– BBC World Service – Newshour – November 23, 2000 – Gordon Skene Sound Collection –
As America was knee-deep in Hanging Chads and the controversy surrounding the Presidential election and the vote count, news outlets throughout the rest of the world on this day were weighing in on it this November 23, 2000.
From the BBC World Service and their World Briefing program, another point of view over the goings-on in Florida was being reported. The legal fight was intensifying between the Bush and Gore camps as legal challenges and counter-challenges were being tossed around and the Supreme Court was now being dragged in as an effort from the Bush camp to overturn a ruling in Florida that manual recounts by some counties in the state must be included. Meanwhile, the counting was guaranteed to drag on, with workers bypassing Thanksgiving this year in favor of eye-strain over hanging chads. However, officials in Dade County abandoned the hand count ruling, which would give a crucial advantage to the Bush camp.
Oh, and there was other news, other events, other concerns going on in the world this day.
Aside from the Drama in Florida there was a car-bombing in Israel in which two people were killed and scores injured, causing an security increase on the streets of Tel-Aviv. But there were signs of progress at the International Conference on Climate Change taking place in The Hague, on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. A car bomb also went off in Saudi Arabia, killing three British nationals. No one was taking credit for the blast in Riyadh. It was the second such explosion in less than a week.
A new conference was taking place in Spain, highlighting the worldwide shame of violence against Women – and the discovery of a large assembly of fossils gave surprising new light on the Dinosaurs.
All that, and a vast quantity of news and events going on around the world, that you probably knew nothing about at the time, 15 years ago – some events which have taken center stage in 2015.
All presented by the BBC World Service World Briefing program for November 23, 2000.
