Portal:Current events/2005 April 28

April 28, 2005 (Thursday)

Almost three months after the legislative election in Iraq, the National Assembly voted overwhelmingly to approve a Shi'a-led cabinet, establishing the first elected government in the history of Iraq. Two of the four deputy prime minister's slots remained vacant, however, and five ministries, including the important defence and oil slots, were left in the hands of temporary managers. (International Herald Tribune), (CBC)
The ivory-billed woodpecker, long thought to be extinct, has been rediscovered in the "Big Woods" area of Arkansas. (CNN)
British Prime Minister Tony Blair publishes the advice of Lord Goldsmith, the Attorney General, on the legality of the 2003 invasion of Iraq. (BBC News), (Guardian)
The Edvard Munch paintings The Scream and Madonna, which were stolen from the Munch Museum in Oslo on August 22 2004, may have been burned, says the Norwegian newspaper Dagbladet. The Oslo police do not confirm the rumour. (Norway Post)
The death toll in the Amagasaki rail crash in Japan rises to 104. Rescuers find the body of the train's driver. (Japan Today), (Reuters AlertNet)
The United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda sentences Mika Muhimana, former Hutu civic leader, to life imprisonment for his role in the Rwandan genocide. (IOL) (AllAfrica) (Reuters AlertNet)
Gunmen kidnap Haitian political leader Jean Enold Buteau, head of the Movement for National Reconstruction. (Reuters AlertNet)
A Bulgarian court releases Serbian war crimes suspect Čedomir Branković because of his diplomatic immunity. (Sofia News Agency) (Bulgarian News Network) (BBC)
In France, Bernard Guillet, an aide to former interior minister Charles Pasqua is questioned in connection with the oil for food probe. (Financial Times) (BBC)
Swiss engineers blast through the Lötschberg Tunnel through the Alps from Germany to Italy. The tunnel will be ready for traffic in two years. (SwissInfo) (NZZ) (BBC)
In Kenya, British peer and Kenyan rancher Thomas Cholmondeley is charged with the murder of two Maasai game wardens. (IOL) (Guardian) (BBC)
In Australia, Palacom has received permission to create a cemetery for upright burials. (Herald Sun) (Reuters AlertNet) (BBC)
Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez visits Cuba to foster cooperation between the countries. (BBC) (Periodico26) (Reuters) Archived 2005-04-29 at the Wayback Machine
Robin Hood Airport Doncaster Sheffield commenced operation in South Yorkshire in the north of England.