September 2005

World

• Four Charged in Murder of Lebanese Prime Minister (Sept. 1): Commander of Lebanon's Republican Guard, former head of general security, former chief of Lebanon's police, and former military intelligence officer are indicted for the February assassination of Rafik Hariri.
• Israel and Pakistan Officials Meet (Sept. 1): In what is called historic progress, foreign ministers of both countries meet. Meeting, brokered by Turkey, is a result of Israel's withdrawal from Gaza.
• Hussein Trial Set (Sept. 4): Former Iraqi president and seven aides to face trial on Oct. 19 for the 1982 deaths of 150 residents of Dujail.
• Report on UN Faults Annan (Sept. 6): Panel, headed by Paul Volcker, investigating Iraq's oil-for-food program criticizes Secretary-General Kofi Annan for not determining if his son's employment and other activities posed a potential conflict of interest. Annan is also cited for not stemming corruption and mismanagement at the UN.
• Egypt Holds First Multicandidate Elections (Sept. 7): President Hosni Mubarak faces nine opponents in his bid for a fifth term. He overwhelmingly wins the race, but monitors say the election is marred by fraud. (Sept. 9): Mubarak is declared the winner of the election, taking 88.5% of the vote. Turnout is low, at 23%.
• Ukrainian President Fires Cabinet (Sept. 8): Viktor Yushchenko also replaces Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, citing internal struggles in his administration.
• U.S. and Iraqi Troops Launch Offensive (Sept. 10): About 11,000 soldiers attack insurgents in the northern city of Tal Afar. (Sept. 11): Insurgents leave the city.
• Ruling Party Dominates Elections in Japan (Sept. 11): Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's Liberal Democratic Party wins in a landslide in parliamentary elections. In the lower house, party takes 296 of the 480 seats in the lower house of parliament, up from 249 seats.
• Talks on North Korea's Nuclear Weapons Program Resume (Sept. 13): Few expect six-nation negotiations to yield any progress as North Korea continues to insist on maintaining nuclear energy program once it dismantles its weapons program. (Sept. 19): North Korea promises to dismantle its nuclear weapons program in exchange for economic aid and diplomatic recognition. Agreement, brokered by China, will allow North Korea to have access to a light-water nuclear reactor for energy “at the appropriate time.”
• World Leaders Gather at UN Session (Sept. 14): President Bush endorses millennium development goals at meeting marking the 60th anniversary of the UN. Administration had previously backed away from such goals. Security Council passes a resolution that bans incitement of terrorism.
• Suicide Bombers Wreak Havoc on Baghdad (Sept. 14): About 150 people die and 500 are wounded in a series of coordinated attacks. Al-Qaeda in Mesopotamia claims responsibility. (Sept. 15): Another 20 people—16 of them police officers—killed by suicide bomber.
• Afghanistan Holds Elections (Sept. 18): Voters choose from about 5,800 candidates in the country's first democratic parliamentary elections in more than 25 years. Turnout low, at about 50%.
• German Elections Inconclusive (Sept. 19): Chancellor Gerhard Schröder's Social Democratic Party, with 34.3% of the vote, falls to Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union, which takes 35.2%. With neither party winning a clear majority, the future composition of the government is unclear.
• Ukraine Parliament Approves New Cabinet (Sept. 22): Votes in favor of Yury Yekhanurov, who had been rejected days earlier.
• Agency Will Report Iran's Nuclear-Weapons Violations (Sept. 24): International Atomic Energy Agency votes to send a resolution saying Iran violated the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty to the UN Security Council. Agency does not indicate when it will send the declaration.
• IRA Has Destroyed Weapons (Sept. 26): Canadian general John De Chastelain confirms that the Irish Republican Army has dismantled its entire arsenal.

Nation

• New Orleans Descends into Chaos (Sept. 1): Lawlessness and anger prevail as millions are left homeless and displaced as a result of Hurricane Katrina and broken levees. Federal, state, and local officials are harshly criticized for failing to act quickly and decisively. Thousands of people are stranded for days without food or water at the city's Convention Center, while thousands of others arrive at Houston's Astrodome for temporary shelter. Damage estimated at well over $200 billion. (Sept. 2): Attempting to quell criticism of his administration's response to the crisis, President Bush visits New Orleans and other parts of the Gulf Coast. More than 220,000 refugees from the hurricane take refuge in Houston. (Sept. 3): President Bush signs $10.5 billion emergency aid package for the region. (Sept. 5): Officials restart pumps to begin removing water from New Orleans. (Sept. 6): New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin issues an evacuation order for the 5,000 to 10,000 people who have remained in the city. (Sept. 7): Congressional leaders order a joint inquiry into the government's response to the disaster. (Sept. 9): President Bush removes embattled FEMA director Michael Brown from relief effort in New Orleans. (Sept. 12): Michael Brown resigns and is replaced by David Paulison. (Sept. 13): President Bush takes responsibility for flaws in the federal government's response to Hurricane Katrina. (Sept. 15): In a nationally televised address, Bush promises to rebuild New Orleans and help victims with rebuilding, housing, and job training.
• Chief Justice Rehnquist Dies (Sept. 3): William H. Rehnquist, who served on the U.S. Supreme Court for 33 years, 19 of them as chief justice, dies after battle with thyroid cancer. He was 80. Death leaves two vacancies on the Court. (Sept. 5): President Bush nominates John Roberts, who was selected to replace retiring justice Sandra Day O'Connor, for chief justice of the Court. (Sept. 7): More than 1,000 mourners attend Rehnquist's funeral.
• Roberts Confirmation Hearings Begin (Sept. 12): In his first appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee Roberts, who was nominated to replace William Rehnquist as chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, says he will “confront every case with an open mind.”
• Judiciary Committee Approves Roberts (Sept. 22): Senate panel votes, 13–5, in favor of nomination of John Roberts to become 17th chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. Three out of eight Democrats vote for Roberts. (Sept. 29): Senate votes, 78–22, to confirm Roberts as the 17th chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. He's sworn in after the vote.
• FDA Commissioner Resigns (Sept. 23): Lester Crawford steps down two months after being confirmed as head of the Food and Drug Administration.
• Hurricane Rita Causes Devastation (Sept. 23): Wind-swept waves caused by category 3 storm flood parts of New Orleans and breech another levee. Two dozen elderly people die when their bus bursts into flames as they evacuate suburban Houston. (Sept. 24): Rita hits the Gulf Coast, causing widespread flooding. Damage estimated at $6 billion.
• Senate Leader Under Investigation (Sept. 23): Securities and Exchange Commission announces it has begun investigating Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist for an alleged insider trading scandal. In June, Frist sold stock in his family's hospital company, HCA, Inc., just before its share price fell sharply.
• Private in Abu Ghraib Abuse Scandal Convicted (Sept. 26): Private Lynndie England found guilty of conspiracy to maltreat prisoners, four counts of maltreatment, and one count of committing an indecent act. (Sept. 27): England is sentenced to three years in prison.
• Former FEMA Chief Testifies (Sept. 27): Michael Brown tells a Congressional committee that he warned the White House and his boss, Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff, that Hurricane Katrina would likely cause catastrophic damage. He blames the inept response on Louisiana governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco.
• Unions Create New Federation (Sept. 27): Seven unions unite and start Change to Win Federation, which will rival AFL-CIO. Anna Burger is the chairwoman of the group.
• DeLay Indicted by Texas Grand Jury (Sept. 28): House majority leader is accused of conspiring to violate state's election laws. He steps aside from his leadership position, and House Republicans name Roy Blunt as DeLay's replacement.
• Reporter Released from Jail (Sept. 29): New York Times reporter Judith Miller freed after serving about 12 weeks in prison for refusing to comply with a court order to answer questions before a grand jury about confidential sources she interviewed while researching the disclosure of a CIA operative's identity. Miller says the source, I. Lewis Libby, Vice President Cheney's chief of staff, gave her permission to testify. (Sept. 30): Miller testifies before a federal grand jury.

Business/Science/Society

• Indonesian Plane Crashes (Sept. 5): About 140 people are killed—39 on the ground—when a Boeing 737 crashes into a neighborhood in Sumatra just after takeoff.
• Tyco Executives Sentenced (Sept. 19): L. Dennis Kozlowski, company's former CEO, and Mark Swartz, former chief financial officer, both sentenced to 8¹/2 years in prison for bilking the company out of $600 million in a stock-fraud scheme and used the money for personal purposes. Kozlowski ordered to pay $167 million in fines and restitution, while Swartz will pay $72 million.
• NASA Releases Plan for Moon Visit (Sept. 19): Michael Griffin, administrator of the agency, outlines $104 billion plan to have astronauts land on Moon by 2018.