International Events in August 2001
Aug. 1:
The British and Irish Governments, present a compromise package to save the Northern Ireland peace process.
Calling it `science gone crazy', the U.S. House of Representatives votes to ban all cloning of human embryos.
Aug. 3:
The Thailand Premier, Mr. Thaksin Shinawatra, is acquitted of the charge of wrongful declaration of assets by the Constitutional Court in Bangkok.
Aug. 7:
Mr. Jorge Quiroga takes oath as Bolivia's President following Mr. Hugo Banzer's resignation and will hold office till August 2002.
Aug. 8:
Mr. Mohammad Khatami is sworn in as Iranian President for a second and last term.
The Philippines Government signs a ceasefire agreement with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.
Aug. 9:
The Indonesian President, Ms. Megawati Sukarnoputri, announces formation of a 30-member Cabinet. Mr. Matori Abdul Djalil gets Defence and Mr. Boediono, Finance.
Aug. 10:
The U.S. President, Mr. George Bush, approves limited Federal funding for medical research on stem cells extracted from human embryos, that have already been destroyed.
Cambodia's King Norodom Sihanouk, signs a law establishing the framework for a U.N.-assisted trial of former Khmer Rouge leaders for crimes against humanity, in Phnom Penh.
The British Government suspends the Northern Ireland Provincial Assembly, after efforts to break deadlock fail.
Aug. 14:
The Irish Republican Army withdraws its offer to decommission its arms.
Aug. 16:
U.S. Astronomers discover a planetary system with two giant planets around a star 47 Ursae Majoris, that is similar to the sun in chemical composition.
Aug. 18:
Seventy people die as fire sweeps through a six storey budget hotel in Quezon city, the Philippines.
Aug. 23:
In the first operation of its kind, German doctors, patch up a patient's failing heart using stem cells taken from his bone marrow.
Aug. 25:
The Iranian President, Mr. Mohammad Khatami, appoints Mr. Mohammed Raza Aref, a U.S.-educated former Minister as the Vice-President.
Myanmar junta frees the National League for Democracy Chairman, Mr. Aung San Sui and the vice-chairman, Mr. Tin Oo from 11 months of detention.
Aug. 28:
Peru's Congress votes 75 to 0 to lift the former President, Mr. Alberto Fujimori's constitutional immunity so he can face charges of homicide.
Aug. 29:
Iraq's Deputy Prime Minister, Mr. Tariq Aziz, resigns after the jailing to 22 years of his son Mr. Zaid Aziz, for corruption and abuse of power.
Aug. 30:
East Timor goes to the polls to elect 88 members to a Constituent Assembly.
Aug. 31:
Non-Whites denied identity, says the South African President, Mr. Thabo Mbeki in his opening address to the first-ever World Conference Against Racism, in Durban.
Distribution of euro bills, in anticipation of the launch of the euro on January 1, 2002, begins in the 12-nation euro-zone region.