February 2004

2004 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December- →


Ongoing events
Haiti Rebellion
Bloody Sunday Inquiry
Exploration of Mars: Rovers
Bird flu
Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Same-sex marriage in the United States
SCO v. IBM
War on Terrorism: Afghanistan Feb. 2004
Occupation of Iraq

Elections
2004 Australian federal election
2004 Canadian Federal Election
  Conservative leadership race
  Liberal sponsorship scandal
2004 European Parliament Election
2004 Taiwan Presidential Election
2004 Spanish General Election
2004 U.S. Presidential Election
  Democratic presidential nomination

Contents
1 February 29, 2004
2 February 28, 2004
3 February 27, 2004
4 February 26, 2004
5 February 25, 2004
6 February 24, 2004
7 February 23, 2004
8 February 22, 2004
9 February 21, 2004
10 February 20, 2004
11 February 19, 2004
12 February 18, 2004
13 February 17, 2004
14 February 16, 2004
15 February 15, 2004
16 February 14, 2004
17 February 13, 2004
18 February 12, 2004
19 February 11, 2004
20 February 10, 2004
21 February 9, 2004
22 February 8, 2004
23 February 7, 2004
24 February 6, 2004
25 February 5, 2004
26 February 4, 2004
27 February 3, 2004
28 February 2, 2004
29 February 1, 2004
30 Past events by month

February 29, 2004

February 28, 2004

February 27, 2004

February 26, 2004

  • IDF soldiers fire against protesters against the Israeli West Bank barrier killing two and injuring 60, several of them seriously. (palestine-info.co.uk) (http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/am/publish/article_4825.shtml)
  • The United States lifts a ban on travel to Libya, ending travel restrictions to the nation that had lasted for 23 years. (Reuters) (http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=4447998)
  • Expressions by Disney shareholders of a lack of confidence in its management continue. Five more state pension funds announced that they will not vote for the re-election of chairman (and chief executive) Michael Eisner at next week's meeting. These pension funds – New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Virginia – are following the lead of California – CalPERS made its announcement to the same effect Wednesday. (TheStreet) (http://www.thestreet.com/p/_tscs/rmoney/jamesjcramer/10145911.html)
  • Russian President Vladimir Putin opens the 2,165 km (1,345 mile) Chita-to-Khabarovsk Amur Highway connecting the Russian Far East alongside the Pacific to the rest of the country. Construction of the highway was begun in 1978. (Guardian) (http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-3793188,00.html) (Tri-Valley Herald) (http://www.trivalleyherald.com/Stories/0,1413,86~10669~1985699,00.html)
  • Swiss police are investigating a man in the killing of an air traffic controller. The suspect apparently lost his family in a midair collision in 2002; the murder victim was on duty at the time of the crash.
  • Microsoft's Japan headquarters are raided on suspicion of violating anti-monopoly laws by the fair trade watchdog. (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/3488186.stm) (Mainichi) (http://mdn.mainichi.co.jp/news/20040226p2a00m0dm004000c.html)
  • Israel raids four banks in the West Bank seizing currency amounting to over 6 million dollars from accounts which it alleged had been used to fund terrorism. Israel claims it will use the funds for humanitarian projects in Palestinian areas. The U.S. State Department criticized the Israeli raid, and Palestinian Arabs condemned it utterly. (VOA) (http://www.voanews.com/article.cfm?objectID=F3713E59-ED0B-4EFB-9EFEF60D085BF0B0) (SVT) (http://svt.se/svt/jsp/Crosslink.jsp?d=1805&a=180907)
  • Clare Short, former British Cabinet Minister, alleges on the BBC Today radio programme that British spies regularly intercept UN communications, including those of Kofi Annan, its Secretary-General. (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3488548.stm) (Scotsman) (http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=2578236) The claim comes the day after Katharine Gun, formerly an employee of British spy agency GCHQ, had a charge of breaching the Official Secrets Act dropped after prosecutors offered no evidence, apparently on the advice of the Attorney-General. Gun had admitted leaking American plans to bug UN delegates to a newspaper. (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3485072.stm)
  • Same-sex marriage in the United States:
    • The mayor of New Paltz, a village in New York State, announces that the town will start performing civil marriages for same-sex couples. It will not attempt to issue marriage certificates, but married couples in New York State have six months from the date of their wedding to seek a certificate. (365Gay) (http://www.365gay.com/newscon04/02/022604nyWed.htm)
    • Rosie O'Donnell marries her partner Kelli Carpenter at San Francisco City Hall. (AP) (http://www.canada.com/entertainment/story.asp?id=FBE5BCB2-5EF7-4287-80D5-7A1478A7D271)

February 25, 2004

February 24, 2004

February 23, 2004

February 22, 2004

February 21, 2004

February 20, 2004

February 19, 2004

February 18, 2004

  • The California state agency that records marriages states that forms that have been altered, which San Francisco has done slightly on its same-sex marriage licenses, will not be registered. (Washington Times) (http://washingtontimes.com/national/20040219-123003-6956r.htm)
  • An internal memo (http://www.99mac.se/vbindex.php?id=34#more) suggests that Apple Computer has paid off its remaining 3 million dollars debts and is now debt-free with 4.8 billion dollars in cash.
  • At least 200 people are reported to have been killed in Iran after rail wagons carrying sulphur, petrol and fertiliser derailed and exploded. The accident happened near the town of Neyshabur in Khorasan province. (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3498851.stm)
  • Occupation of Iraq: Suicide bombers in two vehicles killed 11 Iraqis and wounded 58 foreign troops and 44 Iraqis near the entrance to a Polish-manned coalition logistics base near the town of Hilla in central Iraq south of Baghdad. (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3498577.stm)
  • Howard Dean officially ends his campaign for President of the United States, after placing a distant third in the Wisconsin primary elections of February 17, 2004. "I am no longer actively pursuing the presidency," he announced.
  • Opinion poll results indicate either of the two main Democratic presidential candidates would beat President Bush by at least 10 points. (VOA) (http://www.voanews.com/article.cfm?objectID=962CC8A6-5A56-4E5F-9BCBDCAAE4E0329A)
  • Israel is condemned by the International Committee of the Red Cross for the location of the Israeli West Bank barrier. The aid agency declared that the barrier at its current position was contrary to international humanitarian law and had caused extensive damage to Palestinian land and property and deprived thousands of Palestinians access to water, health care and education. (ICRC) (http://www.icrc.org/Web/Eng/siteeng0.nsf/iwpList4/F06BB484D900B227C1256E3E00324D96)
  • A federal appeals court in the United States ruled that district court judge Miriam Goldman Cedarbaum, presiding judge in the much-watched Martha Stewart trial, was in the wrong in barring the media from the voir dire process at the beginning of that trial. (AP) (http://www.mediainfo.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=2093737)
  • Scientists at NASA and the ESA witness a supermassive black hole in galaxy RXJ1242-11 graze, partially consume, and tear apart a star. This is the first time such a phenomenon has been observed. (NASA) (http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2004/feb/HQ_04061_black_hole.html)
  • Bharat is 15.

February 17, 2004

  • Bishop Thomas O'Brien, the former head of Arizona's largest Roman Catholic diocese, is convicted of a hit and run making him the first Catholic bishop in the United States to be convicted of a felony. (Washington Post) (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A48397-2004Feb17.html)
  • Democratic presidential nomination: Wisconsin held its primary election. John Kerry got 40% of the vote, followed by John Edwards with 34%, and Howard Dean with 18%.
  • The US FAA announces it will attempt to require a fuel tank inerting system in most large airliners in an effort to prevent fuel tank explosions such as the one which apparently destroyed TWA Flight 800 in 1996. The order could take two years to complete and then would require a retrofit of about 3,800 large Boeing and Airbus jets over the next seven years. (Newsday) (http://www.newsday.com/business/ny-faa-release,0,5969466.story?coll=ny-business-headlines) (NYT) (http://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/17/politics/17CND-FUEL.html?ex=1077685200&en=a6919999ea77849f&ei=5062&partner=GOOGLE)
  • A CNN survey finds that children made more than 11,000 allegations of sexual abuse by Catholic priests. The 4,450 accused priests represent about 4 percent of the 110,000 priests who served during the 52 years covered by the study. Nearly 3 percent, or 133 of the priests, had 10 or more allegations. (CNN) (http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/02/16/church.abuse/index.html)
  • Cardinal Walter Kasper, head of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity, a top Vatican official arrives in Moscow for sensitive talks with the Russian Orthodox hierarchy, which accuses the Catholic Church of aggressive proselytizing in traditionally Orthodox lands. (NYT) (http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Russia-Vatican.html) (Russian Orthodox Church) (http://www.mospat.ru/text/e--news/id/6388.html)
  • An outbreak of dengue fever kills 91 people in Indonesia and infects thousands more. Health officials report that 4,500 people have been hospitalized for the mosquito-borne disease, mostly in the capital and other parts of East Java, including the city of Yogyakarta. The number hospitalized is double that of last year. (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3495437.stm) (NYT) (http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Indonesia-Dengue-Fever.html)
  • A study published in the latest issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association suggests breast cancer is linked to the use of antibiotics. (Tucson Citizen) (http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/index.php?page=national&story_id=021703a1_antibiotics) (NYT) (http://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/17/health/17CANC.html)
  • As expected, the board of directors of the Walt Disney Company unanimously rejects a hostile buyout offer by Comcast, saying the cable television giant's $66 billion bid is too low, but does not rule out accepting a higher bid in the future. (AP) (http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/breaking_news/7971658.htm)
  • Cingular wins the auction for AT&T Wireless by offering to pay $40.7 billion to become the United States' largest wireless telephone company. (Forbes) (http://www.forbes.com/markets/newswire/2004/02/17/rtr1263115.html)
  • Same-sex marriage in the United States: San Francisco Superior court Judge James L. Warner postpones any decision to block the city and county of San Francisco, California from issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples and to void the 2,464 same-sex marriages that were performed in the city since February 12. This was on the grounds that the Proposition 22 Legal Defense and Education Fund's order for San Francisco to "cease and desist issuing marriage licenses to and/or solemnizing marriages of same-sex couples; to show cause before this court..." had an improper semicolon; to do both, rather than one or the other, would have exceeded the judge's jurisdiction. (MSNBC) (http://msnbc.msn.com/id/4251510/)

February 16, 2004

  • Temple in Jerusalem: An 800 year old wall holding back part of the hill jutting out from the Western Wall leading up to the Mughrabim Gate partially collapses. Authorities believe a recent earthquake may be responsible. (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3494035.stm) (Sydney Morning Herald) (http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/02/16/1076779901850.html)
  • India and Pakistan begin formal peace negotiations, with Kashmir on the agenda. (BBC) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3486731.stm)
  • L. Paul Bremer, the United States administrator of Iraq states he will veto any interim constitution that would make Islam "the chief source of law", as opposed to "a source of inspiration for the law." Many Iraqi women express fears that the rights they hold under Iraq's longtime secular system may be denied them in the interim constitution based upon Islam as "the chief source of law." (NYT) (http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Iraq-Women.html)
  • The United States states that Afghanistan's elections scheduled for this June may have to be postponed because of security problems and the failure to register enough voters. Only 8 percent of eligible Afghan voters have been enrolled to date. (NYT) (http://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/16/international/asia/16AFGH.html?hp)
  • The Taiwan (ROC)'s pro-independence president, Chen Shui-bian, states that Taiwan may eventually reunify with Mainland China. Nonetheless, Chen rejects the People's Republic of China's one country, two systems formula which was applied to Hong Kong and Macau. This is a new step for Chen who, shortly after taking office in 2000, had said unification was just one option—comments widely seen as a push for independence for the island. (NYT) (http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/international/international-taiwan-china.html)
  • Same-sex marriage in the United States:
  • The territory of Nunavut, Canada, holds its second general election since its creation. Of the 19 members, one is chosen by acclamation. Eight members of the previous government are returned to office, and five are defeated. The members will elect a premier on March 5.

February 15, 2004

  • Iraqi lawyers say Saddam Hussein is unlikely to stand trial for at least another two years. (Hi Pakistan) (http://www.hipakistan.com/en/detail.php?newsId=en54149&F_catID=&f_type=source)
  • United Nations Afghanistan envoy voices disdain at the "brutal and cold-blooded" murder of four deminers working to eradicate landmines in Afghanistan. (UN) (http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=9775&Cr=Afghanistan&Cr1=)
  • Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin goes on record that anyone found to be culpable in the sponsorship scandal, including himself, will be immediately discharged. The issue could delay the upcoming election until after the public enquiry is completed.
  • Same-sex marriage in the United States: Officials at the city and county of San Francisco, California turn away hundreds of would-be same-sex newlyweds after thousands of gay and lesbian couples show up to marry over the weekend. The city claims it can only handle between 400 and 600 marriages a day, or about one a minute. (365Gay) (http://www.365gay.com/newscon04/02/021604sfUpdt.htm) (AP) (http://abcnews.go.com/wire/US/ap20040215_814.html) (Washington Post) (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A44385-2004Feb15.html) (USA Today) (http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2004-02-15-gay-marriage-legal_x.htm) (SF Chronicle) (http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/02/16/WEDDINGS.TMP)
  • Thousands of protestors in Madrid and other Spanish cities march in opposition to the U.S. occupation of Iraq. The protests mark the one-year anniversary of the large protests against the U.S. invasion of Iraq. (Newsday) (http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/world/sns-ap-spain-iraq-protest,0,4992788.story?coll=ny-worldnews-headlines)
  • Scientists at the California Institute of Technology announce the discovery of a galaxy which is the farthest known object in the universe. The galaxy was found with the help of the magnification effect from the Abell 2218 galaxy cluster. (AP) (http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/science/20040215-1033-ca-farthestgalaxy.html)
  • Russian rescue workers are digging through what remains of an indoor water park in Moscow after the roof collapsed yesterday. At least 25 people have been killed, more than 100 people are injured, and at least 17 people are missing. (AP) (http://abcnews.go.com/wire/World/ap20040215_606.html) (CNN) (http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/europe/02/15/russia.roof.collapse/)
  • Two fires sweep through China, one in a shopping center and the other in a temple, killing at least 90 and injuring 71. (AP) (http://apnews.myway.com//article/20040215/D80NOIU00.html)
  • The British government draws up plans to break up the BBC in the wake of the Hutton inquiry. (Times) (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-1001928,00.html) (AFP) (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20040214/wl_uk_afp/britain_politics_media_040214223216)
  • Iraqi police arrest Mohammed Zimam Abdul-Razaq, a member of the Baath Party and number 41 on the U.S. military's list of most wanted Iraqis. (AP) (http://apnews.myway.com//article/20040215/D80NPEK00.html)
  • Iran offers to sell nuclear reactor fuel on the international market under the supervision of the United Nations nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency. (NYT) (http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Iran-Nuclear.html)

February 14, 2004

February 13, 2004

  • Mars Exploration Rover Mission: Mars surface temperatures appear to vary more frequently and dramatically than on Earth, preliminary data from NASA's Opportunity rover shows. [10] (http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/martian_winds_040213.html)
  • Logging, conducted illegally, is destroying the equatorial rain forests of Indonesian Borneo. [11] (http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,62252,00.html)
  • Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld announces alleged al-Qaida and Taliban fighters, who are being held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, may apply annually for release. [12] (http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/terrorism/jan-june04/detainees_2-13.html)
  • Scientists announce the possible discovery of a 10 billion trillion trillion (1×1034) carat diamond, 2,500 miles (4,000 km) across and 50 light-years away from Earth in the core of the decayed star BPM 37093 in the constellation of Centaurus. [13] (http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/press/pr0407.html)
  • Ivan Rybkin, a Russian presidential candidate and fierce critic of president Putin, holds a press conference in London, stating that during his recent disappearance for several days he was drugged and made the subject of a compromising videotape. [14] (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A34517-2004Feb11.html)
  • President Bush opens his National Guard file for resolving questions about Vietnam era military service. Reportedly, released papers do not document Bush's Alabama service. Roswell businessman John Calhoun, 69, remembers Lt. George W. Bush worked weekends at an Air Force base in Montgomery. [15] (http://www.news24houston.com/content/headlines/?ArID=23901&SecID=2) [16] (http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=politicsNews&storyID=4358362) [17] (http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/02/13/elec04.prez.bush.texas.records/) [18] (http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/nation/7951333.htm) [19] (http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2004-02-13-bush-alabama_x.htm) [20] (http://www.kxan.com/Global/story.asp?S=1645650&nav=0s3dKpg8) [21] (http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2001857853_guard14.html) [22] (http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/holnus/00114103075.htm) [23] (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A40964-2004Feb13.html) [24] (http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/02/13/eveningnews/main600337.shtml) [25] (http://www.ajc.com/news/content/news/0204/14alabush.html)
  • Democratic presidential nomination: Former Democrat candidate for the U.S. presidency Gen. Wesley K. Clark endorses current Democrat favorite Senator John Kerry. [26] (http://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/13/politics/campaign/13CND-CLARK.html?hp)
  • Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders accept U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan's plan for ending the partition of the island of Cyprus. The two sides will work under a tight timetable to agree by March 22 on reunification language that can be put to simultaneous islandwide referenda on April 21. Unless reunification is achieved, only the Greek Cypriot government will be entitled to enter the European Union on May 1. [27] (http://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/13/international/europe/13CND-NATI.html?hp)
  • Iran admits it possesses a design for a far more advanced high-speed centrifuge to enrich uranium than it previously revealed to the International Atomic Energy Agency after being confronted with evidence obtained from the secret network of nuclear suppliers surrounding Pakistani scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan.[28] (http://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/13/politics/13NUKE.html)
  • The United States, in a major shift of policy on the Middle East, says it may support an Israeli proposal for a unilateral partial withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Deputy Secretary of State Richard L. Armitage says that a pullout from Gaza would be "a step in the right direction." Administration official state "...negotiations were impossible because of Palestinian recalcitrance."[29] (http://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/13/politics/13DIPL.html?hp)
  • Occupation of Iraq: South Korea's parliament on Friday approves sending 3,000 troops to Iraq, responding to a call from the United States for military help in restoring stability to Iraq.[30] (http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-SKorea-Iraq.html)
  • The European Union anti-fraud office (OLAF) is studying documents suggesting that Yasser Arafat and the Palestinian Authority diverted tens of millions of dollars in EU funds to organizations involved in terrorism...."some of the money reportedly went to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, which has been involved in terror strikes." Their final report is expected in two months. [31] (http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/392891.html)
  • A US National Guardsman stands accused of attempting to provide military data to Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda network. [32] (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,111284,00.html)
  • The former Chechen President Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev is killed in an apparent car bomb explosion in Doha, the capital of Qatar. [33] (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3485993.stm)

February 12, 2004

February 11, 2004

  • A Black Hawk helicopter has reportedly crashed near Amberley air force base, Mount Walker, Australia with at least five seriously injured. [46] (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/3480955.stm)
  • Scientists find a fossilised head and identify it as part of a 400 million-year-old fly, making it the oldest known insect. [47] (http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99994671)
  • The United States Army in Iraq announces a $10 million dollar reward for the capture of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a leader of the terrorist organization Ansar al-Islam, blamed for the deaths of unknown numbers of Iraqi citizens and U.S. military during the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq. [48] (http://www.news24.com/News24/World/News/0,,2-10-1462_1482373,00.html)
  • Scientists in South Korea report that they have created human embryos by cloning and extracted embryonic stem cells. [49] (http://www.wired.com/news/medtech/0,1286,62254,00.html?tw=wn_tophead_1)
  • Intel scientists say that they have made silicon chips that can switch light like electricity. [50] (http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/ptech/02/11/intel.optics.ap/index.html)[51] (http://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/11/technology/11CND-CHIP.html)
  • Comcast Corp. makes an uninvited bid for The Walt Disney Company. The US$50 billion to $66 billion deal would create the world's largest media company.
  • U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission adopts enhanced mutual fund expense and portfolio disclosure, part of the continuing fall-out from the mutual fund late-trading scandal of 2003. [52] (http://www.sec.gov/news/press/2004-16.htm)
  • U.S. Presidential Election, 2004: Retired General Wesley Clark officially announces his departure from the race. [53] (http://www.voanews.com/article.cfm?objectID=65AC85D2-2EDA-403C-B37AD18B33D90208) [54] (http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=politicsNews&storyID=4338345)
  • The Sudanese government cancels plans to attend scheduled peace talks in Geneva with western rebels just days after the Sudanese president proclaimed military victory in the insurgency. The talks were scheduled to begin February 14, 2004. At this time, the Sudanese government is contending with a southern rebellion as well.[55] (http://allafrica.com/stories/200402090363.html)
  • French prosecutors reveal that a money-laundering probe into the transfers of millions of dollars to accounts held by the wife of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat was opened in October 2003. The probe was opened after discovering that nearly $1.27 million is transferred with some regularity from Switzerland to Mrs. Arafat's accounts in Paris. Tracfin, an organization that collates information about money laundering, detected the movements of funds.[56] (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3479937.stm)
  • Occupation of Iraq: At least 47 people, mostly Iraqi army recruits, are killed by a car bomb in Baghdad in the second major bomb attack in two days. [57] (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3478339.stm)
  • Richard Desmond, the owner of Britain's Daily Express and Daily Star newspapers, confirms that he has made a bid for the troubled Daily Telegraph. [58] (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/3478805.stm)
  • Josh, a Newfoundland, wins Best in Show at the 129th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in New York.[59] (http://www.nynewsday.com/news/local/manhattan/nyc-dog0210.story)[60] (http://more.abcnews.go.com/sections/us/DailyNews/vf_westminster217.html)
  • Mayer Mofeid Hawash is sentenced to seven years in jail for attempting to enter Afghanistan and aid the Taliban after the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan. [61] (http://www.myafghan.com/news2.asp?id=-1054314299&search=2/11/2004)

February 10, 2004

  • Same-sex marriage in the United States : A majority of Americans (2 to 1 margin) respond they do not want laws in their states that would legalize same-sex marriages. The poll is taken after the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruling. [62] (http://washingtontimes.com/national/20040209-115420-5105r.htm)
  • A group of 200 AIDS doctors in the United States calls for a boycott of pharmaceutical company Abbott Laboratories to protest the company's recent 401% price hike on its anti-HIV drug Norvir. [63] (http://money.cnn.com/2004/02/10/news/companies/abbott_protest.reut/index.htm)
  • An Italian intelligence report states that Italy is a departure point, as well as focus of logistic and financial support, for suicide bombers linked to al-Qaida and active against United States-led forces in Iraq. The suicide bombers were drawn from Muslim youths living on the fringes of society in Western Europe.[64] (http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,8650335%255E1702,00.html)
  • The French National Assembly votes (494 to 36) to ban hijab and all other conspicuous religious symbols from state schools. [65] (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3474673.stm)
  • The White House rebuts Democrats' accusations that Bush shirked his military responsibilities, releasing pay records for the President's National Guard service between May 1972 and May 1973. [66] (http://apnews.myway.com/article/20040210/D80KIDJ80.html)
  • The oil cartel OPEC announces further limits on the output of crude by one million barrels a day beginning April 1, 2004. If all member states stick to the agreement, OPEC's daily output will be cut by about 10 percent.[67] (http://www.voanews.com/article.cfm?objectID=D81FB8BF-BBF9-40D0-A4EEFC5FD056560F)
  • Recent violence in Haiti has spread as anti-government forces take control of eight towns in Western Haiti. 46 people are dead thus far. Government forces in Cap-Haitien (second largest city in Haiti) built flaming barricades to keep the rebel forces out of the city. The UN is urging Haitians on both sides to stop the violence. [68] (http://abcnews.go.com/wire/World/ap20040210_619.html)[69] (http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/02/10/world/main599197.shtml)
  • Hundreds of militants and their supporters staged a protest against the Palestinian Authority in the Gaza Strip for putting on trial four men charged in the bombing of a United States diplomatic convoy which killed three Americans. The closed military trial began on February 7th.[70] (http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/392787.html)
  • Occupation of Iraq: A large car bomb explodes in the central Iraqi town of Iskandariya, 25 miles (40 km) south of Baghdad, killing at least 50 people. [71] (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3475679.stm)
  • An Iranian airliner crashes on arrival at Sharjah airport in the United Arab Emirates, killing at least 35 people. A few people are thought to have survived. [72] (http://www.reuters.com/locales/newsArticle.jsp;:4028da0a:bf9df4f05ca849f1?type=topNews&locale=en_IN&storyID=4324246)
  • 2004 Philippine elections: The 90-day campaigning period for the president, vice-president, and senators starts this day with no less than six qualified candidates, half of which have no previous political experience. The current president, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is seeking a full six-year term. The elections will be held on May 10. [73] (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/3472269.stm)
  • The missing Russian politician Ivan Rybkin unexpectedly reappears in Kiev, the capital of neighboring Ukraine, and is said to be on his way back to Moscow. According to his own words he "was entitled to two or three days of private life". [74] (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3476859.stm)
  • Canada's auditor-general, Sheila Fraser, releases a scathing report on a CA$250-millon sponsorship fund that had a major portion of its funds directed to firms friendly to the ruling Liberal party; the resulting scandal and inquiry is quite likely to affect the coming election. Alfonso Gagliano, a former cabinet minister involved in the scandal, is removed from his post as ambassador to Denmark and recalled to Canada. [75] (http://www.thestar.ca/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1076411365455&call_pageid=968332188492&col=968793972154)

February 9, 2004

  • King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden made a statement where he praised sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, the dictator of Brunei for the open society in his country. This has led to a public outrage in Sweden with demands that the king abdicate. [76] (http://www.expressen.se/index.jsp?a=104534) [77] (http://www.expressen.se/index.jsp?a=104628)
  • Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf admits that he had suspected for at least three years that Abdul Qadeer Khan, Pakistan's top nuclear scientist, was sharing nuclear technology with other countries, blaming the United States for not giving him convincing proof of the activities of his own scientist.[78] (http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/02/10/1076388364592.html)
  • Russian federal prosecutors close a murder investigation, one hour after it had been opened by Moscow's prosecutor office, in the case of missing presidential candidate, Ivan Rybkin. Rybkin was last seen five days ago.[79] (http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/news/1076414124203640.xml)
  • In Haiti, an armed uprising spreads to nearly a dozen towns in the western and northern areas of the island nation. The uprising is the strongest challenge yet to President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. At least 41 people have been killed.[80] (http://www.cbc.ca/cp/world/040210/w021026.html)
  • The final three members of a group of Muslim men from the Portland, Oregon area of the United States who tried to enter Afghanistan to join the Taliban are sentenced to prison. In previous verdicts, the other four members of the group had been sentenced to prison.[81] (http://www.theolympian.com/home/news/20040210/northwest/33316.shtml)
  • Russia's Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov announces that Russia is considering withdrawing from the Conventional Forces in Europe treaty, considered to be one of the main cornerstones of European security. Mr. Ivanov cites NATO expansion and the end of the Cold War as justifications for retiring the treaty. [82] (http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/FullStory&c=StoryFT&cid=107598)

February 8, 2004

February 7, 2004

February 6, 2004

February 5, 2004

February 4, 2004

  • A US federal appeals court rules scientists can study the 9,300-year-old remains of the Kennewick Man. The court denies a request by American Indian tribes, who sought an immediate burial. [125] (http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2001851129_kennewick05m.html) [126] (http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsArticle.jhtml?type=scienceNews&storyID=4286705&section=news)
  • The European Space Agency announces plans to send humans and robot probes to the Moon and Mars over the next three decades.[127] (http://www.cbc.ca/stories/2004/02/03/mars_esa040203)
  • Same-sex marriage in the United States: The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court answers the state's Senate that the proposed civil unions will still violate the constitution by maintaining an inferior status of same-sex couples. [128] (http://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/04/national/04CND-MASS.html?ex=1076562000&en=fb2725df7cba633d&ei=5062) [129] (http://abcnews.go.com/wire/US/ap20040204_988.html) White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan states that the Bush administration is reviewing the legal decision. The spokesman also states that the court's findings are "deeply troubling" and that the president is "firmly committed to protecting and defending" marriage (as being defined between a man and a woman).[130] (http://www.wnbc.com/family/2817365/detail.html) [131] (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,110447,00.html) [132] (http://www.365gay.com/newscon04/02/020404consRxn.htm)
  • The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission held an open meeting in what may be the longest-running SEC fraud case. At issue are the trades that resulted in the firing of Orlando (Joseph) Jett from Kidder Peabody & Co in 1994. [133] (http://www.prweb.com/releases/2004/2/prweb102723.htm)[134] (http://www.hedgeworld.com/news/read_news.cgi?section=dail&story=dail10470.html) An administrative law judge held that Mr. Jett was responsible for record keeping violations, but rejected the claim of SEC lawyers that he was guilty of securities fraud. Both the staff and Mr. Jett appealed to the full commission, hence this meeting.

February 3, 2004

February 2, 2004

  • U.S. President George W. Bush announces he will form an independent, bipartisan inquiry presidential commission to probe into prewar intelligence regarding weapons of mass destruction leading up to the decision to invade Iraq. Former weapons inspector David Kay, meeting with Bush with at the White House, maintains that Bush was right to go to war in Iraq and characterizes Saddam's regime as "far more dangerous than even we anticipated" when it was thought he had WMDs ready to deploy. [145] (http://washingtontimes.com/national/20040202-111234-9651r.htm) [146] (http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/02/02/sprj.nirq.iraq.wmd/index.html) [147] (http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/front/2383501)
  • Traces of ricin are found in the mailroom of a U.S. Senate office building. [148] (http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/02/02/senate.hazardous/index.html)
  • Prime Minister of Israel Ariel Sharon announces to the Ha'aretz newspaper that he plans to dismantle 17 Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip, and that he foresees a time when there are no Jews in Gaza at all. [149] (http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/390020.html)
  • Pakistani nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan confesses to smuggling nuclear hardware on chartered planes, sharing secret designs for the centrifuges that produce the enriched uranium necessary to develop a nuclear weapon, and giving personal briefings to nuclear scientists from Iran, North Korea and Libya, believing that nuclear proliferation would "ease Western attention on Pakistan" and "help the Muslim cause" [150] (http://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/02/international/asia/02STAN.html?hp)
  • The leader of Norway's Conservative Party (Høyre), Jan Petersen, announces his resignation as party leader after 10 years at the helm. He will continue as Foreign Minister in the current coalition government where Høyre is the largest part. [151] (http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/article.jhtml?articleID=721801)

February 1, 2004

Past events by month

2004: January
2003: January February March April May June July August September October November December
2002: January February March April May June July August September October November Decemberaf:Februarie 2004 de:Februar 2004 et:Veebruar 2004 es:Febrero de 2004 fr:Février 2004 it:Attualità/Anno 2004 - Febbraio nl:Februari 2004 ja:「最近の出来事」2004年2月 pl:Luty 2004 vi:Tháng 2 năm 2004 zh:2004年2月

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