The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Bali, Indonesia - A Muslim radical who testified against his fellow defendants and tearfully apologized for his role in the Bali terrorist bombings was spared the firing squad Thursday and instead received life in prison. The life sentence for Ali Imron came somewhat as a surprise, since prosecutors had demanded only a 20-year term. The five-judge panel ruled that Imron's co-operation had to be balanced against the severity of the Oct. 12 nightclub attack on Indonesia's Bali island in which 202 people were killed, most of them foreign tourists. Two Canadians were among the dead. Yersburg, Tenn. - A gunman held at least a dozen people hostage in a college classroom before he was shot and killed by police after a nine-hour standoff. Two hostages were wounded. Police rushed into the building at Dyersburg State Community College around 10 p.m. after hearing shots. Authorities said the gunman, 26-year-old Harold Kilpatrick Jr., had left a note saying he "wanted to kill some people and die today." Ramallah, West Bank - His popularity soaring, Yasser Arafat and leaders of his Fatah movement met Thursday to choose members of a new cabinet, while Israel's foreign minister ruled out any dealings with the Palestinian leader and called his latest truce proposal an empty gesture. Israel received a boost from U.S. President George W. Bush, who gave strong backing to its position that Arafat should be replaced.
