current Events/March 2003

March 2003 was the third month of that common year.

The month, which began on a Saturday, ended on a Monday after 31 days.

Portal Current events

This is an archived version of Wikipedia's Current events Portal from March 2003.

  • Iraq disarmament crisis: The Turkish speaker of Parliament voids the vote accepting U.S. troops involved in the planned invasion of Iraq into Turkey on constitutional grounds. Due to 19 abstentions, 264 votes for and 250 against accepting 62,000 U.S. military personnel do not constitute the necessary majority under the Turkish constitution.
  • Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attack and of other al-Qaeda attacks, is reported to have been arrested in Pakistan and turned over to US authorities for questioning.
  • Under U.N. supervision, Iraq begins destroying four of its Al Samoud missiles.
  • The United Arab Emirates calls for Iraqi president Saddam Hussein to step down to avoid war. The sentiment is later echoed by Kuwait and Bahrain.
  • Four North Korean fighter jets intercept a United States reconnaissance plane over international waters in the Sea of Japan
  • Iraq disarmament crisis: Iraq destroys six more Al-Samoud 2 missiles, bringing the total destroyed to 10 out of an estimated 100 missiles ordered eliminated by the U.N. The U.S. continues to dismiss Iraq's actions as "part of its game of deception." Iraq indicates that it may halt destruction of the missiles if the U.S. indicates it will go to war anyway.
  • The British newspaper Observer publishes what it claims to be a leaked memo from a high-ranking NSA official dated January 31, 2003. In it are orders to spy on the domestic and official communications of the United Nations Security Council members other than the U.S. and the United Kingdom. The memo names "... members Angola, Cameroon, Chile, Bulgaria and Guinea, ..." as candidates for special attention.
  • French president Jacques Chirac starts a three-day visit to the former French colony Algeria. It is the first visit of a French president to Algeria at the highest ceremonial level.
  • Under intense American pressure, Turkey indicates that its Parliament will consider a second vote on whether to allow U.S. troops to use Turkish bases for a military attack on Iraq.
  • Pravda reports that Georgia intends to seek UN Security Council approval to use military force against Abkhazia.
  • The United States declared a national emergency and joined the European Union in imposing economic sanctions on Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and members of his government for "systematically undermin[ing] democratic institutions" in Zimbabwe.
  • War on Terrorism: Two of Osama bin Laden's sons are rumored to have been arrested in a skirmish in southern Afghanistan. This report was denied by both United States and Pakistani officials.
  • Iraq disarmament crisis: Hans Blix reports to the UN Security Council citing Iraq's increased but qualified cooperation.
  • Revising the draft resolution put forth by the United States, United Kingdom and Spain a week ago, Britain proposes setting March 17 as the date for Iraq to voluntarily disarm or face the prospect of war.
  • The Nikkei benchmark hit a 20-year low record as war in Iraq appears closer, alleged stock manipulation by Nikko Salomon Smith Barney came to light, North Korea is preparing to test fire a mid-range missile, and a new political scandal in the party of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi came to light.
  • Broadway musicians union members went on strike in protest over producers' proposals to cut the number of musicians at live performances, and the possibility of using taped or computer based music. All but one of Broadway's musicals (Cabaret) closed as a result.
  • Canadian Dot com company Zucotto Wireless ceases operations.
  • Iraq disarmament crisis: The White House press secretary, paraphrasing the President, stated "If the United Nations fails to act, that means the United Nations will not be the international body that disarms Saddam Hussein. Another international body will disarm Saddam Hussein."
  • Iraq disarmament crisis: *Kofi Annan, Secretary General of the United Nations, stated "If the US and others were to go outside the [Security] Council and take military action it would not be in conformity with the [UN] Charter".
  • French president Jacques Chirac declares that France will veto a UN resolution sponsored by Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The resolution would authorise use of force against Iraq unless that country proves its disarmament by March 17.
  • North Korea test-fires a short-range missile into the Sea of Japan. This is North Korea's second recent such launch.
  • Dixie Chicks lead singer Natalie Maines said to a crowd in London: "We do not want this war, we do not want this violence, and we are ashamed that the President of the United States is from Texas.
  • Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov announced that Russia would veto a UN resolution by the US and the UK authorising the use of force against Iraq.
  • Recep Tayyip Erdogan is elected to the Turkish parliament and is expected to become prime minister shortly. Erdogan supports deployment of US troops in Turkey and is expected to call for a new vote on the issue as one of his first official acts.
  • Deutsche Telekom discloses an annual loss of 24.6 billion euros.
  • U.S. diplomat John Brown, who joined the State Department in 1981, resigned. He said that the Bush administration's Iraq policy was fomenting a massive rise in anti-US sentiment around the world and he could not support it.
  • After 20 years of delay, the Brazilian government fulfilled its legal commitment to demarcate the lands of the Awá tribe.
  • Jonathan Ben-Artzi, nephew of Benjamin Netanyahu (former prime minister of Israel), is court martialed for refusing to serve in the Israeli Defence Force on pacifist grounds.
  • The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes at 7524, a five-month low.
  • The 18 judges of the International Criminal Court are sworn in at The Hague.
  • Kofi Annan, Secretary General of the United Nations, announces that UN-sponsored talks on the reunification of Cyprus have failed. Cyprus remains a candidate for EU membership and the Greek Cypriot government intends to sign on behalf of the whole island. Analysts suggested that Turkish opposition to unification may hurt Turkey's chances of joining the EU.
  • U.S. begins military strikes in Iraq, which many consider the beginning of the Iraq War.
  • Jørn Siljeholm, a weapons inspector recently in Iraq, accused the U.S. of lying about evidence for weapons of mass destruction. English, Norwegian
  • Telephone tapping of EU headquarters uncovered. According to EU officials the taps targeted six EU states including Austria, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain. The taps appear to have been installed when the building was constructed in 1994.
  • A group of doctors in Hong Kong claims to have identified the agent causing severe acute respiratory syndrome as belonging to the paramyxoviridae family of viruses.
  • European Union Health and Consumer Protection Commissioner, David Byrne, said "cases like SARS demonstrate only too clearly that contagious diseases require a high level of preparedness across borders. Imagine if it had been an influenza pandemic which, in the past, had a devastating impact on humans. In order to meet the contemporary public health threat of communicable diseases, we must strengthen coordination and surveillance at Community level. The most effective way to do so is by setting up a European Union Centre for Disease Control."
  • Paul Twomey is chosen for being the next president of ICANN.
  • Dwight Watson, who had driven a tractor into the Constitution Gardens pond on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., surrendered to federal authorities. The 48 hour standoff severely disrupted the business and traffic of downtown D.C., as a large section of streets were blocked due to Watson's claim that he had explosives.
  • Estimates of between 125,000 and 250,000 people march for peace in New York City. The march was organized by the group United for Peace and Justice.
  • Two Russian fighter jets tracked a U.S. U-2 spy plane flying near the Russian border. The U-2 was partaking in reconnaissance over Georgia and Azerbaijan.
  • Hasan Akbar, a Muslim soldier with the 101st Airborne, kills two fellow soldiers in a grenade attack at Camp Pennsylvania, Kuwait.
  • A 2000-pound (900 kg) meteorite explodes over Chicago shortly before midnight, raining fragments over the city.
  • SARS: Ontario declares a public health emergency. Anyone who was at Scarborough Grace Hospital in the past 10 days is to be isolated at home.
March 2003
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