too close to call. (VOA)(PolitInfo)
Alfonso Durazo, spokesman and private secretary to Mexican President Vicente Fox, resigns over "political differences" with his boss, including the presidential ambitions of First Lady Marta Sahagún. The announcement came shortly after, but was not related to, a bad day for Fox's PAN party in state elections in its northern heartland. (BBC) (Reuters)