WHAT ALL HAPPENED MARCH TO JUNE 2003
Find out what all happened March to June 2003

U.S. troops in Baghdad capture Abu Abbas, leader of the Palestinian group that killed an American on the hijacked cruise liner the MS Achille Lauro in 1985. (14. April 2003)

U.S. troops capture Baghdad; Saddam Hussein's regime falls two days later. (7. April 2003)

The International Criminal Court holds its inaugural session in The Hague. (1. March 2003)

The Wikimedia Foundation is founded in St. Petersburg, Florida. (20. June 2003)

The Spirit Rover is launched, beginning NASA's Mars Exploration Rover mission. (10. June 2003)

The U.S. Supreme Court rules in Lawrence v. Texas that gender-based sodomy laws are unconstitutional. (26. June 2003)

The Arab League votes 21-1 in favor of a resolution demanding the immediate and unconditional removal of U.S. and British soldiers from Iraq. (24. March 2003)

2003 invasion of Iraq: In the early hours of the morning, the United States and three other countries (the UK, Australia and Poland) begin military operations in Iraq. (20. March 2003)

Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Robin Cook, resigns from the British Cabinet in disagreement with government plans for the 2003 invasion of Iraq. (17. March 2003)

Human evolution: The journal Nature reports that 350,000-year-old footprints of an upright-walking human had been found in Italy. (13. March 2003)

Battle of Nasiriyah, first major conflict during the invasion of Iraq. (23. March 2003)

Depayin massacre: at least 70 people associated with the National League for Democracy are killed by government-sponsored mob in Burma. Aung San Suu Kyi fled the scene, but is arrested soon afterwards. (30. May 2003)

2003 invasion of Iraq: In what becomes known as the "Mission Accomplished" speech, on board the USS Abraham Lincoln (off the coast of California), U.S. President George W. Bush declares that "major combat operations in Iraq have ended". (1. May 2003)

In Casablanca, Morocco, 33 civilians are killed and more than 100 people are injured in the Casablanca terrorist attacks. (16. May 2003)

A severe heat wave across Pakistan and India reaches its peak, as temperatures exceed 50°C (122°F) in the region. (5. June 2003)

Peter Hollingworth becomes the first Governor-General of Australia to resign his office as a result of criticism of his conduct. (28. May 2003)

2003 invasion of Iraq: Baghdad falls to American forces; Iraqis turn on symbols of their former leader Saddam Hussein, pulling down a grand statue of him and tearing it to pieces. (9. April 2003)

The Riyadh compound bombings, carried out by Al Qaeda, kill 26 people. (12. May 2003)

The People's Republic of China begins filling the reservoir behind the Three Gorges Dam. (1. June 2003)

The Human Genome Project is completed two and a half years earlier than expected. (25. April 2003)