Portal:Current events/2004 June 21

June 21, 2004 (Monday)

48 Nobel laureates endorse John Kerry as they think that he would increase the prosperity, health, environment, and security of Americans. They criticize the Bush administration for reducing funding for scientific research, setting restrictions on stem cell research, ignoring scientific consensus on critical issues such as global warming, and hampering cooperation with foreign scientists by using deterrent immigration and visa practices. (Reuters)
A report by the New York Times alleges that the United States administration overstated the intelligence value and importance of the prisoners held at the controversial prisoner camp at Guantanamo Bay. The report, based on interviews with government officials, concludes that only a relatively small percentage of the prisoners were sworn members of Al Qaeda, and that most were relatively unimportant, low-level people. (NYT) (IHT)
The Supreme Court of the United States, in Hiibel v. Sixth Judicial District Court of Nevada, rules that mandatory disclosure of identity to the police, when asked, does not violate the Fifth Amendment, and the Miranda warning does not apply. (CNN) (AP)
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan warns Security Council members not to grant the United States another exemption from prosecution by the International Criminal Court, stating that it was wrong, especially after the abuse of prisoners in Iraq. (New Zealand Herald) (NYT)
Iran seizes three British Royal Navy patrol boats on the Shatt al-Arab waterway that divides Iran from Iraq. Their eight British crew members are detained by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards. (BBC)
SpaceShipOne, the first privately and commercially funded aircraft/spaceplane designed for space travel without funding from any government, successfully embarks upon its maiden flight into outer space. Designed by legendary aerospace designer Burt Rutan and funded by billionaire Paul Allen, the ship was launched from a larger plane and, after igniting its burners, flew 62 miles (100 km) into space and back down again, an altitude that officially makes test pilot Michael Melvill an astronaut. (BBC) (Space.com)
The United States reportedly tries to isolate the United Nations Population Fund because it allegedly supports abortions. (NYT)
Three former top bankers in the United Kingdom, accused of stealing more than US$7 million from NatWest (now part of the Royal Bank of Scotland) in a scheme that helped to bring about the collapse of Enron vowed to fight attempts to extradite them to the United States.
The first official group of Hmong refugees from the Wat Tham Krabok camp in Thailand begin arriving in the United States. 14,300 to 15,000 refugees are expected to arrive by the end of the year. The camp is one of the last remaining from results of the Vietnam War. One family had left early on June 16 due to a medical emergency. (BBC) (MPR)
Facing impeachment over corruption charges, Governor John G. Rowland of Connecticut announces that he will resign, effective July 1. (NYT)