July 4 2005 (Monday)

• The Mexican Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), the country's current opposition party that ruled for over 70 years, has claimed victory in elections for the governor of the country's most populated state, Mexico. (BBC)
• Elections in Burundi for the National Assembly begin under tight security. The voters will elect the first democratic government after the civil war. The vote is expected to favor the Hutu group Forces for the Defence of Democracy. The Hutu Forces for National Liberation are the only group that have not laid down their arms. (News24) (Reuters AlertNet) (BBC)
• The impactor of NASA probe Deep Impact successfully strikes comet Tempel 1. (NASA)
• In Canada, Karla Homolka, who was connected to murders with her husband Paul Bernardo, is released from prison after 12 years. She gives an interview to French service of CBC, stating that she does not want to be "hunted down." (CTV) (CBC interview) (Canada.com) (Reuters)
• Mexican police believe that they have arrested Vicente Carrillo Fuentes, leader of a Juárez drug cartel. (Reuters AlertNet)
• In the Philippines, president Gloria Arroyo states that she would welcome impeachment proceedings as an opportunity to refute allegations about vote-rigging. The military has expressed its support of the president amid rumors of a coup. (Manila Times) (Sun Star) (Channel News Asia)
• In Israel, president Moshe Katsav states that he is worried about a possible assassination plot against Prime Minister of Israel Ariel Sharon. (Jerusalem Post) (Reuters)
• France abolishes the legal differences between legitimate and illegitimate children. The decree will take effect July 2006. (Daily Telegraph)
• Russian astrologer Marina Bai sues NASA for $300 million because she believes the Deep Impact collision has affected her life. Her lawyers claim that it would have affected cell phone communications. (BBC)
• In Malaysia, police arrest 21 members of religious group Sky Kingdom. (Malaysian Star) (BBC)
• In Sri Lanka, five men receive the death sentence for the assassination of judge Sarath Ambepitiya last November. (Colombo Page) (BBC) (TamilNet)
• Shareholders of French liquor distributor Pernod Ricard approve its acquisition of Britain's Allied Domecq, parent company of US coffee and baked goods chain Dunkin' Donuts