The Long Vac In 30 Seconds
Insurgents' taking of western hostages in Iraq highlighted the weakness of the 'Coalition of the Willing'. The Butler report said the Blair government acted in good faith, even when it didn't. The Bush versus Not Bush Presidential race centred on what happened 36 years ago on the Mekong Delta. The Darfur crisis deepened as the Sudanese government allowed militias to carry out the most extensive ethnic cleansing since Rwanda. The UN debated and concluded that the events in the Sudan were genocide while a huge deployment of 300 African Union soldiers unsurprisingly failed to stop the raping, killing and herding of civilians into refugee camps. At home, the party conference season got into full swing with the Brown versus Blair controversy reappearing. Blair returned to Downing Street only to go into hospital to correct an irregular heartbeat before emerging "fresh and alert" to depart on a trip to Africa. Kelly Holmes was Britain's golden girl at the Olympics and favourites Portugal lost to visitors, Greece in the final of Euro 2004.
6th Oct 2004