NEWS JULY 2004

Marlon Brando passed away at the age of 80 on 1 July, having suffered pulmonary fibrosis and congestive heart failure. Long revered as one of the best actors of all time, Brando had received many awards and nominations including seven Oscar nominations for best actor, with wins for On The Waterfront and The Godfather.

The Israeli-palestinian conflict became focused on the ongoing construction of the West Bank barrier this month. On 9 July, the International Court of Justice advised the UN that the barrier was illegal. The US House Of Representatives passed a resolution condemning that ruling on 15 July, but on 21 July the UN passed a resolution demanding that Israel obey the court’s ruling. On 25 July, 130,000 Israelis formed a 90km human chain to protest the government’s withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.

On 31 July, Iran officially confirmed that it had resumed building nuclear centrifuges to enrich uranium, reneging on an October 2003 commitment to halt its nuclear development programme. The move was made in retaliation to a resolution by the UN, which condemned Iran’s lack of cooperation with nuclear inspectors. While the UK, France and Germany had little to say on the matter, unnamed American officials insisted that the goal of this policy was for Iran to develop its own arsenal of nuclear weaponry.

JULY 2004 – It’s all kicking off! This month sees the first real shots fired in the new handheld console war, and a whole bunch of exciting new games being shown off at E3. Join Nick Thorpe as he hops in the time machine to relive all of the hype