April 3, 2005
(Sunday)
- Conflict in Iraq: A group of at least 40 Iraqi insurgents attacks Baghdad's Abu Ghraib prison, using car bombs, grenades, and small arms. At least 20 American soldiers and 12 Iraqi prisoners are injured, but the US Army says it has put down the assault. (NYT) (BBC)
- Various world leaders express their condolences for the death of Pope John Paul II, including Queen Elizabeth II, John Howard, Tony Blair, George W. Bush, Carlo Azeglio Ciampi and Lawrence Gonzi. (AFR)
- Pope John Paul II lies in state in the Clementine Room of the Apostolic Palace for a private viewing, a ceremony to confirm and certify the death of the Pontifex Maximus. (Fox News)
- Deposed president of Kyrgyzstan Askar Akayev agrees to officially resign. (Moscow Times) (Reuters)[permanent dead link ] (IHT)
- A man wielding a sword attacks a Tamil church congregation in Stuttgart, Germany, kills a woman and seriously injures three other people. (Bloomberg) (BBC)
- The Marburg virus death toll in Angola rises to 146, one of them an Italian female physician in Uige. (Recombinomics) (News24) (BBC)
- In Thailand, two bombs explode in Hat Yai and one in Songkhla. Two are dead and dozens injured. (Channel News Asia) (BBC) (Bloomberg)
- WWE presents WrestleMania 21 in Hollywood, California