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.
Beijing - China's parliament enacted a law Monday authorizing the use of force against Taiwan if the island formally declares independence, a move Taiwan has called a "serious provocation." The National People's Congress approved the law a day after Chinese President Hu Jintao increased the country's defence budget by 12.6 per cent and called on the military to be ready for war. Broadcast on national television, the vote was unanimous Ð 2,896 to zero. "There is only one China in the world. Both the mainland and Taiwan belong to one China," reads Article 2 of the law. Beirut - Several hundred thousand people gathered in Martyr's Square in Beirut on Monday for an anti-Syrian demonstration, easily surpassing the number of people who marched in support of Syria last week. Waving Lebanon's flag and wearing T-shirts reading "100% Lebanese," Druse, Christians and Sunni Muslims chanted "Freedom, sovereignty, independence." Lebanon's LBC TV estimated that a million people were at the rally Spotsyvania, VA. - The owner of three pit bulls in Virginia faces involuntary manslaughter charges after her dogs fatally mauled an 82-year-old woman last week. A prosecutor is seeking to indict 36-year-old Deanna Large in the death of Dorothy Sullivan who was killed by three wandering dogs. Involuntary manslaughter carries a maximum 10 years in prison
