February 2004

February 28, 2004

February 27, 2004

February 26, 2004

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 formss that have been altered, which San Francisco has done slightly on its same-sex marriage licenses, will not be registered. (Washington Times)
• An internal memo 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)
• 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)
• 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)
• 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)
• 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)
• 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)
• 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)
• 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) (NYT)
• 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)
• 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) (Russian Orthodox Church)
• 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) (NYT)
• 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) (NYT)
• 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)
• 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)
• 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)

  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) (Sydney Morning Herald)
• India and Pakistan begin formal peace negotiations, with Kashmir on the agenda. (BBC)
• 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)
• 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)
• 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)
• Same-sex marriage in the United States:
• * Officials at the city and county of San Francisco, California estimate by the end of the day that they will have issued 2,000 licenses for same-sex marriages in the four days since they started granting legal recognition to gay and lesbian unions. (Mercury News)
• * The San Francisco Chronicle reports that the decision of San Francisco's mayor, Gavin Newsom, to express his opinion on same-sex marriage was because of George W. Bush's stance on the issue. (Miami Herald)
• 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)
• United Nations Afghanistan envoy voices disdain at the "brutal and cold-blooded" murder of four deminersrs working to eradicate landmines in Afghanistan. (UN)
• 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) (AP) (Washington Post) (USA Today) (SF Chronicle)
• 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)
• 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)
• 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) (CNN)
• Two fires sweep through China, one in a shopping center and the other in a temple, killing at least 90 and injuring 71. (AP)
• The British government draws up plans to break up the BBC in the wake of the Hutton inquiry. (Times) (AFP)
• 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)
• 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)

  February 14, 2004

• A new U.S-sponsored satellite TV channel called Al Hurra (The Free One) begins broadcasting in the Middle East and pledges to provide accurate and balanced news, but faces a skeptical Arab audience. [1]
• Marco Pantani, world renowned cyclist, winner of the 1998 Tour de France and the 1998 Giro d'Italia, is found dead in a hotel in the Adriatic city of Rimini, Italy.[1]
• Same-sex marriage in the United States: Staff advisors for U.S. President George W. Bush say he will support the proposed Federal Marriage Amendment to the U.S. Constitution which would outlaw same-sex marriage and federalize marriage law, which has been set by individual states since the founding of the country. [1] [1]
• U.S. President hopeful John Kerry scores two more Democraticic primary victories in the State of Nevada and the federally controlled District of Columbia. [1]
• In Moscow, a roof collapses killing about 25 and injuring at least 110. [1]
• Approximately 550 qualified candidates suddenly drop out of Iran's parliamentary election. [1]
• Occupation of Iraq: At least 20 people are killed in the town of Falluja as up to 50 gunmen attack government buildings, in one of the largest guerrilla attacks so far seen in Iraq. [1]
• ROC presidential election, 2004: Candidates Lien Chan of the Pan-Blue Coalition and President Chen Shui-bian of the Pan-Green Coalition participate in a televised debate. [1]

  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. [1]
• Logging, conducted illegally, is destroying the equatorial rain forests of Indonesian Borneo. [1]
• Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld announces alleged al-Qaida and Taliban fighterss, who are being held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, may apply annually for release. [1]
• 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. [1]
• 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. [1]
• 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. [1] [1] [1] [1] [1] [1] [1] [1] [1] [1] [1]