Portal:Current events/2005 February 22

February 22, 2005 (Tuesday)

Images relayed by the European space probe, Mars Express, reveal the existence of a sea of ice close to the equator of Mars. The discovery is considered to increase the likelihood of life currently existing on the planet. BBC (Globe and Mail)
Israel names former Israeli Air Force commander Major General Dan Halutz as the new Chief of Staff of the Israeli Defence Forces. He will replace General Moshe Ya'alon at the beginning of July. (Haaretz)
An earthquake, registering 6.4 on the Richter Scale, strikes the city of Zarand and several villages in Iran at 02:25 UTC, leaving at least 546 dead. (see 2005 Zarand earthquake).(CBC)
Swiss medical company Novartis buys US company Eon Labs and German Hexal AG, increasing its share in the generic medical drugs market (Business Report) (Independent) (SwissInfo)
The World Food Program states that it has only 70 000 tons of food left for Eritrea food aid until June. Reason given is the concentration of aid to areas that suffered from 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake (BBC)
European Union countries renew sanctions against the government of Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe (Reuters) (Zim Observer) (BBC)
In Nigeria, President Olusegun Obasanjo opens a national political conference about constitutional reform (Reuters Alertnet) (AllAfrica) (IRIN) (Nigeria World) (BBC)
In Togo, the National Assembly reverses constitutional changes that allowed Faure Gnassingbé to become president (Reuters Alertnet) (IOL) (BBC)
North Korea hints that it may be willing to return to nuclear negotiations under unspecified conditions (Bloomberg) (Chosun Ilbo) (BBC)
In Bolivia, former president Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada and his cabinet are formally charged with genocide. The charge is related to deaths of 60 people who protested against government plans to export natural gas (BBC)
Japanese cabinet is considering whether to announce Princess Aiko as the next in line to the Japanese throne (Japan Today) (Channel News Asia) (Reuters)