Portal:Current events/2003 November 18

November 18, 2003 (2003-11-18) (Tuesday)

• SCO v. IBM: SCO Group plans to widen its legal battle against the open-source operating system, stating intent to sue large-scale Linux users for copyright infringement.
• US President George W. Bush arrives in London for the start of his three-day state visit to the United Kingdom amid an extremely high-security operation.
  • Protestors in the United Kingdom make preparations for President Bush's state visit to the UK starting Tuesday.
  • More Britons approve of President Bush's visit to the UK than disapprove of it. In an ICM survey for The Guardian, 43% of those questioned said they welcomed Bush's visit, while 36% said they did not. In the new poll, 62% agreed that the US was "generally speaking, a force for good", while 15% thought it was "an evil empire". The survey contrasted with a poll published last week by Populus for The Times newspaper.
• The Mexican government announces the imminent resignation of its ambassador to the United Nations, Adolfo Aguilar Zinser, who, in a speech in Mexico City last week, said that the political and intellectual class of the United States sees Mexico as "a country whose position is that of a back yard".
• Enron announces proposed sale of Portland General Electric for $2.35 billion, including assumption of debt. The sale is to a newly formed LLC backed by a private investment firm from Texas. This happens after Portland-area residents defeated a ballot measure to take over the utility on November 4. PGE had outspent supporters of the takeover 60-to-1.
• The United States announces restrictions on the import of textiles from the People's Republic of China.
• An inquest finds that prominent Sky News journalist James Forlong, who had resigned from the station when it was revealed that he had faked footage during the Iraq War, committed suicide by hanging himself.
• The European Union strongly criticises Israel's plans to build the Israeli West Bank barrier encircling Palestinian areas on the West Bank. It also criticises the intensification of suicide attacks by Palestinians and describes Israel's building of settlements in the West Bank as an "obstacle to peace".
• Fermilab confirms the existence of a mystery subatomic particle that is inconsistent with existing theories of how the universe works.
• The US Centers for Disease Control warn of a possible severe flu season and urges Americans to get a vaccination.
• Occupation of Iraq: The United Kingdom is reportedly pushing for a changed approach in Iraq that goes beyond military strategy to reach out to the Iraqi people and the country's neighbours.
• The United Nations suspends operations in south-eastern Afghanistan following the fatal 16 November shooting of Bettina Goislard, a French employee of the UNHCR.
• CalPERS, the United States' largest pension fund, is to terminate its contracts with Putnam and withdraw its funds.
• Same-sex marriage in the United States: The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court rules 4–3 in Goodridge v. Department of Public Health that the state's non-recognition of same-sex marriage is unconstitutional and gives the state legislature 180 days to change the law.
• Santa Barbara County, California, police search the Neverland ranch of pop icon Michael Jackson, looking for evidence to corroborate a 12-year-old boy's complaint that he was sexually molested.
• Roger Federer beats Andre Agassi to win the final of the tennis Masters Cup in Houston.
• Barry Bonds is selected the National Baseball League's Most Valuable Player, for the third year in a row and the sixth time overall, both records.
• Prominent British footballer Jody Morris, who plays for Leeds United, is charged with rape.

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