Timeline 2004 April - June
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2004 Apr 1,
Pres. Bush signed the "Laci Peterson" bill giving new protections
for the unborn that for the first time made it a separate federal
crime to harm a fetus during an assault on the mother.
(WSJ, 4/2/04, p.A1)(AP, 4/1/05)
2004 Apr 1, The DJIA removed
AT&T, Kodak and Int'l. Paper and added American Int'l. Group,
Pfizer and Verizon Comm.
(WSJ, 4/2/04, p.C1)
2004 Apr 1, Scientists reported
that the genetic code of the common laboratory rat has been
deciphered.
(SFC, 4/1/04, p.A4)
2004 Apr 1, Google introduce
Gmail, a Web based e-mail service with one gigabyte of free storage
per user. In 2007 the storage was expanded to “free unlimited.”
Google’s index passed 8 billion pages this year.
(WSJ, 6/13/07, p.B1)(SFC, 2/2/08, p.C1)
2004 Apr 1, Paul Atkinson (58),
guitarist in the British group Zombies, died in LA. The group's
songs included "She's Not There" (1964).
(SFC, 4/7/04, p.B6)
2004 Apr 1, Carrie Snodgress
(57), actress, died in Los Angeles.
(AP, 4/1/05)
2004 Apr 1, Afghanistan and its
neighbors agreed to cooperate in stemming the country's drug exports
after donors pledged $8.2 billion in new reconstruction aid.
(AP, 4/1/04)
2004 Apr 1, In Canada the
largest strike in Newfoundland history began as thousands of upbeat
workers took to picket lines while the premier said he has no plans
to end the walkout with legislation.
(AP, 4/1/04)
2004 Apr 1, A Colombian man,
Carlos Gamarra-Murillo (53), was arrested for allegedly trying to
buy $4 million in machine guns, grenade launchers and other weapons
for a leftist rebel group. The suspect wanted to pay in cocaine and
cash.
(AP, 4/2/04)
2004 Apr 1, In Colombia gunmen
riding a motorcycle killed Carlos Bernal, a regional leader of
Colombia's main left-leaning political party.
(AP, 4/2/04)
2004 Apr 1, Pres. Oscar Berger
said Guatemala will cut its army in half and slash the military
budget to comply with peace accords that ended a 36-year civil war.
(AP, 4/1/04)
2004 Apr 1, India began
distributing AIDS drugs to 100,000 people. An estimated 4.6 million
were infected.
(SFC, 4/2/04, p.A15)
2004 Apr 1, In Iraq insurgents
attacked a U.S. military convoy and a Humvee was burned near
Fallujah, a day after the grisly killing and mutilation of four
American contract workers in the city.
(AP, 4/1/04)
2004 Apr 1, A gas explosion
ripped through a refinery in Iraq while it was being inspected by
Czech engineers, killing one and injuring two others.
(AP, 4/5/04)
2004 Apr 1, Italy, Turkey,
Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands arrested 41 militants in a
coordinated crackdown on a Turkish Marxist group. Police in Istanbul
arrested 25 suspects of the Marxist Revolutionary People's
Liberation Army/Front, or DHKP-C, while security forces in the other
countries detained 16 others.
(AP, 4/1/04)
2004 Apr 1, In Uzbekistan a
woman blew herself up in the central Bukhara region, killing a man
and critically injuring herself.
(AP, 4/1/04)
2004 Apr 2, Washington
announced plans to fingerprint and photograph millions of travelers
to the United States. The measure, which will take effect by Sept.
30, affected citizens in 27 countries who had been allowed to travel
within the US without a visa for up to 90 days.
(AP, 4/2/04)
2004 Apr 2, The US Labor Dept.
reported a 308,000 increase in jobs along with a rise in
unemployment from 5.6 to 5.7%. The DJIA rose 97 points in response
to close at 10,470.
(SFC, 4/3/04, p.A1)
2004 Apr 2, The Pentagon said
it released 15 people held as terrorism suspects at a U.S. military
prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, reducing the number confined there
to 595.
(AP, 4/2/04)
2004 Apr 2, The 6-month Tyco
trial ended with a hung jury. A threatening letter to a lone
dissident juror prompted the judge to call a mistrial. A retrial was
planned.
(SFC, 4/3/04, p.C1)
2004 Apr 2, Sun Microsystems
announced that Microsoft would pay it nearly $2 billion to settle a
legal dispute. Sun also announced layoffs of 3,300 and a business
partnership with Microsoft.
(SFC, 4/3/04, p.A1)
2004 Apr 2, In Brussels an
official ceremony welcomed Bulgaria, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia,
Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia into the NATO alliance.
(SFC, 4/3/04, p.A11)
2004 Apr 2, In Brazil Jociel
Conceicao dos Santos (20), a handyman, recanted a confession and
denied he killed an American couple (Nov 30, 2003). He blamed two
other Brazilians for the crime.
(AP, 4/2/04)
2004 Apr 2, Police in France
captured the elusive former leader of the Basque ETA rebel group as
well as the separatist group's logistics chief.
(AP, 4/2/04)
2004 Apr 2, Georgian
authorities reported that they had detained four men on suspicion of
plotting to assassinate the president, and officials accused the
autonomous province of Adzharia of being behind the alleged plot.
(AP, 4/2/04)
2004 Apr 2, In India a crowded
bus veered off a mountain road and fell into a ravine in
Jammu-Kashmir state, killing 34 passengers and injuring 35 others.
(AP, 4/2/04)
2004 Apr 2, Two Indian Air
Force fighter jets went missing and were believed to have crashed
during routine flights over Kashmir.
(AP, 4/2/04)
2004 Apr 2, PM Ariel Sharon
revealed the scope of his withdrawal plan, saying Israel will leave
all of the Gaza Strip and dismantle four West Bank settlements.
(AP, 4/2/04)
2004 Apr 2, Pakistan's 2-week
operation in South Waziristan wound down. The military said 63
foreign and local militants had been killed along with at least 46
security forces.
(SFC, 4/2/04, p.A11)
2004 Apr 2, A Spanish railroad
inspector found a 26-pound bomb hidden in a bag on a busy high-speed
line. Police said the device may contain the same dynamite used in
last month's Madrid train bombings.
(AP, 4/2/04)
2004 Apr 2, In Sri Lanka Pres.
Kumaratunga's political alliance won the most seats in parliamentary
elections, indicating deep popular support for its tough stance
toward Tamil Tiger rebels.
(AP, 4/3/04)(WSJ, 4/5/04, p.A1)
2004 Apr 3, Soccer player
Freddy Adu (14), became the youngest athlete in a major American
professional sport in well over a century as he entered a game
between his team, D.C. United, and the San Jose Earthquakes (D.C.
United won, 2-1).
(AP, 4/3/05)
2004 Apr 3, The US Postal
Service unveiled a new John Wayne commemorative postage stamp for
its annual "Legends of Hollywood" issue at a private fund-raiser.
(AP, 4/5/04)
2004 Apr 3, Hundreds of
thousands of Germans protested against Chancellor Gerhard
Schroeder's unpopular drive to trim the welfare state.
(AP, 4/3/04)
2004 Apr 3, A U.S.-led
multinational force trying to bring stability to Haiti helped detain
Jean Robert, a rebel sympathizer and gang leader accused of
terrorizing supporters of Aristide.
(AP, 4/9/04)
2004 Apr 3, In Iraq 2 attacks
on Iraqi police south of Baghdad killed four people. Col. Wissam
Hussein, the police chief of Mahmudiyah, was shot to death by gunmen
dressed as police.
(AP, 4/3/04)(SSFC, 4/4/04, p.A3)
2004 Apr 3, Israeli troops
arrested 23 wanted Palestinians early in a large-scale raid in the
West Bank city of Nablus. Zohair Arda, a Palestinian gunman, broke
into an Israeli settlement early, killing an Israeli man and
wounding his 12-year-old daughter in their home. Israeli troops
entered the Tulkarem refugee camp overnight and demolished the home
of Arda (18), who was shot dead during the attack.
(AP, 4/3/04)(AP, 4/4/04)
2004 Apr 3, Slovaks voted for a
new president. Former authoritarian PM Meciar led after the first
round of Slovakia's presidential election. Low turnout set up an Apr
17 runoff against a former political ally.
(AP, 4/4/04)(WSJ, 4/5/04, p.A1)
2004 Apr 3, In Spain Sarhane
Abdelmajid Fakhet (35), a Tunisian national and the alleged
ringleader of last month's train bombings in Madrid, was among 5
suspects who blew themselves up as police raided their apartment.
(AP, 4/4/04)(SFC, 4/5/04, p.A3)(WSJ, 4/6/04,
p.A1)
2004 Apr 4, In India suspected
Islamic extremists stormed a police station in the city of Karachi
and killed 5 police, forcing their victims to recite Quranic verses
before shooting them.
(AP, 4/4/04)
2004 Apr 4, Muqtada al-Sadr
issued a call to his followers to "terrorize your enemy." Gunmen
opened fire on the Spanish garrison in the holy city of Najaf during
a huge demonstration by followers of al-Sadr, an anti-American
Shiite Muslim cleric. An American and Salvadoran soldier were killed
along with 22 Iraqis. More than 130 people were wounded. A car bomb
exploded in Kirkuk, killing three civilians and wounding two others.
7 US soldiers were killed in Baghdad.
(AP, 4/4/04)(SFC, 4/5/04, p.A8)(WSJ, 4/5/04,
p.A1)(WSJ, 4/19/04, p.A14)
2004 Apr 4, Maoist rebels in
southern Nepal killed at least 9 police officers.
(SFC, 4/5/04, p.A2)
2004 Apr 4, In Slovenia some 95
percent of referendum voters opposed reinstating permanent residency
and other rights to more than 18,000 people, mostly Bosnians, Croats
and Serbs, whose names were stricken from state records following
independence from the former Yugoslavia in 1991.
(AP, 4/5/04)
2004 Apr 5, Univ. of
Connecticut won the basketball NCAA finals over Georgia Tech 82-73.
(WSJ, 4/6/04, p.A1)
2004 Apr 5, Pulitzer Prize
winners were announced. Edward P. Jones won the fiction award for
"The Known World." Steven Hahn won the history award for "A Nation
Under Our Feet" Black Political Struggles in the Rural South from
Slavery to the Great Migration." Anne Applebaum won the general
non-fiction award for "Gulag: A History."
(SFC, 4/6/04, p.A2)
2004 Apr 5, A US-Canadian task
force investigating the massive power blackout of Aug 14, 2003,
called for urgent approval of mandatory reliability rules to govern
the electric transmission industry.
(AP, 4/5/05)
2004 Apr 5, Leonard Reed
(b.1907), tap dancer extraordinary, died.
(Econ, 4/17/04, p.84)
2004 Apr 5, Rebel attacks
across Chechnya killed six Russian soldiers.
(AP, 4/6/04)
2004 Apr 5, China promised $122
million to Pres. Skerritt in return for revoking Dominica’s
recognition of Taiwan.
(Econ, 4/10/04, p.29)
2004 Apr 5, Six ethnic Croats
surrendered to the U.N. war crimes tribunal to face allegations they
participated in the torture and massacre of Muslims in Bosnia in
1993.
(AP, 4/5/04)
2004 Apr 5, The governing
coalition of Curacao, a Dutch Caribbean territory, collapsed over
allegations that the justice minister gave favors to a political
donor convicted of corruption.
(AP, 4/6/04)
2004 Apr 5, Indonesians voted
in legislative elections with Golkar, the party that once supported
ex-dictator Suharto, expected to win the most seats. Some 140,000
Indonesians chose between 450,000 candidates competing for 15,276
offices.
(AP, 4/5/04)(WSJ, 4/6/04, p.A1)(Econ, 4/10/04,
p.31)
2004 Apr 5, In northeastern
Iran an oil tanker truck and a passenger bus collided, killing 30
people and injuring 27.
(AP, 4/5/04)
2004 Apr 5, Paul Bremer, the
top U.S. administrator in Iraq, declared a radical Shiite cleric an
"outlaw" after his supporters rioted in Baghdad and four other
cities in fighting that killed at least 52 Iraqis, eight U.S. troops
and a Salvadoran soldier. A warrant was issued for al-Sadr related
to the murder of a rival Shiite leader in 2003.
(AP, 4/5/04)(WSJ, 4/6/04, p.A1)
2004 Apr 5, Israeli troops
killed 3 Palestinians near a Gaza settlement.
(WSJ, 4/6/04, p.A1)
2004 Apr 5, Alexander Lerner
(90), an eminent cyberneticist and a leading member of the
"refusenik" movement that promoted Jewish emigration from the former
Soviet Union, died in Israel.
(AP, 7/6/04)
2004 Apr 5, A flash flood swept
through two border communities in northern Mexico, flooding rivers,
washing away houses and killing 15 people. Dozens more were reported
missing.
(AP, 4/5/04)
2004 Apr 5, Pakistan gave
tribesmen 2 weeks to expel foreign terrorists.
(SFC, 4/6/04, p.A3)
2004 Apr 5, In Sri Lanka Pres.
Kumaratunga appointed Mahinda Rajapakse as PM.
(SFC, 4/6/04, p.A2)
2004 Apr 6, The University of
Connecticut's women's basketball team beat Tennessee 70-61 to win a
third consecutive NCAA title, a day after UConn also won the men's
championship.
(AP, 4/6/05)
2004 Apr 6, China issued a
major ruling on how Hong Kong chooses its leaders, saying the
territory must submit proposed political reforms to Beijing for
approval.
(AP, 4/6/04)
2004 Apr 6, In Ecuador in the
midst of a national strike by prison guards, inmates in Quito's
women's prison took two television news crews hostage to press their
demands for shorter sentences and better living conditions.
(AP, 4/6/04)
2004 Apr 6, In Indonesia the
Golkar Party of former dictator Suharto held a slight lead in
parliamentary elections. Golkar won the most seats in the
parliamentary election with 21.6 percent. Pres. Sukarnoputri’s
Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) won 18.5%.
(AP, 4/6/04)(AP, 5/5/04)(Econ, 5/8/04, p.42)
2004 Apr 6, Insurgents and
rebellious Shiites mounted a string of attacks across Iraq's south
and U.S. Marines launched a major assault on the turbulent city of
Fallujah. Up to a dozen Marines were killed in Ramadi. Two more
coalition soldiers were reported killed. US warplanes firing rockets
destroyed four houses in the besieged city of Fallujah. A doctor
said 26 Iraqis, including women and children, were killed and 30
wounded in the strike. British troops killed 15 Iraqis in Amara. In
Nasiriya 15 Iraqis were killed in fighting with Italian troops.
(AP, 4/6/04)(SFC, 4/7/04, p.A1)
2004 Apr 6, Jordan's military
court convicted 8 Muslim militants and sentenced them to death for
the 2002 killing of U.S. aid official Laurence Foley in a terror
conspiracy linked to al-Qaida.
(AP, 4/6/05)
2004 Apr 6, In Lithuania
lawmakers narrowly ousted Rolandas Paksas, the scandal-ridden
president, for abuse of office, passing all three accusations
against Paksas: that he illegally arranged citizenship for one of
his chief financial backers, businessman Yuri Borisov; that he
divulged state secrets; and that he used his office for financial
gain.
(AP, 4/6/04)
2004 Apr 6, The Barcelona city
council passed a resolution condemning bullfighting and declaring
the city Spain's first to come out against the centuries-old sport.
(AP, 4/6/04)
2004 Apr 6, With Tamil Tiger
rebels threatening to restart the civil war, Sri Lanka's newly
installed PM called on neighboring India to help revive the island's
faltering peace process.
(AP, 4/6/04)
2004 Apr 7, Citizens Against
Government Waste (CAGW) issued its latest "Pig Book," an exposition
of "improper of unnecessary" US federal expenditures.
(SSFC, 4/4/04, Par p.24)
2004 Apr 7, The US government
issued the 1st license for a manned suborbital rocket to Scaled
Composites of Mojave headed by Burt Rutan.
(SFC, 4/8/04, p.A2)
2004 Apr 7, In Brazil Amazon
Indians attacked prospectors who were illegally digging for
diamonds. Cinta Larga Indians massacred 29 illegal wildcat diamond
miners on their remote northern reservation. 28 Indians were charged
in the killings, but the case has stalled over jurisdictional
questions.
(AP, 4/14/04)(AP, 12/10/07)
2004 Apr 7, In Germany a court
in Hamburg released Mounir el-Motassadeq (30), the only man
convicted so far of involvement in the Sep 11, 2001, attacks.
(WSJ, 4/8/04, p.A1)
2004 Apr 7, A U.S.-led
multinational force trying to bring stability to Haiti helped
detain Wilford Ferdinand, a top rebel figure.
(AP, 4/9/04)
2004 Apr 7, In India a land
mine killed at least 26 policemen in the eastern state of Jharkhand.
Communist guerrillas, calling for a boycott of India's national
elections, were suspected.
(AP, 4/8/04)
2004 Apr 7, U.S. Marines in a
fierce battle for this Sunni Muslim stronghold fired rockets that
hit a mosque compound filled with worshippers, and witnesses said as
many as 40 people were killed. Shiite-inspired violence spread to
nearly all of the country.
(AP, 4/7/04)
2004 Apr 7, Militiamen loyal to
al-Sadr, the radical Shiite cleric, clashed with Polish troops in
Karbala, and Muntadhir al-Mussawi, an aide to the cleric, was
killed.
(AP, 4/7/04)
2004 Apr 7, In Iraq 2 German
counter-terrorism GSG-9 security agents were ambushed and went
missing while on a routine trip from Jordan to Baghdad.
(AP, 4/10/04)
2004 Apr 7, In Malaysia 3 men
armed with firebombs, machetes and an ax attacked Myanmar's embassy,
hacking one senior official and starting a fire that destroyed the
building.
(AP, 4/7/04)
2004 Apr 7, A Moscow court
sentenced Russian arms control researcher Igor Sutyagin, a military
analyst with the USA and Canada Institute, a respected Moscow-based
think-tank, to 15 years on charges of passing information on nuclear
submarines and other weapons to a British company that Russia
claimed was a CIA cover. Sutyagin insisted on his innocence, saying
the information he provided was available from open sources. In 2010
he was released as part of a spy swap with the US.
(AP, 4/7/04)(AP, 7/9/10)
2004 Apr 8, Condoleeza Rice, US
national security advisor, testified before the National Commission
on Terrorism Attacks and contended that that Pres. Bush did not
ignore threats of terrorism in the months before Sep 11, 2001.
(SFC, 4/9/04, p.A1)
2004 Apr 8, Clear Channel fired
Howard Stearn after FCC regulators proposed fining the company
$495,000 for airing the shock jock's sexually explicit broadcasts.
[see 1985]
(SFC, 4/9/04, p.A3)
2004 Apr 8, Reliant Energy,
based in Houston, Texas, was indicted over an alleged plot to boost
power prices in June, 2000, at a cost to consumers of as much as $32
million. On August 15, 2005, Reliant announced that it had reached a
$460 million settlement with the states of California, Oregon and
Washington, resolving civil litigation claims against the company
related to the sale of electricity in the California electricity
crisis of 2000 and 2001. In March 2007, Reliant agreed to pay a
$22.2 million penalty in addition to a $13.8 million credit provided
in a previous settlement with the Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reliant_Energy)(SFC, 4/9/04, p.A1)
2004 Apr 8, Fred Olivi (82),
who copiloted the plane that dropped the atomic bomb on Nagasaki,
died in Lemont, Ill.
(AP, 4/8/05)
2004 Apr 8, In Afghanistan
troops loyal to ethnic Uzbek warlord Abdul Rashid Dostum overran
Maymana, the center of Faryab province. In the south, clashes left
at least 7 people dead, including two Afghan soldiers, and two
police officers killed in an attack by suspected Taliban.
(AP, 4/8/04)(SFC, 4/9/04, p.A3)
2004 Apr 8, Algeria held
elections seen as a turning point toward democracy for the North
African nation after a bloody Islamic insurgency. President
Abdelaziz Bouteflika was re-elected with 83% of the vote, but his
challenger cried foul and promised to appeal.
(AP, 4/9/04)(SFC, 4/10/04, p.A3)
2004 Apr 8, In China PM Wen
Jiabao suspended plans for a huge dam system on the Nu River in
western China due to environmental concerns.
(SFC, 4/9/04, p.A10)
2004 Apr 8, In France striking
power workers switched off street lights and cut electricity to
homes to protest plans to partially privatize public utilities. Even
the famed Chateau de Versailles lost power.
(AP, 4/8/04)
2004 Apr 8, Shiite Muslim
militias held partial control over three southern Iraqi cities,
Kufa, Kut and Najaf. Sunni insurgents killed a U.S. Marine in the
battle for Fallujah. In escalating violence, gunmen kidnapped eight
South Korean civilians. The US military announced 5 deaths. The
estimated Iraqi toll was 460.
(AP, 4/8/04)(SFC, 4/9/04, p.A1)(WSJ, 4/9/04,
p.A1)
2004 Apr 8, In a dramatic
video, Iraqi insurgents revealed they had kidnapped 3 Japanese and
threatened to burn them alive in 3 days unless Japan agrees to
withdraw its troops. The hostages were later released unharmed.
(AP, 4/9/05)
2004 Apr 8, In Indian-held
Kashmir a grenade explosion and gunfire at an election rally killed
9 people and wounded at least 60, including the state's tourism and
finance ministers.
(AP, 4/8/04)(WSJ, 4/9/04, p.A1)
2004 Apr 8, A Moscow court
handed down a 20-year prison sentence to a Chechen woman who was
earlier convicted of carrying a bomb that killed an explosives
expert.
(AP, 4/8/04)
2004 Apr 8, In the Philippines
6 members of the Muslim extremist Abu Sayyaf group including
Hamsiraji Sali, a senior leader wanted by the US, were killed in a
clash with government troops on southern Basilan island. In Oct
three informants received $1 million for their help.
(AP, 4/8/04)(SFC, 4/9/04, p.A3)(SFC, 11/27/04,
p.A1)
2004 Apr 8, The Sudanese
government signed a cease-fire with rebels in the western Darfur
region.
(SFC, 4/9/04, p.A2)
2004 Apr 8, U.N.
Secretary-General Kofi Annan expressed disappointment after Cypriot
leaders on both sides rejected his reunification plan.
(AP, 4/8/04)
2004 Apr 9, Sein Lwin (81), who
served briefly as Myanmar's president in 1988, died.
(AP, 4/10/04)
2004 Apr 9, US forces partially
reoccupied Kut, the southern city seized by a rebellious Shiite
militia, but an American-declared halt in Fallujah was undercut by
bursts of gunfire on the first anniversary of the fall of Baghdad. 2
soldiers and a Marine died in separate incidents. Rebels attacked a
convoy near Baghdad's airport and kidnapped 2 US soldiers and 7
construction employees of Halliburton subsidiary KBR. 4 bodies were
found in the area a few days later. The body of civilian truck
driver William Bradley was found in January 2005; Thomas Hamill
escaped his captors in May 2004; Timothy Bell remains unaccounted
for. Army reservist Staff Sgt. Matt Maupin (20) of Batavia, Ohio,
was captured when his fuel convoy, part of the 724th Transportation
Co., was ambushed west of Baghdad. Maupin's remains were found in
March on the outskirts of Baghdad, about 12 miles from where the
convoy was ambushed.
(SSFC, 4/11/04, p.A22)(SFC, 4/13/04, p.A1)(SFC,
4/14/04, p.A15)(AP, 4/9/05)(AP, 6/17/06)(WSJ, 4/28/08, p.A2)
2004 Apr 9, In Nepal police
detained more than a thousand protesters for defying a ban on public
rallies, as an estimated 25,000 demonstrators flooded the streets of
the Kathmandu to demand that the king restore democracy.
(AP, 4/9/04)
2004 Apr 9, Rival Tamil Tiger
guerrilla factions fought with mortars and guns, in a battle that
killed at least nine people, wounded 20.
(AP, 4/9/04)
2004 Apr 9, Investigators in
the Ukraine reported that the bodies of at least 50 people believed
to have been killed by Nazi troops have been unearthed from a mass
grave in the Crimean peninsula, 550 miles southeast of Kiev.
(AP, 4/10/04)
2004 Apr 10, Pres. Bush signed
into law a bill that let companies reduce the required contributions
to their defined-benefit pension plans by more than $80 billion over
the next 2 years.
(Econ, 4/17/04, p.73)
2004 Apr 10, The White House
declassified and released a document sent to President Bush before
the Sept. 11 attacks which cited recent intelligence of a possible
al-Qaida plot to strike inside the US.
(AP, 4/10/05)
2004 Apr 10, Several thousand
protesters gathered in SF and called for an end to US military
presence in Iraq.
(SSFC, 4/11/04, p.B3)
2004 Apr 10, San Francisco
Police officer Isaac A. Espinoza (29) was shot dead and his partner
wounded in the Bayview neighborhood. Suspect David Hill (21) was
arrested the next day. Hill used an illegal AK-47 against the
officers that had been given to him by Marvin Jeffrey Jr., a police
informant. In 2007 Hill was found guilty of 2nd degree murder.
(SFC, 4/12/04, p.A1)(SSFC, 8/13/06, p.A1)(SFC,
1/5/07, p.A1)
2004 Apr 10, A coal mine
explosion trapped five miners underground in a northeastern Chinese
city where more than 150 miners have been killed in the past year.
(AP, 4/10/04)
2004 Apr 10, In Colombia a
patrol, searching for rebels of the FARC, gunned down a peasant
family carrying a sick baby to hospital. Three youths, aged 14 to
17, and the six-month-old were among the dead.
(AP, 4/13/04)
2004 Apr 10, Iraqi government
negotiators entered the besieged city of Fallujah as fierce battles
raged elsewhere in central Iraq, including Baghdad. In Baqouba 40
Iraqis were killed. A top Iraqi Red Crescent official and his wife
were killed in an apparent attack on their car in northern Iraq.
(AP, 4/10/04)
2004 Apr 10, A stray bullet
killed an 11-year old Palestinian girl in her kitchen when Israeli
troops fired on her neighborhood in the southern Gaza Strip.
(AP, 4/10/04)
2004 Apr 10, In Mexico a gas
explosion leveled two buildings, killed at least six people and
injured more than a dozen others in the border town of Nuevo
Progreso.
(AP, 4/11/04)
2004 Apr 10, In southern Peru
heavy rains triggered mudslides near the famed Inca citadel of Machu
Picchu, killing at least six people. Five others were missing and
feared dead.
(AP, 4/11/04)
2004 Apr 10, In the southern
Philippines more than 50 inmates, including many suspected members
of a Muslim extremist group, used a smuggled pistol to escape from
prison. At least nine were killed by police.
(AP, 4/10/04)
2004 Apr 10, Rania al-Baz, a
popular Saudi TV host, was severely beaten by her husband. She
suffered 13 facial fractures that required 12 operations. She
allowed photos to be broadcast and opened discussions of ongoing
violence against women in Saudi Arabia.
(SFC, 4/20/04, p.A6)
2004 Apr 10, In Siberia an
apparent methane blast ripped through a coal mine, killing at least
44 miners.
(AP, 4/11/04)(AP, 4/12/04)
2004 Apr 10, Some 11% of South
Africans, 5 million people, were reported to be infected with AIDS.
An earlier government report said 100,000 civil servants were HIV
positive.
(Econ, 4/10/04, p.39)
2004 Apr 10, Some 100,000
people in Taiwan protested the disputed presidential election.
(WSJ, 4/12/04, p.A1)
2004 Apr 10, Sakip Sabanci
(71), Turkey’s richest man and head of Sabanci Holding, died. He
left his niece Guler Sabanci in charge of his business.
(www.guardian.co.uk/turkey/story/0,12700,1193172,00.html)
2004 Apr 10, In Vietnam's
troubled Central Highlands province of Daklak ethnic minority
villagers protested over religion and land issues.
(AP, 4/10/04)
2004 Apr 10, In Sri Lanka the
Liberation Tigers took control of the areas held by the Karuna group
and declared a two-day truce to allow civilians to celebrate the
Buddhist and Hindu New Year.
(AP, 4/11/04)
2004 Apr 11, Pres. Bush
defended his response to a briefing memo from August 2001 about
possible terrorist plots against the US, saying he was "satisfied
that some of the matters were being looked into" and that there were
no specific threats against New York and Washington.
(AP, 4/11/05)
2004 Apr 11, Sikhs celebrated
Vaisakhi, their New Year and commemoration of 17th century Guru
Gobind Singh. They claimed about 20 million followers worldwide.
(AP, 4/11/04)(SFC, 4/12/04, p.B5)
2004 Apr 11, The British Sunday
Times reported that an Indian steel tycoon paid $128 million for a
mansion in London, breaking the world record for the most expensive
house purchase.
(AP, 4/12/04)
2004 Apr 11, China’s People’s
Bank, in an effort to slow the growth in money supply, raised bank
reserve requirements from 7 to 7.5%, the 3rd increase in 8 months.
(Econ, 4/17/04, p.71)
2004 Apr 11, Thousands of Hong
Kong residents demanded full democracy and called on their unpopular
leader to quit as they marched past Beijing's representative office.
(AP, 4/11/04)
2004 Apr 11, Paul Eduardovich
Goldman, 39, a naturalized U.S. citizen, killed himself afternoon in
a prison in the suburbs of Grenoble, France. He was expected to be
extradited to Pennsylvania to face first-degree murder charges in
the fatal stabbing of Faina Zonis, 42, a Philadelphia mortgage
processor found dead in her office on Dec. 29.
(AP, 4/13/04)
2004 Apr 11, Gunmen shot down a
U.S. attack helicopter during fighting in western Baghdad, killing
its two crew members. The bloodied bodies of two men, purportedly
Americans killed during fighting in Fallujah, were shown on Arab TV.
US forces and insurgents agreed to a cease-fire in Fallujah.
(AP, 4/11/04)(SSFC, 4/11/04, p.A23)
2004 Apr 11, Henrik Frandsen, a
35-year-old plumber from Copenhagen, was reported missing in Iraq.
Iraqi police found his body the next day.
(AP, 4/21/04)
2004 Apr 11, Arjan Erkel, A
Dutch aid worker who headed the North Caucasus mission of Medecins
Sans Frontieres and was kidnapped in Russia nearly two years ago,
was freed in a police operation in Dagestan.
(AP, 4/11/04)
2004 Apr 11, Syrian Kurdish
parties issued a statement saying the Assad regime had arrested
hundreds and tortured some to death following the unrest in March.
(WSJ, 4/12/04, p.A1)
2004 Apr 11, Pope John Paul II
celebrated Easter Mass with calls for world leaders to resolve
conflicts in Iraq, the Holy Land and Africa.
(AP, 4/11/05)
2004 Apr 12, Barry Bonds hit
his 660th home run to tie godfather Willie Mays for third on
baseball's career list. Bonds hit a towering three-run shot in the
fifth inning, sending the San Francisco Giants to a 7-5 win over the
visiting Milwaukee Brewers.
(AP, 4/12/05)
2004 Apr 12, Miss Missouri,
Shandi Finnessey, a 25-year-old graduate student who has published a
children's book, was crowned Miss USA at the 52nd annual pageant.
(AP, 4/13/04)
2004 Apr 12, A federal judge
allowed a nationwide ban on dietary supplements containing ephedra
to take effect, turning aside a plea from two manufacturers.
(AP, 4/12/05)
2004 Apr 12, A man and woman
pleaded guilty in Houston to taking part in a smuggling scheme that
resulted in the deaths of 19 illegal immigrants abandoned in a truck
trailer.
(AP, 4/12/05)
2004 Apr 12, DuPont Co., the
No. 2 U.S. chemicals maker, said it will cut 3,500 jobs, or 6
percent of its work force, as part of a previously announced plan to
reduce costs by $900 million in the face of high raw material
prices.
(Reuters, 4/12/04)
2004 Apr 12. Microsoft reported
that it agreed to pay $440 million to settle a broad patent suit
with InterTrust. It covered the protection of digital content
against unauthorized copying.
(WSJ, 4/12/04, p.A3)
2004 Apr 12, In Brazil more
than 1,000 police stormed into two Rio shantytowns, attempting to
halt a violent dispute among drug traffickers that has left at least
10 people dead.
(AP, 4/12/04)
2004 Apr 12, Chechnya rebels
killed 10 Russian soldiers, including five whose convoy was shelled
while driving through an insurgent stronghold.
(AP, 4/12/04)
2004 Apr 12, In Colombia
government soldiers accidentally killed three fellow troops after
mistaking them for outlawed paramilitary gunmen near Puerto Gaitan.
(AP, 4/13/04)
2004 Apr 12, A senior
government minister said India will not deploy peacekeeping troops
in Iraq without a mandate from the United Nations because the
situation there is "not favorable."
(AP, 4/12/04)
2004 Apr 12, In Lucknow, India,
thousands of people crowding into a park for a politician's birthday
celebration and to receive free saris stampeded, killing 21 women
and children.
(AP, 4/12/04)
2004 Apr 12, Gunfire was
largely silenced in the second day of a truce in Fallujah, where
Iraqi doctors said 600 people, including many civilians, were
killed.
(AP, 4/12/04)
2004 Apr 12, Israeli troops
exchanged fire with Palestinian gunmen near an Israeli settlement in
the Northern Gaza Strip, killing at least three of the assailants.
(AP, 4/12/04)
2004 Apr 12, In Mexico Morelos
state Gov. Sergio Estrada ordered the firing of all 552 state police
officers following charges that commanders provided protection to
drug traffickers.
(SFC, 4/13/04, p.A2)
2004 Apr 12, In Russia a bomb
exploded on the roof of a businessman's armored car in Moscow,
killing at least four people including the businessman.
(AP, 4/12/04)
2004 Apr 13, Barry Bonds hit
his 661st homer, passing Willie Mays to take sole possession of
third place on baseball's career list.
(AP, 4/13/05)
2004 Apr 13, Swimmer Michael
Phelps won the 2003 Sullivan Award as the nation's top amateur
athlete.
(AP, 4/13/05)
2004 Apr 13, Pres. Bush
defended his Iraq policy, vowed no retreat and conceded the need for
UN help in a televised press conference.
(SFC, 4/14/04, p.A1)(WSJ, 4/14/04, p.A1)
2004 Apr 13, Attorney Gen'l.
Ashcroft, speaking at the hearings on 9/11, placed much of the blame
for terrorist successes on budgetary and investigatory constraints
inherited from the Clinton administration.
(WSJ, 4/14/04, p.A1)
2004 Apr 13, The FDA approved a
clinical trial by Cyberkinetics on implants in humans for a
brain-computer interface.
(SFC, 4/14/04, p.C8)
2004 Apr 13, Brazil's 10,000
federal customs agents began a 4-day strike, threatening to tie up
the nation's ports and international airports unless the government
grants them a pay raise.
(AP, 4/13/04)
2004 Apr 13, Authorities in
Shanghai announced that divorced couples who remarry will be allowed
to have a second child.
(AP, 4/13/04)
2004 Apr 13, Cuba agreed to buy
$13 million in food from American companies and reached a tentative
deal for up to $10 million in farm goods from California.
(AP, 4/13/04)
2004 Apr 13, Hungarian
authorities said they arrested three Arabs who were plotting to
assassinate visiting Israeli President Moshe Katsav.
(AP, 4/13/04)
2004 Apr 13, A 2,500-strong
U.S. force, backed by tanks and artillery, pushed to the outskirts
of the Shiite holy city of Najaf for a showdown with a radical
cleric. One soldier was killed enroute. US forces in Fallujah killed
over 100 insurgents.
(AP, 4/13/04)(SFC, 4/15/04, p.A17)
2004 Apr 13, Four Italians
working as private security guards for a U.S. company in Iraq were
reported missing, and an Arab satellite TV broadcaster said they
were kidnapped by insurgents.
(AP, 4/13/04)
2004 Apr 13, In Saudi Arabia
militants near Unaizah opened fire on a police checkpoint at dawn,
killing four police officers and fleeing in security agents' cars.
(AP, 4/13/04)
2004 Apr 14, President Bush
gave PM Ariel Sharon U.S backing for Israeli plans to hold on to
parts of the West Bank. He also ruled out Palestinian refugees
returning to Israel, bringing strong criticism from the
Palestinians.
(AP, 4/15/04)
2004 Apr 14, In Afghanistan
killed a district police chief and eight Afghan soldiers in an
ambush in southern Zabul province.
(AP, 4/15/04)
2004 Apr 14, Tornadoes swept
through northern Bangladesh, killing at least 69 people, injuring
hundreds and blowing away thousands of flimsy huts.
(AP, 4/15/04)(AP, 4/16/04)
2004 Apr 14, China began
offering free AIDS tests to anyone who wants one and free treatment
for infected people who can't afford.
(AP, 4/14/04)
2004 Apr 14, Colombian
President Alvaro Uribe launched a campaign to persuade Congress to
amend the constitution to allow him to run for a second term in
2006.
(AP, 4/15/04)
2004 Apr 14, In Indonesia Akbar
Tandjung, the leader of the party once led by Indonesian dictator
Suharto, claimed victory in parliamentary elections that were a
major setback to President Megawati Sukarnoputri.
(AP, 4/14/04)
2004 Apr 14, In Iraq U.S.
warplanes and helicopters hammered gunmen in Fallujah, straining a
truce there. A 2,500-strong U.S. force massed on the outskirts of
the holy city of Najaf for a showdown with radical cleric al-Sadr.
Militants executed an Italian captive. A platoon of US Marines came
under assault in Anbar Province. In 2005 Michael M. Phillips
authored “The Gift of Valor,” portraits of the men in action on this
day. Cpl. Jason Dunham saved the lives of two of his fellow Marines
by jumping on a grenade during an ambush in Karabilah. Dunham died 8
days later. In 2006 Pres. Bush awarded Dunham a posthumous Medal of
Honor.
(AP, 4/14/04)(WSJ, 5/31/05, p.D10)(AP,
4/15/04)(http://tinyurl.com/yzc8gh)(WSJ, 1/6/06, p.A1)
2004 Apr 14, The UN emissary to
Iraq proposed a caretaker government to replace the Governing
Council on June 30 to shepherd the country to free election in Jan
2005.
(SFC, 4/15/04, p.A1)
2004 Apr 14, Macedonians voted
to replace the president who was killed in a February plane crash.
(AP, 4/14/04)
2004 Apr 14, Peru's Congress
approved murder charges against ex-President Alberto Fujimori for
allegedly authorizing the death squad killing of a union leader over
a decade ago.
(AP, 4/15/04)
2004 Apr 14, Russia said it
will begin the evacuation of some of its citizens from Iraq on in
light of the deteriorating security situation in that country.
(AP, 4/14/04)
2004 Apr 14, Seychelles Pres.
France Albert Rene, one of Africa's longest-serving leaders, said he
was ready to step down after nearly 3 decades at the helm of this
Indian Ocean nation.
(AP, 4/14/04)
2004 Apr 14, South Africans of
all races voted for a new government for the third time in a decade.
The African National Congress, the party that led them out of
apartheid, won nearly 70% of the vote.
(AP, 4/14/04)(WSJ, 4/15/04, p.A1)(WSJ, 4/16/04,
p.A1)
2004 Apr 14, In South Korea the
386 generation (3 for in their 30s, 8 for coming of age in the 80s,
and 6 for being born in the 60s) was reported to be playing a
significant role in the parliamentary elections.
(WSJ, 4/14/04, p.A1)
2004 Apr 15, In the finale to
the first edition of the NBC reality show "The Apprentice," an
estimated 27.6 million viewers tuned in to watch. Donald Trump
"hired" Bill Rancic over Kwame Jackson during a segment that was
telecast live.
(AP, 4/16/05)
2004 Apr 15, The Pentagon told
20,000 US soldiers in Iraq that their tours would be extended.
(WSJ, 4/16/04, p.A1)
2004 Apr 15, The US EPA warned
California and a 30 other states to clean up smog-plagued regions.
474 counties fell short of standards including 36 in California.
(SFC, 4/16/04, p.A1)
2004 Apr 15, Several Los
Angeles porn-movie companies said they would stop production for 2
months following reports that 2 stars, including veteran performer
Darren James, had recently tested positive for AIDS.
(SFC, 4/16/04, p.A2)(Econ, 4/24/04, p.66)
2004 Apr 15, The United States
pledged $400 million to support a U.N. plan for reunifying Cyprus,
but stressed no money would come unless voters on the divided island
approve the settlement in a referendum next week.
(AP, 4/15/04)
2004 Apr 15, Thomas Corbally
(b.1921), man of mystery, died. He became known as part of the 1963
British Profumo scandal. An FBI report declassified in 1987
characterized him as an American businessman who ran sex orgies in
his London flat."
(SFC, 4/27/04, p.B7)
2004 Apr 15, Colombian police
seized dozens of estates and homes belonging to reputed drug kingpin
Diego Montoya.
(AP, 4/15/04)
2004 Apr 15, A man identifying
himself as Osama bin Laden offered a "truce" to European countries
that do not attack Muslims, saying it would begin when their
soldiers leave Islamic nations, according to a recording broadcast
on Arab satellite networks.
(AP, 4/15/04)
2004 Apr 15, Tim Berners-Lee,
inventor of the world wide web, became the 1st recipient of
Finland’s Millennium Technology Prize.
(Econ, 5/14/05,
p.84)(www.infoworld.com/article/04/04/16/HNbernerslee_1.html)
2004 Apr 15, In Hungary
government leaders and the Israeli president inaugurated this
country's first Holocaust museum in memory of Hungary's 600,000
Holocaust victims.
(AP, 4/15/04)
2004 Apr 15, In Iraq 3 Japanese
hostages who had been threatened with death unless Tokyo withdrew
its troops from Iraq were released.
(AP, 4/15/04)
2004 Apr 15, A U.S. businessman
was abducted from his hotel in the southern city of Basra by
kidnappers disguised as policemen.
(AP, 4/16/04)
2004 Apr 15, Gunmen killed a
high-ranking Iranian diplomat in Baghdad.
(AP, 4/15/04)
2004 Apr 15, Branko
Crvenkovski, Macedonia's PM, took the lead in elections to replace
the president who died in a plane crash, but he didn't get enough
votes to avoid a runoff.
(AP, 4/15/04)
2004 Apr 15, In western Mexico,
an explosion tore through a small fireworks store in Tonala, killing
seven people including a small child.
(AP, 4/16/04)
2004 Apr 15, The liberal Uri
Party loyal to South Korea's impeached president Roh Moo Hyun, won
the most seats in parliamentary elections.
(AP, 4/15/04)(SFC, 4/16/04, p.A3)
2004 Apr 16, Pres. Bush said he
is handing over the lead role in the Iraqi political transition to
the UN's top envoy. Pres. Bush and British PM Tony Blair, meeting in
Washington, endorsed giving the UN broad control over Iraq's
political future.
(SFC, 4/17/04, p.A1)(AP, 4/16/05)
2004 Apr 16, On Nov 22, 2005,
London’s Daily Mirror reported that Pres. Bush spoke of targeting
Al-Jazeera's headquarters in Doha, Qatar, when he met PM Blair at
the White House on April 16, 2004. A civil servant was charged under
Britain's Official Secrets Act for allegedly leaking a government
memo that described the meeting.
(AP, 11/22/05)
2004 Apr 16, Videotape
broadcast on the Arab TV station Al-Jazeera showed Army Pvt. 1st
Class Keith M. Maupin, abducted during an attack on a fuel truck
convoy near Baghdad a week earlier. Arab television reported June
29, 2004, that Maupin had been killed; he is listed as missing by
the U.S. military.
(AP, 4/16/05)
2004 Apr 16, California
lawmakers passed legislation aimed at reforming the nation's most
expensive workers' compensation program, a move that businesses
applauded but critics derided as a sellout to insurance companies.
(AP, 4/17/04)
2004 Apr 16, After analyzing
730 confirmed cases of gout from among a group of 47,000 men over 12
years, London researchers demonstrated that drinkers are more likely
to get gout, and that beer is worse and wine is best. Gout is caused
by deposits of crystals of a chemical called uric acid in joints.
Alcohol consumption leads to "hyperuricaemia" -- when the body
produces too much uric acid.
(Reuters, 4/16/04)
2004 Apr 16, In Afghanistan
suspected Taliban rebels fired rockets and machine-guns at a
checkpoint in a remote southwestern region, killing 8 Afghan
soldiers in a nighttime attack.
(AP, 4/18/04)
2004 Apr 16, In Recife, Brazil,
thousands of militant farmers converged to press the government for
speedier land reform.
(AP, 4/16/04)
2004 Apr 16, Abu Walid,
Saudi-born rebel commander also known as Abdul Aziz al-Ghamdi, was
killed by Russian government forces in Chechnya.
(AP, 4/19/04)
2004 Apr 16, Yu Zhendong, a
fugitive Chinese banker accused of helping embezzle $485 million
from his state-owned bank, was returned to China by U.S.
authorities.
(AP, 4/16/04)
2004 Apr 16, A Chinese
newspaper reported that China over the last few months had arrested
nearly a dozen military officers — including at least four generals
— on charges of spying for rival Taiwan.
(AP, 4/16/04)
2004 Apr 16, In Chongqing,
China, leaking chlorine gas exploded at a chemical plant, killing at
least 7 people and forcing 150,000 to flee their homes.
(AP, 4/17/04)(WSJ, 4/19/04, p.A1)
2004 Apr 16, In Iraq U.S.
military and civilian officials met with leaders from Fallujah, the
first known direct negotiations between Americans and city
representatives since the siege of Fallujah began April 5.
(AP, 4/16/04)
2004 Apr 16, Two Iraqi
civilians were killed and four wounded when 122 mm rockets fired by
insurgents fell short of a military camp and hit a civilian area.
(AP, 4/18/04)
2004 Apr 16, In Italy Premier
Silvio Berlusconi's corruption trial resumed in Milan.
(AP, 4/16/04)
2004 Apr 16, Jose Luis
Rodriguez Zapatero, Spain's young and largely untested Socialist
leader, won parliamentary Friday as prime minister.
(AP, 4/16/04)
2004 Apr 17, The body of
University of North Dakota student Dru Sjodin (22) was found in a
ravine northwest of Crookston, Minn. She was last seen Nov 22 at the
Grand Forks, ND, mall, where she worked. Alfonso Rodriquez was
arrested in Dec. and investigators matched DNA in blood in his car
to Sjodin.
(AP, 4/18/04)(SSFC, 4/18/04, p.A13)
2004 Apr 17, In southern
Pakistan assailants opened fire on a vehicle, killing four Afghans
and wounding another person.
(AP, 4/17/04)
2004 Apr 17, Soundarya (32), an
Indian movie star, and three other people were killed when their
plane crashed in southern India minutes after takeoff.
(AP, 4/17/04)
2004 Apr 17, Ten U.S. troops
were killed in combat across Iraq, including five U.S. Marines
killed in pitched battles near the Syrian border, and an eleventh
soldier died in a tank rollover.
(AP, 4/19/04)
2004 Apr 17, Iraqi gunmen
opened fire on a coalition military patrol outside of the encircled
southern city of Najaf, killing one soldier. 2 gunmen were killed.
(AP, 4/17/04)
2004 Apr 17, Sgt. Maj. Ahmed
Mustafa Ibrahim Ali, a Jordanian policeman, shot into a group of
U.N. police officers in a prison compound in Kosovo. Two Americans
and the Jordanian assailant were killed. 10 U.S. officers and an
Austrian were wounded in the gunbattle.
(AP, 4/18/04)(SSFC, 4/18/04, p.A14)
2004 Apr 17, A Palestinian
suicide bomber blew himself up at an industrial zone between Israel
and Gaza, wounding four Israeli security workers.
(AP, 4/17/04)
2004 Apr 17, An Israeli missile
strike came 4 hours after a suicide bombing and killed Hamas leader
Abdel Aziz Rantisi (56) as he rode in his car in Gaza City. The dead
included Akram Nassar (35) Rantisi's personal bodyguard and his son
Mohammed (27).
(AP, 4/17/04)(SSFC, 4/18/04, p.A1)
2004 Apr 17, In Slovakia Ivan
Gasparovic (63), an ex-chairman of parliament previously loyal to
ex-PM Vladimir Meciar (61), won a presidential runoff against Meciar
with 59.91 percent of the vote. The turnout was 43.5%.
(AP, 4/18/04)(Econ, 4/24/04, p.49)
2004 Apr 18, Ratu Sir Kamisese
Mara (83), Fiji's first prime minister and a key U.S. ally in the
South Pacific during the Cold War, died. The paramount chief of the
Lau Islands of eastern Fiji, he was revered for holding together
bickering tribes as he welded Fiji into a stable, multiracial nation
after 96 years of colonial British rule.
(AP, 4/19/04)
2004 Apr 18, In Indonesia
Presidential front-runner Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said he had
chosen the country's popular welfare minister as his running mate,
forging a ticket that polls show could easily defeat incumbent
Megawati Sukarnoputri in July.
(AP, 4/18/04)
2004 Apr 18, Koken Nosaka (79),
Japanese lawmaker, died. He was a former top government spokesman
under Japan's first Socialist prime minister in the post-World War
II era.
(AP, 4/18/04)
2004 Apr 18, Hamas secretly
appointed a new Gaza Strip chief. Dr. Mahmoud Zahar was appointed as
the group's 3rd leader.
(AP, 4/18/04)(SFC, 4/23/04, p.A16)
2004 Apr 18, In Libya Moammar
Gadhafi called for the abolition of Libya's three decade-old
exceptional courts and other strict laws criticized by human rights
groups.
(AP, 4/18/04)
2004 Apr 18, North Korean
leader Kim Jong Il crossed into China in a special train for a
summit to discuss the North's nuclear weapons program with the
Chinese president.
(AP, 4/18/04)
2004 Apr 18, Rodriguez
Zapatero, Spain's new PM, ordered the withdrawal of 1,300 Spanish
troops from Iraq.
(SFC, 4/19/04, p.A1)
2004 Apr 18, The UN reported
that at least 50,000 people have fled their homes in recent weeks
because of militia attacks and fighting between Sudanese government
and rebel forces in southern Sudan.
(AP, 4/18/04)
2004 Apr 19, In the Boston
Marathon Timothy Cherigat of Kenya won for the men at 2:10:37;
Catherine Ndereba of Kenya won for the women at 2:24:27.
(WSJ, 4/20/04, p.A1)
2004 Apr 19, Researchers
reported in the Annals of Internal Medicine that fairly heavy
alcohol consumption appears to moderately increase the risk of
cancer in the colon and rectum.
(Reuters, 4/19/04)
2004 Apr 19, The annual
environmental Goldman Prizes were awarded in SF. Winners included
Rashida Bee and Champa Devi Shukla of India for their work following
the Bhopal catastrophe; Margie Richard of the US for her work
following chemical leaks in Norco, Louisiana; Rudolf N. Amenga-Etego
of Ghana for his work in suspending a water privatization project;
Libia R. Grueso Castelblanco of Colombia for her work in securing
territorial rights for rural communities; Manana Kochladze of
Georgia for winning concessions to protect villagers and a pristine
gorge from an oil pipeline; Demetrio De Carvalho of East Timor for
his environmental efforts.
(SFC, 4/19/04, p.B5)
2004 Apr 19, Jim Cantalupo
(60), McDonald's Corp. Chairman and Chief Executive, died of an
apparent heart attack in Florida and the company named Chief
Operating Officer Charlie Bell to replace him as CEO.
(AP, 4/19/04)
2004 Apr 19, John Maynard
(1920-2004), a leading British evolutionary biologist widely
credited with taking the radical step of applying game theory to the
subject, died in Lewes, England. His books included "The Theory of
Evolution" (1958) and "The Evolution of Sex" (1978).
(SSFC, 4/25/04, p.B7)(AP, 4/29/04)
2004 Apr 19, Norris McWhirter
(78), co-creator of the Guinness Book of Records (1955), died in
England of a heart attack.
(WSJ, 4/21/04, p.A1)
2004 Apr 19, In Brazil riot
police used tear gas and rubber bullets to eject hundreds of
squatters who had seized a vacant building in Sao Paulo to demand
the government speed up redistribution of land to the poor.
(AP, 4/19/04)
2004 Apr 19, Chilean troops
prepared to take up posts in central Haiti, extending the
peacekeeping presence where as many as 400 rebels still hold sway.
(AP, 4/19/04)
2004 Apr 19, Honduras President
Ricardo Maduro announced the pullout of his 370 troops from Iraq "in
the shortest time possible."
(AP, 4/20/04)(WSJ, 4/20/04, p.A1)
2004 Apr 19, In Iraq US
officials and local leaders in Fallujah agreed to a number of
measures to reduce tensions.
(SFC, 4/20/04, p.A1)
2004 Apr 19, Pierluigi Vigna,
Italy's national anti-Mafia prosecutor, said Italian mobsters and
Islamic terrorist groups have forged links in arms and drug
trafficking.
(AP, 4/20/04)
2004 Apr 19, North Korean
leader Kim Jong Il reportedly held talks with Chinese President Hu
Jintao about the North's nuclear arms program and requests for
economic aid.
(AP, 4/19/04)
2004 Apr 19, A Russian rocket
roared into space carrying an American, a Russian and a Dutchman to
the international space station on the 3rd manned mission since the
halt of the US shuttle program.
(SFC, 4/19/04, p.A5)(AP, 4/19/05)
2004 Apr 19, Saudi police
seized 2 explosives packed SUVs on a highway outside Riyadh. It the
3rd day in a row that such a seizure was announced.
(WSJ, 4/20/04, p.A1)
2004 Apr 19, The Uzbek
government labeled the activities of George Soros' foundation
"undesirable" after the billionaire philanthropist said its office
was being forced to close and blasted human rights abuses in this
Central Asian nation.
(AP, 4/19/04)
2004 Apr 20, The US Labor Dept.
established new rules on overtime pay. It expanded the range for
lower income workers and put a ceiling on overtime for higher income
workers.
(WSJ, 4/21/04, p.D1)
2004 Apr 20, The US federal
government agreed to settle a civil suit filed by leaders of Earth
First following an FBI arrest in Oakland May 24, 1990. Darryl
Cherney and the estate of Judi Bari expected to receive $2 million.
(SFC, 4/23/04, p.B1)
2004 Apr 20, A US federal
commission said oceans of the US are in dire shape due to pollution
and over fishing.
(WSJ, 4/21/04, p.A1)
2004 Apr 20, An Oregon judge
ordered a halt to same sex marriages. He also ordered official
recognition of marriages already held in Multnomah County.
(SFC, 4/21/04, p.A3)
2004 Apr 20, Karen Jurgensen,
the editor of USA Today, resigned following charges of fabrication
and fraud against foreign correspondent Jack Kelley.
(Econ, 4/24/04, p.66)
2004 Apr 20, WorldCom emerged
from bankruptcy renamed as MCI.
(WSJ, 2/18/05, p.A1)
2004 Apr 20, The NASA Gravity
Probe B satellite, designed by Stanford researchers, was launched to
test Einstein's General Theory of Relativity.
(SFC, 4/21/04, p.A7)
2004 Apr 20, A tornado hit
Utica, Ill., and 8 people were killed in the basement of a tavern.
(SFC, 4/22/04, p.A6)(WSJ, 4/22/04, p.A1)
2004 Apr 20, Afghanistan
carried out its first execution since the fall of the hardline
Taliban, putting a bullet to the head of a former military commander
convicted of more than 20 murders. "During his detention, Abdullah
Shah reportedly revealed first hand evidence against several
regional commanders currently in positions of power against whom no
charges have been brought."
(AP, 4/27/04)
2004 Apr 20, In Argentina a
federal judge issued an international arrest warrant for former
President Carlos Menem who has refused to appear for questioning in
a corruption probe.
(AP, 4/21/04)
2004 Apr 20, British PM Tony
Blair said he would put a new European Union constitution to a
nationwide vote. No date was set.
(AP, 4/20/04)
2004 Apr 20, China urged North
Korean leader Kim Jong Il to rethink his demands for a written U.S.
pledge not to attack, saying only a softer line can ease the
standoff over Pyongyang's nuclear program.
(AP, 4/20/04)
2004 Apr 20, Yang Xiuzhu,
former vice-mayor of Wenzhou and vice-director of the Zhejiang
Provincial Construction Bureau, fled abroad as investigations began
on bribery charges. She was believed to have taken bribes of 253.2
million yuan (US$30 million).
(http://tinyurl.com/aza8m)(Econ, 6/4/05, p.42)
2004 Apr 20, Chinese state
media reported that from April last year, about 50 to 60 infants
died from malnutrition after being fed a milk formula with virtually
no nutritional value.
(AP, 4/20/04)(SFC, 4/21/04, p.A8)
2004 Apr 20, Gen. Jose Miguel
Soto Jimenez said the Dominican Republic will pull its troops out of
Iraq early, in the next few weeks, following the lead of Spain and
Honduras.
(AP, 4/20/04)
2004 Apr 20, Elections began in
India for the 1st of 5 stages culminating May 10. India's general
elections implemented the use of computerized voting machines.
(WSJ, 4/19/04, p.A1)(AP, 4/22/04)
2004 Apr 20, Indonesia's Golkar
Party chose ex-Gen. Wiranto as its presidential candidate. He was
indicted by the UN for human-rights abuses in East Timor in 1999.
(WSJ, 4/21/04, p.A1)
2004 Apr 20, In Iraq a barrage
of 18 mortars hit a Baghdad jail, killing 21 prisoners.
(AP, 4/20/04)
2004 Apr 20, Authorities in
southern Italy reported that they had seized about 7,500 Kalashnikov
assault rifles and other combat-grade firearms from a
Turkish-flagged ship headed for New York. The weapons were destined
for a company in the U.S. state of Georgia.
(AP, 4/20/04)
2004 Apr 20, In Jordan police
shot and killed three suspected terrorists who were believed to have
planned to detonate a bomb that would have flattened a large part of
the capital Amman.
(AP, 4/20/04)
2004 Apr 20, Palestinians fired
a barrage of homemade rockets and mortar shells at Gaza Strip
settlements and towns inside Israel in retaliation for the killing
of Hamas leader Abdel Aziz Rantisi. Over two days, 15 Qassam rockets
hit Israeli targets, wounding one Israeli and damaging at least five
structures. Israeli soldiers raided the Gaza neighborhood where some
of the rockets originated, killing 5 Palestinians, among them 3
militants, and wounding 21 others.
(AP, 4/20/04)(SFC, 4/21/04, p.A12)
2004 Apr 20, Palestinian
militants stormed a Palestinian police station in Gaza City and
released three men with possible links to a deadly bombing of a U.S.
diplomatic convoy.
(AP, 4/23/04)
2004 Apr 21, Alan Greenspan, US
Federal Reserve Chairman, set the stage for an interest rate
increase in congressional testimony.
(SFC, 4/22/04, p.A1)
2004 Apr 21, Mary McGrory (85),
Washington Post columnist, died.
(AP, 4/21/05)
2004 Apr 21, U.S. forces
battled Taliban holdouts in a forbidding mountain range in southern
Afghanistan, killing two fighters and arresting two others.
(AP, 4/22/04)
2004 Apr 21, Chile said it
would begin negotiating a free-trade pact with India beginning in
August. It would at first be limited to commerce in goods.
(WSJ, 4/22/04, p.A17)
2004 Apr 21, Two German fighter
jets collided and crashed in the country's north, police said. The
two-person crew of one plane died and the other crew parachuted to
safety.
(AP, 4/21/04)
2004 Apr 21, The Iranian film
“Marmulak” (Lizard) premiered. It was a comedy about a fugitive
criminal disguised as a mullah.
(Econ, 5/8/04, p.45)
2004 Apr 21, In Basra, Iraq, 5
suicide attackers detonated simultaneous car bombs against 3 police
buildings during rush hour, killing at least 74 people, including 23
children.
(AP, 4/21/04)(SFC, 4/22/04, p.A1)(AP, 4/21/05)
2004 Apr 21, U.S Marines backed
by tanks and helicopter gunships battled insurgents in northern
Fallujah, killing nine.
(AP, 4/21/04)
2004 Apr 21, In Israel
Mordechai Vanunu walked out of prison after serving 18 years for
spilling Israel's nuclear secrets. He was later indicted on charges
of violating the terms of his release.
(AP, 4/21/04)(AP, 4/21/05)
2004 Apr 21, Israeli troops
killed 9 Palestinians after rocket attacks were fired at Israel for
a 2nd day.
(WSJ, 4/22/04, p.A1)
2004 Apr 21,
Karl Hass (92), a former Nazi officer convicted of the wartime
massacre of 335 Italian civilians, died in a rest home near Rome,
where he had been serving a life sentence under house arrest.
(AP, 4/21/05)
2004 Apr 21, Otto Herrera (39),
a Guatemalan man described by U.S. authorities as Central America's
most-wanted drug smuggler, was captured by Mexican agents at Mexico
City's Juarez Int'l. Airport. Mexico made the arrest at the request
of U.S. authorities who had offered a $5 million reward for his
capture.
(AP, 4/22/04)
2004 Apr 21, President Sam
Nujoma assured Namibians that a land expropriation program would be
conducted in a legal and orderly manner.
(AP, 4/21/04)
2004 Apr 21, Two car bombs
blasted the Saudi security headquarters, killing at least 4 people
and wounding 148.
(AP, 4/21/04)(SFC, 4/22/04, p.A16)
2004 Apr 21, Refugees in Chad
reported that Sudanese and Arab militias were conducting a "reign of
terror" to push blacks out of western Sudan.
(WSJ, 4/22/04, p.A1)
2004 Apr 22, On Earth Day Pres.
Bush toured a Maine nature preserve and said the US should try to
expand its wetlands.
(WSJ, 4/23/04, p.A1)
2004 Apr 22, Sex abuse victims
were awarded nearly $70 million after suing part of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America.
(AP, 4/22/05)
2004 Apr 22, The Queen Mary 2
arrived in NYC on its maiden transatlantic voyage. A crew of 1,250
and 2,600 passengers made the 6-day crossing from Southampton,
England.
(SFC, 4/23/04, p.A3)
2004 Apr 22, Pat Tillman,
former safety for the Arizona Cardinals, was killed in an ambush in
Afghanistan. He had walked away from millions of dollars to join the
Army Rangers and serve his country. In late May the Army said that
Tillman was likely killed by friendly fire. In 2005 a new Army
report said top officials held back information that Tillman was
killed by “friendly fire.” In 2007 a Pentagon report found no plot
to conceal evidence, but recommended that officers be held
accountable for making misleading statements about Tillman’s death.
A general was censured on July 31, 2007. In 2009 Jon Krakauer
authored “Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman.”
(AP, 4/24/04)(AP, 5/29/04)(SFC, 5/4/05,
p.A9)(SFC, 3/27/07, p.A1)(WSJ, 8/1/07, p.A1)(SSFC, 9/20/09, p.B1)
2004 Apr 22, Algerian officials
said the Salafists, a rebel group linked to al Qaeda, were in
surrender talks to end a 12-year Islamic insurgency.
(WSJ, 4/23/04, p.A1)
2004 Apr 22, In Brazil inmates
at Urso Branco State Prison ended a 5-day rebellion that left nine
people dead at the overcrowded prison, after authorities agreed to
improve conditions.
(AP, 4/22/04)
2004 Apr 22, Tens of thousands
of Cypriots turned out in a final show of support for a U.N. plan to
end the 30-year division of their island.
(AP, 4/23/04)
2004 Apr 22, Guatemala Pres.
Oscar Berger joined the heads of Congress and the Supreme Court in
publicly acknowledging government responsibility in the 1990 killing
of human rights leader Myrna Mack.
(AP, 4/22/04)
2004 Apr 22, In Haiti
Louis-Jodel Chamblain, a rebel commander convicted of killing
supporters of ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, surrendered
to justice officials.
(AP, 4/23/04)
2004 Apr 22, The Iraqi health
minister said that 576 Iraqi insurgents and civilians had died
during the sharp upturn in violence since April 1 that has also
taken the lives of at least 100 U.S. soldiers.
(AP, 4/22/04)
2004 Apr 22, A gunman in
traditional Arab robe and headdress shot and killed a South African
security guard in a Baghdad shop after accusing him of being a Jew.
(Reuters, 4/22/04)
2004 Apr 22, It was reported
that Japanese scientists had demonstrated mammalian reproduction in
mice using 2 sets of female genes.
(SFC, 4/22/04, p.A1)
2004 Apr 22, In Nigeria rival
militias threatened to escalate an ethnic conflict in Nigeria's oil
delta, where 10 people were killed this week in an attack on a boat
full of market vendors.
(AP, 4/22/04)
2004 Apr 22, In North Korea 2
trains carrying oil and liquefied petroleum gas exploded near the
Ryongchon train station when workers knocked wagons against power
lines. Over 160 were killed including 76 children, 1,249 injured and
8,100 homes were destroyed.
(SFC, 4/23/04, p.A1)(AP, 4/25/04)(SSFC, 4/25/04,
p.A14)(WSJ, 4/28/04, p.A1)
2004 Apr 22, U.S. authorities
prohibited Peru's largest airline, Aero Continente, from flying to
the United States because of safety concerns.
(AP, 4/23/04)
2004 Apr 22, Spain has agreed
to a U.S. request to leave its intelligence agents in Iraq and not
withdraw them along with its 1,300 troops.
(AP, 4/22/04)
2004 Apr 22, Saudi security
forces killed five wanted militants and were pursuing others after
shootouts that spread over two days in the port city of Jiddah.
(AP, 4/23/04)
2004 Apr 23, President Bush
eased Reagan-era sanctions against Libya in return for Moammar
Gadhafi's giving up weapons of mass destruction.
(AP, 4/23/05)
2004 Apr 23, In Illiopolis,
Ill., 4 workers were killed in an explosion at the Formosa Plastics
Plant. The entire community was forced to evacuate the area.
(SSFC, 4/25/04, p.A2)
2004 Apr 23, China confirmed
two cases of SARS and said the mother of one patient has died,
apparently the first SARS fatality in the country since July.
(AP, 4/23/04)
2004 Apr 23, France closed its
last coal mine.
(AP, 4/23/04)
2004 Apr 23, A rain-triggered
landslide smashed into a bus on Indonesia's Sumatra island, killing
at least 37 passengers and leaving six others buried under tons of
mud.
(AP, 4/24/04)
2004 Apr 23, Paul Bremmer, the
top U.S. administrator in Iraq, announced an easing of the ban on
members of Saddam Hussein's disbanded party, a move that will allow
thousands of former Baathists to return to their positions in the
military and government bureaucracy.
(AP, 4/23/04)
2004 Apr 23, Israeli troops
killed four Palestinians, one of them armed, in arrest raids in the
West Bank.
(AP, 4/23/04)
2004 Apr 23, In Nigeria a
speedboat full of gunmen attacked a boat carrying oil workers in the
delta region. 2 Americans and 4 others were killed.
(AP, 4/24/04)(SSFC, 4/25/04, p.A3)
2004 Apr 23, President Thabo
Mbeki was elected unopposed for a second term. He pledged to fight
poverty and improve opportunities for all South Africans after his
party scored its biggest victory yet in a decade of multiracial
democracy.
(AP, 4/23/04)
2004 Apr 23, In Thailand a
massive fire raced through a slum in downtown Bangkok, snarling
traffic and spewing plumes of black smoke over embassies and
five-star hotels in the area. Armed assailants fatally shot an army
officer, just hours after unidentified attackers set fire to about
50 public buildings in all 13 districts of Narathiwat in the worst
day of arson attacks in Thailand's Muslim-dominated south.
(AP, 4/23/04)
2004 Apr 24, In Los Angeles,
Vitali Klitschko stopped Corrie Sanders late in the eighth round to
win the WBC heavyweight title vacated by the retirement of Lennox
Lewis.
(AP, 4/24/05)
2004 Apr 24, Greek Cypriots
overwhelmingly rejected a UN plan, the Annan Plan, to reunite
Cyprus. The European Union pledged to start searching for ways to
extend a hand of friendship to the island's long-ostracized Turkish
side. It meant that only the Greek side of Cyprus would join the
European Union on May 1.
(AP, 4/25/04)(WSJ, 4/26/04, p.A13)(Econ, 5/1/04,
p.49)
2004 Apr 24, Insurgents struck
a U.S. military base north of Baghdad with rockets at dawn, killing
4 American soldiers. A rocket crashed into a crowded market in the
Iraqi capital, killing at least three people. In addition up to 12
Iraqis were killed in several attacks, including an apparent suicide
car bombing in Tikrit. At least 33 Iraqis died this day in multiple
incidents.
(AP, 4/24/04)(SSFC, 4/25/04, p.A1)
2004 Apr 24, Three small dhows,
a boat often used in the Gulf, exploded in the Gulf waters off
Iraq's port of Umm Qasr when approached by teams sent to intercept
them. Oil terminals at al-Basra and Khawr al-Amaya were targeted.
The dhow near Khawr al-Amaya flipped over a U.S. Navy interception
craft, killing 2 US sailors and wounding five others. Al Qaeda later
claimed responsibility.
(AP, 4/25/04)(WSJ, 4/27/04, p.A1)
2004 Apr 24, In Sri Lanka
President Chandrika Kumaratunga's alliance won a key regional
election, nearly 3 weeks after it emerged as the single largest
party in parliamentary polls.
(AP, 4/25/04)
2004 Apr 25, In Washington DC
tens of thousands of women gathered for an abortion-rights rally as
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton told several hundred of them the issue
is about women gaining full equality.
(AP, 4/25/04)(SFC, 4/26/04, p.A1)
2004 Apr 25, The IMF ended 2
days of talks in Washington DC and finance leaders agreed on the
need to continue canceling the debts of poor countries and to
provide more aid in the form of grants.
(SFC, 4/26/04, p.A7)
2004 Apr 25, Thom Gunn
(b.1929), British-born poet, died in SF at age 74. His 1st book,
titled "Fighting Terms" (1954), was recognized as part of the
British group called "The Movement." He moved from England to
America in 1954 to live with his male lover and explore the
California culture.
(SFC, 4/28/04, p.B7)(Econ, 5/8/04, p.83)
2004 Apr 25, Estee Lauder
(b.1906), cosmetics pioneer whose pots of potions and tubs of
moisturizers have turned the clock back for millions of faces across
the globe, died in NYC.
(AP, 4/26/04)
2004 Apr 25, In Austria Heinz
Fischer, the candidate of the opposition Social Democrats, defeated
Foreign Minister Benita Ferrero-Waldner, a conservative rival backed
by right-wing populist Joerg Haider in a presidential election.
(AP, 4/25/04)
2004 Apr 25, Clashes between
Congolese troops and Rwandan insurgents in eastern Congo killed at
least 61 people over the weekend.
(AP, 4/26/04)
2004 Apr 25, A roadside bomb
exploded by a U.S. patrol in Baghdad, killing a U.S. soldier and
sparking a gunbattle.
(AP, 4/25/04)
2004 Apr 25, In Indonesia's
Maluku islands Muslim and Christian gangs fought running battles,
leaving at least 10 people dead, including two youths who were
hacked to death by sword-wielding men.
(AP, 4/25/04)
2004 Apr 25, Pope John Paul II
added six more people to the ranks of Catholics on the path to
possible sainthood. Honored were: August Czartoryski (1858-1893) of
Poland, a prince who became a Salesian priest; Laura Montoya
(1874-1949) of Colombia, who founded the Congregation of the
Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Mary; Maria Guadalupe Garcia
Zavala (1878-1963) of Mexico, co-founder of the Congregation of the
Servants of Saint Margaret Mary and the Poor; Nemesia Valle
(1847-1916) of Italy, a nun of the Congregation of the Sisters of
Charity of Saint Giovanna Antida Thouret; Eusebia Palomino Yenes
(1899-1935) of Spain; a nun of the Institute of the Daughters of
Mary, Help of Christians; and da Costa (1904-1955), who became a lay
Salesian cooperator.
(AP, 4/25/04)
2005 Apr 26, Following
conservative criticism of his anti-war activities during the Vietnam
era, Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry accused President
Bush of failing to prove whether he'd fulfilled his commitment to
the National Guard during the same period.
(AP, 4/26/05)
2004 Apr 26, The US unveiled a
new $50 bill to make counterfeiting more difficult.
(SFC, 4/27/04, p.C1)
2004 Apr 26, Scientists
reported that a new gene-therapy treatment for Alzheimer's patients
had produced encouraging results.
(SFC, 4/28/04, p.A5)
2004 Apr 26, Denis Hills (90),
the writer sentenced to death by Idi Amin for describing the Ugandan
dictator as a "black Nero" and "village tyrant," died in southern
England.
(AP, 5/1/04)
2004 Apr 26, Hubert Selby Jr.
(b.1928), author of "Last Exit to Brooklyn," died in LA.
(SFC, 4/27/04, p.B7)
2004 Apr 26, Mainland China
dealt a crushing blow to Hong Kong's hopes for full democracy, when
its most powerful legislative panel ruled the territory won't have
direct elections for its next leader in 2007 or for all its
lawmakers in 2008.
(AP, 4/26/04)
2004 Apr 26, Regional
presidents looked poised to win control of the federal parliament in
Comoros as preliminary election results were tallied. Each of the 3
main islands has its own president and legislature.
(AP, 4/26/04)
2004 Apr 26, In Indonesia's
Maluku islands mobs set fire to buildings at a Christian-run
university. 18 people have died in two days of clashes between
Christians and Muslims.
(AP, 4/26/04)
2004 Apr 26, In Baghdad, Iraq,
an explosion leveled part of a building as American troops searched
it for suspected production of "chemical munitions." 2 soldiers were
killed and 5 wounded in the blast. In a Fallujah suburb 1 Marine was
killed along with 8 insurgents.
(AP, 4/26/04)(SFC, 4/27/04, p.A1)
2004 Apr 26, Iraqi kidnappers
said they would kill 3 Italian hostages unless Italians rally
against Italy's participation in the occupation of Iraq.
(SFC, 4/27/04, p.A8)
2004 Apr 26, In southern
Kyrgyzstan a landslide buried a village, and up to 33 people were
feared dead.
(AP, 4/26/04)
2004 Apr 26, Hamas denounced 2
Palestinian men who died while stopping a suicide bomber from
entering Israel.
(WSJ, 4/28/04, p.A1)
2004 Apr 26, In Peru angry
highland Indians beat their town's mayor to death after he refused
to resign in the face of protests, then the mob attacked the Llave
police station, trapping dozens of officers.
(AP, 4/27/04)
2004 Apr 27, Republican Sen.
Arlen Specter, of Pennsylvania, beat back a tough primary threat,
barely defeating conservative congressman Pat Toomey.
(AP, 4/27/05)
2004 Apr 27, The Chinese
government said it had shut down a U.S. visa information center in
Shanghai because of complaints of overcharging.
(AP, 4/28/04)
2004 Apr 27, It was reported
that China planned to consolidate some 35,000 rural cooperatives
over the next 3 years to about 3,000. The government estimated
cooperative bad loans at 26% of the total loans.
(WSJ, 4/27/04, p.A16)
2004 Apr 27, In Indonesia
gunmen in Ambon killed two paramilitary police officers and
critically wounded a third and a Muslim man later was incinerated by
a bomb explosion, bringing the death toll since Sunday to 24.
(AP, 4/28/04)
2004 Apr 27, It was reported
that 10 US contractors in Iraq have paid over $300 million in
penalties since 2000 to resolved various allegations.
(SFC, 4/27/04, p.C1)
2004 Apr 27, US troops fought
gunbattles with militiamen overnight near the city of Najaf, killing
64 gunmen and destroying an anti-aircraft system belonging to the
insurgents.
(AP, 4/27/04)
2004 Apr 27, Iraqi police moved
into the streets of the besieged city of Fallujah following hours of
pounding by US warplanes and artillery on Sunni insurgents.
(AP, 4/27/05)
2004 Apr 27, Israeli troops
killed two Hamas fugitives and seriously wounded a third in a gun
battle in the West Bank Tulkarem refugee camp.
(AP, 4/27/04)
2004 Apr 27, Libyan leader
Moammar Gadhafi arrived in Brussels, his first trip to Europe in 15
years. Gadhafi sought "full normalization" of relations and entry to
the aid and trade program the EU runs with countries around the
Mediterranean, including Israel.
(AP, 4/27/04)
2004 Apr 27, Peruvian police
retook control of an Andean town, a day after highland Indians beat
to death the mayor, accusing him of corruption.
(AP, 4/27/04)
2004 Apr 27, Russian Foreign
Minister Sergey Lavrov and EU officials signed an accord extending
the EU-Russia partnership accord to Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania,
Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Cyprus and
Malta, which join May 1.
(AP, 4/27/04)
2004 Apr 27, In Damascus 4
gunmen detonated a bomb placed under a car before firing bullets and
grenades at Syrian security forces. Hours later police found weapons
including rocket propelled grenades and guns during the raid in the
nearby town of Khan al-Sheih.
(AP, 4/28/04)
2004 Apr 28, The US monetary
policy subcommittee approved a bill to put the faces of US
presidents on new dollar coins.
(SFC, 4/29/04, p.C3)
2004 Apr 28, CBS broadcast
photos on “60 Minutes” showing US abuse of prisoners at Abu Ghraib
prison.
(SFC, 5/6/04, p.A17)
2004 Apr 28, In Colombia a
construction crew's backhoe tumbled down a hillside onto a school
bus on the highway below, killing 21 children and two adults and
injuring 36 others.
(AP, 4/29/04)
2004 Apr 28, The Dian Fossey
fund reported that the lowland gorilla population in eastern Congo
has dropped over 70% since 1994 due to human warfare.
(WSJ, 4/29/04, p.A1)
2004 Apr 28, Masked
demonstrators stormed the main cathedral in El Salvador's capital
and demanded the country's new president withdraw troops from Iraq
and rehire dozens of fired government employees.
(AP, 4/29/04)
2004 Apr 28, Iran's Ayatollah
Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi ordered a ban on the use of torture for
obtaining confessions.
(SFC, 4/29/04, p.A3)
2004 Apr 28, In Iraq a series
of explosions and gunfire rocked Fallujah in new fighting the day
after a heavy battle in which U.S. warplanes and artillery pounded
the city in a show of force against Sunni insurgents. Elsewhere 1 US
and 2 Ukrainian soldiers were killed.
(AP, 4/28/04)(WSJ, 4/29/04, p.A1)
2004 Apr 28, Macedonians chose
between a liberal prime minister and a nationalist candidate in
presidential elections. Front-runner Branko Crvenkovski, the current
PM, and right-wing opposition politician Sasko Kedev, a
U.S.-educated doctor with little political background, competed in
the runoff election for the mostly ceremonial post. Oremier
Crvenkovski claimed victory and Kedev claimed fraud.
(AP, 4/28/04)(WSJ, 4/29/04, p.A1)
2004 Apr 28, The six nations
involved in resolving the North Korea nuclear arsenal dispute — the
United States, China, the two Koreas, Russia and Japan —scheduled to
begin working level talks May 12 in Beijing, China.
(AP, 4/29/04)
2004 Apr 28, Pakistan said it
will reduce the size of its army by 50,000, but military officials
said this 1st reduction in its 57-year history men will not hurt
fighting strength.
(AP, 4/28/04)
2004 Apr 28, A Spanish judge
indicted Amer Azizi, a Moroccan fugitive, on charges of helping to
plan the Sept. 11 hijackings.
(AP, 4/28/05)
2004 Apr 28, In Thailand police
gunned down machete-wielding militants who stormed security outposts
in Thailand's Muslim-dominated south, killing at least 112 people.
The 16th century Krue-sae Mosque was damaged by soldiers who fired
automatic weapons, tear gas and grenades at it and killed 32
suspected Islamic insurgents.
(AP, 4/28/04)
2004 Apr 28, The UN Security
Council unanimously approved Resolution 1540 requiring all 191 UN
states to pass laws to keep weapons of mass destruction out of the
hands of terrorists.
(AP, 4/29/04)(www.nti.org/f_WMD411/f2n.html)
2004 Apr 29, The US Sep 11
panel held a joint interview behind closed doors with Pres. Bush and
VP Cheney.
(WSJ, 4/29/04, p.A1)
2004 Apr 29, A national
monument to the 16 million U.S. men and women who served during
World War II opened to the public in Washington DC. Official
dedication was set for May 29.
(AP, 4/29/04)(SFC, 4/30/04, p.A3)
2004 Apr 29, GM ended
production of its Oldsmobile line (b.1897), named after Ransom E.
Olds. The last Olds Alero rolled of a GM assembly line in Lansing,
Mich.
(SFC, 4/28/04, p.C1)
2004 Apr 29, Google unveiled an
IPO that could raise as much as $2.7 billion.
(SFC, 4/30/04, p.A1)
2004 Apr 29, Cleanup crews
arrived at Suisun Marsh in the SF Bay area to tackle an estimated
60,000 gallon diesel fuel spill from a pipeline operated by Kinder
Morgan Energy Partners of Houston, Texas.
(SFC, 4/30/04, p.A1)
2004 Apr 29, Thousands of
Cubans, young and old, played their favorite game into the night to
break the world record for most people playing chess simultaneously.
(AP, 4/29/04)
2004 Apr 29, US Marines
announced an agreement to end a bloody, nearly month long siege of
Fallujah, saying American forces will pull back and allow an
all-Iraqi force commanded by one of Saddam Hussein's generals to
take over security. Elsewhere 10 U.S. soldiers were killed, 8 of
them from a car bomb south of Baghdad.
(AP, 4/29/04)(WSJ, 4/30/04, p.A1)
2004 Apr 29, In Peru 800 people
in a village near Lake Titicaca took five aldermen hostage Thursday
after their mayor fled in fear of his life.
(AP, 4/29/04)
2004 Apr 29, A Russian court
acquitted 4 commando officers in the shooting deaths of 6 Chechen
civilians, after the officers admitted in court that they mistakenly
opened fire on their vehicle and set the car on fire to conceal the
incident based on orders from superiors.
(SFC, 4/30/04, p.A3)
2004 Apr 30, On ABC's
"Nightline," Ted Koppel read aloud the names of 721 U.S. servicemen
and women killed in the Iraq war. The Sinclair Broadcast Group
refused to air the program on seven ABC stations.
(AP, 4/30/05)
2004 Apr 30, Graphic
photographs were shown on TV screens across the Middle East of naked
Iraqi prisoners being humiliated by smiling U.S. military police.
Pres. Bush condemned the mistreatment of prisoners, saying it "does
not reflect the nature of the American people."
(AP, 4/30/04)
2004 Apr 30, Former NBA star
Jayson Williams was acquitted of manslaughter in the shotgun slaying
of a limousine driver at his mansion, but found guilty of trying to
cover up the shooting.
(AP, 4/30/04)
2004 Apr 30, Michael Jackson
pleaded not guilty in Santa Maria, Calif., to a grand jury
indictment that expanded the child molestation case against him.
(AP, 4/30/05)
2004 Apr 30, In the SF Bay Area
the National Labor Relations Board ruled that cab drivers for an
East Bay syndicate to taxi companies are employees, not independent
contractors, and therefore entitled to unionize. The companies
refused to negotiate.
(SFC, 7/28/04, p.B5)
2004 Apr 30, Bosnian Serb
authorities offered details of six previously undisclosed mass
graves in the town of Srebrenica.
(AP, 4/30/04)
2004 Apr 30, In Indonesia
hundreds of protesters clashed with police as officers
re-arrested Abu Bakar Bashir (66), a Muslim cleric accused of
heading an al-Qaeda-linked terror network. Muslims and Christians
with homemade bombs and military-issue weapons clashed in the
eastern city of Ambon, leaving 15 wounded and scores of houses in
flames.
(AP, 4/30/04)
2004 Apr 30, Iraqi troops led
by Maj. Gen. Jassim Mohammed Saleh (49), one of Saddam Hussein's
generals, replaced U.S. Marines and raised the Iraqi flag at the
entrance to Fallujah under a plan to end the month long siege of the
city. A suicide car bomb on the outskirts killed two Americans and
wounded six. Saleh was replaced May 3 by Muhammad Latif, a former
Iraqi intelligence officer.
(AP, 4/30/04)(SFC, 5/4/04, p.A11)
2004 Apr 30, U.S. troops and
radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr agreed to a three-day truce in
negotiations to end the standoff at Najaf.
(AP, 4/30/04)
2004 Apr 30, The Associated
Press found that around 1,361 Iraqis were killed from April 1 to
April 30, 10 times the figure of at least 136 U.S. troops who died
during the same period.
(AP, 4/30/04)
2004 Apr 30, A bus skidded off
a mountain highway in central Nepal, killing at least 29 people.
(AP, 5/1/04)
2004 Apr 30, In southern
Vietnam a tourist boat carrying about 130 passengers sank off the
coast. Authorities recovered 22 bodies, including one 8-year-old
boy.
(AP, 5/1/04)
2004 Apr, The US trade deficit
climbed to $48.3 billion, up from $46.6 billion in March.
(Econ, 7/10/04, p.63)
2004 Apr, Wired Magazine
honored UCSF researcher Joe DeRisi with a Rave Award for his new
virus-spotting microarray.
(www.wired.com/wired/archive/12.04/rave.html?pg=13)
2004 Apr, The Anti-Phishing
Working Group counted some 1,125 phishing attacks this month. The
scam of duping computer users into revealing private data developed
into a serious threat in the 2nd half of 2003 when banks in
Australia and New Zealand came under attack. Each attack sends an
estimated 50k to 10 million phishing e-mails.
(WSJ, 5/27/04, p.B1)
2004 Apr, Some 64% of all
Internet e-mail was identified as spam. Up from 60% in Jan.
(WSJ, 5/28/04, p.B1)
2004 Apr, Elon Musk, co-founder
of PayPal agreed to invest about $30 million in Tesla Motors, an
electric car venture based in San Carlos, Ca. The firm was founded
by Martin Eberhard and marc Tarpenning, co-founders of the Rocket
e-book firm. In 2006 the Tesla Roadster was assembled by Lotus Cars
in England with an electric motor made in Taiwan.
(SFC, 8/9/06, p.A2)(Econ, 7/29/06, p.73)
2004 Apr, Australian police,
trying to break a large drug syndicate, supplied information that
led to the arrest of the nine Australians on Indonesian resort
island of Bali. The nine were allegedly carrying 11.2 kilograms
(24.7 pounds) of heroin at the time and faced the death penalty on
drugs charges.
(AP, 10/26/05)
2004 Apr, David Blunkett,
British home secretary, launched a plan for a national identity
card.
(Econ, 5/1/04, p.62)
2004 Apr, In Costa Rica some 80
families began staying at the Metropolitan Cathedral, when police
removed them from the Bambuzal plantation, owned by Standard Fruit
Co. in Rio Frio de Sarapiqui, about 30 miles north of the Costa
Rican capital. The families say that the land should be divided
among the landless under laws that require companies to work large
tracts of land in order to keep it. Standard says it is working the
land to produce bamboo.
(AP, 7/19/04)
2004 Apr, Bjorn Lomborg
(b.1965), Danish environmentalist, was named one of the 100 globally
most influential people by Time magazine. In May he organized the
Copenhagen Consensus, a list of priorities to make the world a
better place. In 2006 he authored “Global Crises, Global Solutions.”
(Econ, 6/24/06,
p.38)(www.lomborg.com/biograph.htm)
2004 Apr, India unveiled its
Cold Start program, a new offensive doctrine intended to allow it to
mobilize quickly and undertake limited retaliatory attacks on its
neighbor, without crossing Pakistan's nuclear threshold.
(www.defence.pk/forums/india-defence/11950-indias-cold-start.html)
2004 Apr, Thamir Mubarak
Atrouz, the mastermind behind 2 deadly suicide attacks, August 19
and 29, 2003, was killed in Fallujah. Al-Qaida in Iraq reported his
death in November 2005.
(AP, 11/22/05)
2004 Apr-2005 Mar, Statistics
for this period showed that 18,793 people were murdered in South
Africa, an average of 51 a day in a nation of 47 million.
(AP, 8/26/06)
2004 May 1, Smarty Jones won
the Kentucky Derby and ran his record to 7-for-7, the first unbeaten
Derby winner since Seattle Slew in 1977.
(AP, 5/1/04)
2004 May 1, Shanghai Tobacco,
maker of Panda and other cigarette brands, embarked on a campaign to
extend Panda beyond the political and military elite. WHO statistics
held that China accounts for 30% of the 5.5 trillion cigarettes
consumed daily world-wide.
(WSJ, 5/26/04, p.A1)
2004 May 1, Revelers across
ex-communist eastern Europe celebrated their historic entry to the
European Union. 10 new members (Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia,
Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia)
joined. Malta joined with 70 exemptions to EU rules. Poland had 43
exemptions. Latvia had 32. The Turkish occupied area of Cyprus was
suspended from entry.
(AP, 5/1/04)(Econ, 2/28/04, p.50)(Econ, 4/16/05,
p.16)
2004 May 1, Jean-Jacques
Laffont (57), an award-winning French economist and one of the
leading figures in the study of information theory, died in southern
France. His books included "Incentives in Public Decision Making"
(1979).
(AP, 5/14/04)
2004 May 1, In Iraq US top
commander Lt. Gen. Sanchez notified 6 officers of his intent to
issue a memorandum of reprimand for the abuse of prisoners at the
Abu Ghraib prison.
(SFC, 5/4/04, p.A1)
2004 May 1, In Yanbu, Saudi
Arabia, suspected militants sprayed gunfire inside the offices of
Houston-based ABB Ltd., an oil contractor, killing at least six
people — including two Americans and three other Westerners — and
wounding dozens. Police killed four brothers in a shootout after a
car chase in which the attackers reportedly dragged the naked body
of one victim behind their getaway car.
(AP, 5/1/04)(SFC, 5/3/04, p.A7)(WSJ, 2/25/06,
p.A1)
2004 May 2, In Afghanistan a
fuel-truck explosion killed at least 25 people in western Herat.
(WSJ, 5/3/04, p.A1)
2004 May 2, In Colombia 2 small
bombs exploded outside the Ministry of Social Affairs in Bogota,
injuring nine people and shattering windows.
(AP, 5/2/04)
2004 May 2, American hostage
Thomas Hamill, kidnapped three weeks ago in an insurgent attack on
his convoy, was found by U.S. forces south of Tikrit after he
apparently escaped from his captors.
(AP, 5/2/04)
2004 May 2, Shiite militiamen
attacked a U.S. convoy in southern Iraq, killing two soldiers and
setting vehicles on fire. Two other American soldiers were killed in
Baghdad. At least 9 US soldiers were killed across central and
northern Iraq.
(AP, 5/2/04)(SFC, 5/3/04, p.A1)
2004 May 2, Adzharian forces
blew up the three major bridges connecting their recalcitrant
province with the rest of Georgia in what their leader said was a
preventive measure against Georgian military action.
(AP, 5/2/04)
2004 May 2, In Israel PM
Sharon’s Likud Party rejected his proposal to withdraw troops and
settlers from the West Bank. Palestinian militants attacked an
Israeli vehicle in the Gaza Strip, killing 4 children and their
mother. Israeli soldiers killed the 2 attackers.
(AP, 5/2/04)(SFC, 5/3/04, p.A1)
2004 May 2, In Mexico a small
plane carrying federal anti-narcotics agents crashed, killing all
seven people on board.
(AP, 5/4/04)
2004 May 2-2004 May 4, In
Nigeria Tarok fighters, a predominantly Christian tribe, attacked
Yelwa, a town dominated by Hausa, a rival Muslim ethnic group,
razing homes and mosques and killing 500-600 people in 2 attacks
over the last 3 days.
(AP, 5/6/04)(SFC, 5/7/04, p.A9)
2004 May 2, Martin Torrijos
(40), son of former military dictator Gen’l. Omar Torrijos, was
easily elected as Panama's next leader in its first presidential
vote since the handover of the Panama Canal and withdrawal of US
troops in December 1999. Torrijos promised to tackle vested
interests.
(AP, 5/3/04)(Econ, 1/19/08, p.39)
2004 May 3, The US military
said it had reprimanded seven officers in the abuse of inmates at
Baghdad's notorious Abu Ghraib prison, the first known punishments
in the case; two of the officers were relieved of their duties.
(AP, 5/3/05)
2004 May 3, Marvin Runyon (79),
former postmaster general, died in Nashville, Tenn.
(AP, 5/3/05)
2004 May 3, A NYC court found
financier Frank Quattrone (48) guilty on 3 counts of obstruction of
justice and witness tampering. On Aug 22, 2006, a NY judge approved
a settlement that would allow him to avoid another trial and return
to the securities industry.
(SFC, 5/4/04, p.A1)(Econ, 8/26/06, p.56)
2004 May 3, The fast-spreading
"Sasser" computer worm has infected hundreds of thousands of PCs
globally and the number could soon rise sharply. When a machine is
infected, error messages may appear and the computer may reboot
repeatedly.
(Reuters, 5/3/04)
2004 May 3, A group of British
scientists announced early work on a new procedure that makes teeth
grow from stem cells implanted in the gum.
(AFP, 5/3/04)
2004 May 3, In Bangladesh at
least 5 women were crushed to death and dozens were injured when a
false fire alarm caused about 4,000 workers to rush for the exits of
a garment factory.
(AP, 5/3/04)
2004 May 3, Bulgaria sent 24 of
its soldiers home after they complained about being unprepared for
duty in Iraq.
(AP, 5/3/04)
2004 May 3, Militiamen pounded
a U.S. base in the most intense attacks yet on U.S. troops in the
Shiite city of Najaf. US troops killed 20 Shiite militiamen in
Najaf. Insurgents opened fire in the Baghdad, killing one American
soldier and wounding two others.
(AP, 5/3/04)(WSJ, 5/4/04, p.A1)
2004 May 3, California Gov.
Arnold Schwarzenegger paid a hastily arranged visit to King Abdullah
II of Jordan following criticism from Arab-Americans that his
Mideast trip excluded a meeting with Arabs.
(AP, 5/3/04)
2004 May 3, A car packed with
explosives went off as a bus carried Chinese engineers to a port
project in remote southwestern Pakistan, killing 3 of them and
injuring 11 other people.
(AP, 5/3/04)
2004 May 4, The US Army
disclosed that the deaths of 10 prisoners and abuse of 10 more in
Iraq and Afghanistan were under criminal investigation, as US
commanders in Baghdad announced interrogation changes.
(AP, 5/4/05)
2004 May 4, The United States
walked out of a U.N. meeting to protest its decision minutes later
to give Sudan a third term on the Human Rights Commission.
(AP, 5/4/05)
2004 May 4, William J. Krar
(63) of East Texas was sentenced to 11 years in federal prison for
stockpiling weapons that included a sodium-oxide bomb capable of
killing everyone inside a midsize civic building.
(SFC, 5/5/04, p.A9)
2004 May 4, Oil prices for June
delivery rose to $38.98 a barrel.
(WSJ, 5/5/04, p.A1)
2004 May 4, Some 3,000
firefighters battled wildfires in Southern California.
(SFC, 5/5/04, p.A7)
2004 May 4, In Afghanistan 2
foreign contractors helping the UN prepare for landmark elections
and their Afghan driver were killed in an attack in a remote eastern
province. The bullet-ridden bodies of 10 government soldiers were
found in southern Afghanistan, hours after the men were abducted in
two raids by suspected Taliban militants.
(AP, 5/5/04)
2004 May 4, In Australia 800
delegates of the Country Women's Association of New South Wales
voted to drop the singing of "God Save the Queen" altogether and
only permit renditions of "Advance Australia Fair", the national
anthem.
(AFP, 5/4/04)
2004 May 4, In Bogota Famed
Colombian painter Fernando Botero opened a new exhibition that
graphically depicts the bloodshed of his nation's war and the cruel
crime of kidnapping.
(AP, 5/4/04)
2004 May 4, In Greece 3 bombs
exploded outside a police station near Athens in a series of timed
blasts, causing serious damage just 100 days before the Olympic
Games.
(AP, 5/5/04)
2004 May 4, In Haiti a
provisional council was sworn to oversee fresh elections.
(AP, 5/4/04)
2004 May 4, Shiite militiamen
fired several mortar shells at a U.S. base in Najaf and at a city
hall guarded by Bulgarian troops in another Shiite city. Elsewhere,
four U.S. soldiers died after their Humvee overturned during a
combat patrol.
(AP, 5/4/04)
2004 May 4, Pakistan and China
signed a deal for the construction of a nuclear power plant, the
second such plant to be built in Pakistan with Beijing's help.
(AP, 5/4/04)
2004 May 5, Pres. Bush gave
interviews to 2 Arab-language networks saying he and the American
people were appalled by the revelations of prisoner mistreatment in
Iraq.
(SFC, 5/6/04, p.A1)
2004 May 5, A 1905 painting by
Pablo Picasso titled 'Garcon a la pipe' (Boy with a Pipe) sold for a
record $104 million at Sotheby's in NYC.
(AP, 5/5/04)(WSJ, 5/11/04, p.A18)
2004 May 5, SF police shot and
killed Cammerin Boyd (29), an African-American with prosthetic legs,
following a car chase during which Boyd allegedly shot at police.
Boyd was a suspect in an attempted kidnapping. In 2010 four SF
police officers involved in the case were cleared of all
disciplinary charges.
(SFC, 5/7/04, p.A1)(SFC, 4/27/10, p.C3)
2004 May 5, British-based
SABMiller launched an unsolicited HK$4.3 billion ($550m) bid for
Harbin Brewery, China’s 4th largest brewer.
(Econ, 5/8/04, p.61)
2004 May 5, In central China
shelves stacked high with garlic collapsed and killed 15 workers at
a cold-storage warehouse in Zhenghou.
(AP, 5/6/04)
2004 May 5, Russian foreign
minister Igor Ivanov helped ease Aslan Abashidze out of Adzharia,
Georgia.
(Econ, 5/8/04, p.49)
2004 May 5, Coalition forces
raided buildings used by a militia loyal to a radical Shiite cleric
in two southern cities and clashed with militiamen elsewhere in
fighting that killed 15 Iraqis.
(AP, 5/5/04)
2004 May 5, Israel's state
comptroller said the Housing Ministry has funneled nearly $6.5
million to illegal settlement construction in the West Bank in the
past three years, more than half of it to outposts Israel pledged to
remove.
(AP, 5/5/04)
2004 May 5, Israeli warplanes
fired missiles at a suspected guerrilla hideout in south Lebanon,
shortly after Hezbollah gunners fired on Israeli jets.
(AP, 5/5/04)
2004 May 5, Mexico celebrated
the 142nd anniversary of its victory over French forces.
(AP, 5/6/04)
2004 May 5, Nicaragua said its
army had destroyed 333 surface-to-air missiles at the urging of the
US and that the military planned to destroy another 333 SAM-7s in
late July. More than 2,000 Russian-made SAM-7s, shoulder-fired
missiles capable of taking down a plane, were left over from the
1980s Contra war.
(AP, 5/6/04)
2004 May 6, An estimated 51.1
million people tuned in for the final first-run episode of "Friends"
on NBC.
(AP, 5/6/05)
2004 May 6, Pres. Bush told
King Abdullah II of Jordan that he was sorry for the mistreatment of
Iraqi prisoners by US guards.
(SFC, 5/7/0, p.A1)
2004 May 6, The FBI arrested
Oregon lawyer Brandon Mayfield as part of the investigation into the
Madrid train bombings; however, the bureau later said Mayfield's
arrest had been a mistake, and apologized. In 2006 the US government
agreed to pay Mayfield $2 million to settle a lawsuit.
(AP, 5/6/05)(SFC, 11/30/06, p.A7)
2004 May 6, Lea Fastow, wife of
former Enron finance chief Andrew Fastow, pleaded guilty to a
misdemeanor charge and was sentenced to one year in prison.
(SFC, 5/7/04, p.C3)
2004 May 6, An audio recording
attributed to Osama bin Laden offered rewards in gold for the
killing of top U.S. and U.N. officials in Iraq or of the citizens of
any nation fighting there.
(AP, 5/7/04)
2004 May 6, The Bank of England
raised interest rates a quarter point to 4.25%.
(Econ, 5/8/04, p.53)
2004 May 6, The leader of the
breakaway region of Adzharia fled after street protests, and
Georgia's president flew into the restive province, vowing to pursue
the integration of two other separatist regions.
(AP, 5/6/04)
2004 May 6, A suicide attacker
detonated a car bomb outside the so-called Green Zone that houses
the U.S. headquarters in Baghdad, killing five Iraqi civilians and a
U.S. soldier. U.S. soldiers backed by tanks and armored fighting
vehicles seized control of the governor's office from Shiite
militiamen in the city of Najaf. As many as 41 Iraqis were killed in
Najaf.
(AP, 5/6/04)(SFC, 5/7/04, p.A17)
2004 May 6, A Libyan court
sentenced five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor to death on
charges they intentionally infected some 393 children with the AIDS
virus as part of an experiment to find a cure. 9 Libyan health
workers were acquitted. Under Libyan law, death sentences generate
an automatic 60-day period for appeal.
(AP, 5/6/04)(SSFC, 6/6/04, E3)
2004 May 6, A Mexican court
sentenced eight drug-gang members to 40 years each in prison for
their roles in the 1993 shooting of Cardinal Juan Jesus Posadas
Ocampo and 6 others at a Guadalajara airport.
(AP, 5/7/04)
2004 May 6, In Nigeria
lawmakers in the mostly Islamic Kano state approved a law calling
for Muslims to be whipped and Christians to be jailed if they are
caught drinking alcohol.
(AP, 5/8/04)
2004 May 6, Hundreds of Rwandan
rebels attacked Kingi village in volatile eastern Congo, sparking a
two-hour battle in which at least five Congolese soldiers and
insurgents were killed.
(AP, 5/7/04)
2004 May 7, Donald Rumsfeld, US
Defense Secretary, testified before Congress for 6 hours and
apologized for Iraqi prisoner abuse by US soldiers.
(SFC, 5/8/04, p.A1)
2004 May 7, Army Pvt. 1st Class
Lynndie England, shown in photographs smiling and pointing at naked
Iraqi prisoners, was charged by the military with assaulting the
detainees and conspiring to mistreat them, becoming the seventh
soldier charged in the scandal.
(AP, 5/7/05)
2004 May 7, Raymon Bass (17), a
San Francisco Mission High senior and standout athlete, was shot to
death. Police later arrested Florentino Tobie (19) based on an
account by Cadero Currington, a gang insider, who said the killing
was due to feud with Bass’s cousins. In late 2007 the SF DA dropped
the murder charges against Tobie, because Currington bolted rather
than retake the witness stand.
(SFC, 1/1/08, p.B1)
2004 May 7, In Bangladesh
gunmen opened fire at an opposition rally outside the capital,
killing 4 people including a member of parliament. Ahsanullah
Master, a senior member of Bangladesh's main opposition Awami
League, and a young man were killed when a group of armed men opened
fire on a rally being addressed by the politician. On Apr 16, 2005,
a court sentenced 22 to death for the killings.
(AP, 5/7/04)(Reuters, 4/16/05)
2004 May 7, Chile legalized
divorce despite strong opposition from the Catholic Church.
(AP, 5/8/04)
2004 May 7, German authorities
arrested Sven Jaschen, an 18-year-old high school student, for
creating the "Sasser" network computer worm. Jaschan also
confessed to writing the Netsky virus and was suspected to be
responsible for 70% of the 2004 virus infections. In 2005 Jaschan
was found guilty of computer sabotage and illegally altering data.
He was given a suspended sentence of one year and nine months.
(AP, 5/8/04)(USAT, 5/11/04, p.4B)(SFC, 7/29/04,
p.C3)(AP, 7/8/05)
2004 May 7, In Iraq gunmen
ambushed a Polish TV crew south of Baghdad, killing a producer and a
correspondent who was Poland's best-known war reporter.
(AP, 5/7/04)
2004 May 7, Israeli troops
raided a West Bank village near the town of Tulkarem, surrounding a
house and killing two Palestinian militants.
(AP, 5/7/04)
2004 May 7, Israeli warplanes
struck suspected guerrilla positions in southern Lebanon after
artillery fire killed one Israeli soldier on the border.
(AP, 5/7/04)
2004 May 7, Nepal's prime
minister Surya Bahadur Thapa quit after weeks of protests demanding
the return of democracy in the Himalayan kingdom wracked by
political instability and a Maoist insurgency.
(AP, 5/7/04)
2004 May 7, In Karachi,
Pakistan, a bomb exploded at a Shiite Muslim mosque packed with
worshippers, killing 14 people and wounding more than 200 in a
suspected suicide attack.
(AP, 5/8/04)
2004 May 8, Former Iraq hostage
Thomas Hamill returned home to a chorus of cheering family and
friends in Mississippi.
(AP, 5/8/05)
2004 May 8, In Bangladesh
Ahsanullah Master, a member of the main opposition Awami League, was
killed.
(AP, 5/9/04)
2004 May 8, Gunmen loyal to
radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr rampaged through Basra and
Amarah, attacking British patrols and government buildings.
Witnesses in Basra reported 9 militiamen killed in the fighting. One
child was killed when his house was struck by a projectile.
Attackers in Habhab set off a bomb outside the house of a police
official killing three members of his family and wounding three
others. A pipeline was bombed and slowed the flow of export oil by
as much as 25%.
(AP, 5/8/04)(SFC, 5/11/04, p.A9)
2004 May 9, Alan King,
comedian, died in NYC. King was born in Brooklyn as Irwin Alan
Kniberg. His books included “Is Salami and Eggs Better than Sex?”
(1985).
(SFC, 5/10/04, p.A2)
2004 May 9, The Bangladesh
government put thousands of security forces on the streets of Dhaka
and nearby Tongi as a strike to protest the killing of Ahsanullah
Master, a member of the main opposition Awami League, brought the
country to a standstill.
(AP, 5/9/04)
2004 May 9, Canada rallied to
beat Sweden for the second straight year in the gold-medal game at
the world hockey championships, 5-3.
(AP, 5/9/05)
2004 Mar 9, In Chad 2 days of
fighting broke out as the army battled Islamic militants near a
remote village on the country's western border with Niger, killing
43 "terrorists" of a group suspected of links with al-Qaida. Chad’s
defense minister said hundreds of Arab militiamen from Sudan had
raided a village inside Chad, setting off gun battles with the army
that killed dozens of fighters.
(AP, 3/12/04)(AP, 5/9/04)
2004 May 9, The Chinese
government warned that AIDS is continuing to spread and estimated
that there were some 840,000 carriers of the disease.
(SFC, 5/10/04, p.A3)
2004 May 9, Akhmad Kadyrov
(52), the Kremlin-backed president of Russia's warring Chechnya
region, was killed along with at least 6 others when an explosion
tore through a stadium in Grozny, during Victory Day observances
marking the defeat of the Nazis in World War II. Russian Sergei
Abramov was named acting president.
(AP, 5/10/04)(SFC, 5/10/04, p.A1)(SFC, 5/11/04,
p.A7)
2004 May 9, U.S. and British
troops clashed with forces of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr
for a second day. 4 Iraqis were killed in an explosion in a Baghdad
market. Militants loyal to al-Sadr took over Sadr City.
(AP, 5/9/04)(SFC, 5/10/04, p.A1)(SFC, 5/11/04,
p.A9)
2004 May 9, Polish police in
Lodz mistakenly opened fire with live ammunition to stop a street
fight, killing a 19-year-old man and wounding three others.
(AP, 5/9/04)
2004 May 9, Brenda Fassie (39),
South Africa's first black pop star, who gave a voice to
disenfranchised blacks at the height of apartheid, died of
complications from an asthma attack.
(AP, 5/10/04)
2004 May 10, President Bush
reacted with "deep disgust and disbelief" during a Pentagon visit as
he examined new photos and video clips of American soldiers abusing
Iraqi prisoners.
(AP, 5/10/05)
2004 May 10, Charles Prince,
CEO of Citigroup, said his bank would pay $2.65 billion to settle
class-action litigation accusing it of misleading investors in
WorldCom.
(Econ, 5/15/04, p.73)(AP, 5/10/05)
2004 May 10, Scientists working
with mice reported success in killing fat cells by cutting off their
blood supply.
(WSJ, 5/10/04, p.B1)
2004 May 10, In Bloomington,
Indiana, Brood X of the 17-year Cicadas started emerging from the
ground. Billions and possibly even trillions of cicadas were
expected to emerge across much of the eastern half of the United
States over the next few weeks.
(Reuters, 5/15/04)(Econ, 5/8/04, p.75)
2004 May 10, An asteroid
identified as 2004JG6 was observed inside Earth’s orbit and
traveling around the sun every 184 days.
(SFC, 5/31/04, p.A4)
2004 May 10, In India exit
polls showed PM Vajpayee’s coalition government was far short of a
majority needed to control Parliament.
(SFC, 5/11/04, p.A7)
2004 May 10, A U.S. aircraft
destroyed a Baghdad office of Muqtada al-Sadr. His followers said
two people were killed and six injured. US military said as many as
35 Al-Sadr supporters were killed. Gunmen fired on a vehicle in the
northern oil city of Kirkuk, killing two foreign construction
workers and their Iraqi driver.
(AP, 5/10/04)(SFC, 5/11/04, p.A9)(USAT, 5/11/04,
p.7A)
2004 May 10, In Iraq one
Russian worker was killed and two were taken hostage 18 miles south
of Baghdad.
(AP, 5/11/04)
2004 May 10, A U.N.-backed
tribunal issued an arrest warrant against Indonesia's former
military chief and current presidential candidate Gen. Wiranto for
human rights abuses during the territory's bloody break with Jakarta
in 1999.
(AP, 5/10/04)
2004 May 10, In Matamoros,
Mexico, drug outlaw Alberto Guerrero, his bodyguard and 3 teenage
girls were killed by a spray of bullets outside the Wild West dance
hall. Ex-army commandos turned traffickers, known as Zetas, were
responsible.
(SFC, 6/22/04, p.D3)
2004 May 10, In Philippine
elections voters cast ballots for president, vice president, the
House of Representatives, half of 24 seats in the Senate and about
17,000 municipal posts. Incumbent Gloria Macapagal Arroyo opposed
film star Fernando Poe Jr. Arroyo won a narrow victory over her
movie star rival and her coalition gained a majority in the
legislature.
(AP, 5/10/04)(AP, 5/24/04)(WSJ, 5/25/04, p.A1)
2004 May 10, Saudi oil
ministers called on OPEC to pump more oil.
(SFC, 5/11/04, p.A1)
2004 May 11, The Bush
administration ordered economic sanctions against Syria for
supporting terrorism. Food and medicine were excepted.
(SFC, 5/12/04, p.A3)
2004 May 11, NBA star Kobe
Bryant pleaded not guilty in a Colorado court to a rape charge.
Prosecutors later dropped the case.
(AP, 5/11/05)
2004 May 11, Oil for June
delivery rose to 40.06 per barrel, the highest price in 13 years.
(SFC, 5/12/04, p.A1)
2004 May 11, A video, posted on
an al-Qaida-linked Web site, showed the beheading of Nick Berg, an
American civilian in Iraq. The execution was carried out to
avenge abuses of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison. Abu Musab
al-Zarqawi, aka Ahmad Fadhil al Khalayeh, was later identified as
the beheader. Nick Berg (26) was from West Chester, Pa.
(AP, 5/11/04)(SFC, 5/12/04, p.A1)(SFC, 5/14/04,
p.A13)(ST, 5/14/04, p.A17)
2004 May 11, Taliban guerrillas
killed two Afghan soldiers on a U.S.-funded highway in a troubled
southeastern province where American troops continue to arrest
suspected militants.
(AP, 5/12/04)
2004 May 11, Brazil decided to
expel American journalist Larry Rohter, who had just published a
story on Pres. Lula’s drinking.
(Econ, 5/15/04, p.36)
2004 May 11, The Int’l. Justice
Mission, a US-based evangelical Christian organization, was reported
to be active in battling the child-sex trade in Cambodia. The group,
founded in 1997 by Gary Haugen, was operating with $1.7 million in
federal funds.
(SFC, 5/11/04, p.A1)
2004 May 11, Cuba’s dollar-only
stores “closed for inventory.” Cuba blamed new US measures aimed at
squeezing the island’s economy.
(SFC, 5/12/04, p.A9)
2004 May 11, India's stock
market suffered its deepest plunge in four years due to fears the
government's liberal economic policies might falter if the prime
minister's ruling alliance fails to get a majority in Parliament, as
predicted by exit polls.
(AP, 5/11/04)
2004 May 11, Hamas militants
triumphantly displayed remains of some of the six Israeli soldiers
killed in a roadside bombing in Gaza City, prompting Israeli threats
of punishing reprisals if body parts are not returned. 8
Palestinians were killed and 123 wounded in a battle that pitted
hundreds of gunmen against Israeli troops.
(AP, 5/11/04)
2004 May 11, A bomb in a
crowded market in Kirkuk killed 4 Iraqis and wounded 3.
(WSJ, 5/18/04, p.A3)
2004 May 11, In Nigeria angry
young Muslim men attacked "nonbelievers" with machetes in Kano,
while others burned cars, stores and apartments in apparent revenge
for last week's killings of hundreds of Muslims by a Christian
group.
(AP, 5/11/04)
2004 May 11, In Pakistan Shabaz
Shariff, the brother of deposed PM Nawaz Sharif, was deported to
Saudi Arabia 90 minutes after landing in Lahore.
(SFC, 5/12/04, p.A9)
2004 May 11, In Scotland an
explosion destroyed part of a plastics factory in Glasgow. 7 people
were killed and 44 injured. 2 remained missing.
(AP, 5/11/04)(AP, 5/12/04)
2004 May 12, Members of US
Congress expressed outrage after they were privately shown fresh
pictures and videos of Iraqi prisoners being abused by US troops.
(AP, 5/12/05)
2004 May 12, NBC completed a
merger with the Universal television and entertainment businesses to
create a major media conglomerate.
(AP, 5/12/05)
2004 May 12, A wildlife group
warned that world cod stocks were falling and could be wiped out in
15 years if the current rate of over fishing continues.
(WSJ, 5/13/04, p.A1)
2004 May 12, In Iraq US
soldiers backed by tanks and helicopters battled fighters loyal to a
radical cleric near a mosque in Karbala, hours after Iraqi leaders
agreed on a proposal that would end his standoff. As many as 25
insurgents were killed.
(AP, 5/12/04)
2004 May 12, Israeli troops
launched a massive incursion into a Gaza neighborhood, firing
missiles, demolishing buildings and scouring rooftops, in a bid to
recover the body parts of six soldiers killed the day before by
Palestinian militants. An Israeli helicopter fired a missile in
Gaza's Zeitoun neighborhood, killing at least three Palestinians.
Five Israeli soldiers were killed when Palestinians blew up an
Israeli armored vehicle.
(AP, 5/12/04)(AP, 5/13/04)
2004 May 12, The Paris Club of
creditor nations agreed to cancel all $152 million owed by Niger to
the club's 19 member countries.
(AP, 5/12/04)
2004 May 12, In Nigeria Muslim
mobs in Kano attacked Christians and as many as 30 people were
killed.
(SFC, 5/13/04, p.A10)
2004 May 13, The last episode
of "Frasier" aired on TV following an 11-year run.
(SFC, 5/15/04, p.E3)
2004 May 13, During a campaign
swing in West Virginia, President Bush said he felt "disgraced" by
the images of U.S. soldiers abusing Iraqi prisoners but reminded his
listeners that actions of a handful of Americans should not sully
the nation's military.
(AP, 5/13/05)
2004 May 13, Defense Secretary
Donald H. Rumsfeld visited the Abu Ghraib prison camp in Iraq, where
he insisted the Pentagon did not try to cover up abuses there.
(AP, 5/13/05)
2004 May 13, The SpaceShipOne
rocket climbed to 211,400 feet, becoming the 1st privately funded
vehicle to reach the edge of space.
(ST, 5/14/04, p.A12)
2004 May 13, It was reported
that scientists had recorded as much as a 10% drop in the amount of
sunshine reaching Earth since the 1950s, likely due to atmospheric
pollution.
(SFC, 5/13/04, p.A1)
2004 May 13, Floyd Kalber (79),
TV anchorman, died in Burr Ridge, Ill.
(AP, 5/13/05)
2004 May 13, Colombia's
outlawed right-wing paramilitary groups agreed to move into a
special zone as they negotiate eventual demobilization.
(AP, 5/13/04)
2004 May 13, France and Germany
declared an intention to formulate a joint industrial policy aimed
at creating a framework for mergers and joint ventures.
(Econ, 5/22/04, p.55)
2004 May 13, India's opposition
Congress Party led by Sonia Gandhi (57) captured the most seats in
parliamentary elections, a stunning defeat for PM Atal Bihari
Vajpayee. Congress won 145 of 543 seats.
(AP, 5/12/04)(Econ, 4/4/09, p.45)
2004 May 13, Israeli forces
pulled out of Gaza City after Egyptian intermediaries helped return
body parts of Israeli soldiers. At least 12 Palestinians were killed
as the army left behind a swath of destruction.
(AP, 5/13/04)(SFC, 5/14/04, p.A6)
2004 May 13, Libya agreed to
halt military trade with North Korea, Syria and Iran.
(WSJ, 5/14/04, p.A1)
2004 May 14, The Pentagon
announced that Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, the top US commander in
Iraq, had banned virtually all coercive interrogation practices on
Iraqi prisoners.
(SFC, 5/15/04, p.A1)
2004 May 14, Anna Lee (91),
whose nearly 70-year acting career in movies and television spanned
from her breakthrough role in "How Green Was My Valley" to an
extended run on "General Hospital," died of pneumonia.
(AP, 5/17/04)
2004 May 14, Algerian officials
reported that 13 of the countries 48 provinces were infested with
swarms of desert locusts.
(ST, 5/14/04, p.A1)
2004 May 14, A Brazilian
domestic airliner crashed near the Amazon city of Manaus, killing
all 30 passengers and three crew members.
(AP, 5/15/04)
2004 May 14, Britain's Daily
Mirror newspaper published a front-page apology after photographs
purportedly showing British forces abusing Iraqi prisoners turned
out to be fake.
(AP, 5/14/05)
2004 May 14, In Copenhagen,
Denmark, Australian Mary Donaldson married Danish Crown Prince
Frederik, becoming Crown Princess Mary.
(AP, 5/14/04)
2004 May 14, In Iraq 4 people
were detained in Salaheddin province for the killing of American
Nicholas Berg, whose decapitation was captured on videotape. The
informant who tipped off authorities was killed by unidentified
gunmen the day after the arrests.
(AP, 5/21/04)
2004 May 14, Heavy fighting
raged in the Rafah refugee camp, killing two Israeli soldiers and a
Palestinian man.
(AP, 5/14/04)
2004 May 14, It was reported
that drought in Peru had forced water restrictions in Lima.
(ST, 5/14/04, p.A3)
2004 May 14, Poland's new PM
Marek Belka, who had urged patience for free-market reforms and his
country's mission in Iraq, lost a parliamentary confidence vote.
(AP, 5/14/04)
2004 May 14, In South Korea the
Constitutional Court ruled to dismiss the impeachment case against
Pres. Roh. It agreed that Roh violated election rules when he spoke
in favor of the Uri party at a news conference.
(AP, 5/14/04)(SFC, 5/14/04, p.A5)
2004 May 15, Smarty Jones won
the Preakness by a record 11 1/2 lengths.
(AP, 5/16/04)
2004 May 15, In Golden,
Colorado, a 40-ton steel bridge girder collapsed on I-70 near Golden
and sheered off the top of an SUV killing its 3 passengers.
(SSFC, 5/16/04, p.A2)(AP, 5/15/05)
2004 May 15, William Hinton
(b.1919), American agronomist and author: “Fanshen: A Documentary of
Revolution in a Chinese Village” (1966), died.
(Econ, 5/29/04, p.85)
2004 May 15, Col. Robert Morgan
(85), commander of the famed Memphis Belle B-17 bomber that flew
combat missions over Europe during World War II, died in Asheville,
N.C..
(AP, 5/15/05)
2004 May 15, Suspected
insurgents attacked a coalition combat patrol in southern
Afghanistan, killing one American soldier and wounding two others.
At least 122 U.S. troops have died, 53 killed in action, since the
start of Operation Enduring Freedom in 2001 to topple the Taliban
regime for harboring al-Qaida.
(AP, 5/16/04)
2004 May 15, Yang Shen-sum
(92), a Chinese artist who was a master of the Lingnan school of
painting, died in Hong Kong. He had moved to Canada in 1988 and was
in Hong Kong on a visit.
(AP, 5/16/04)
2004 May 15, In Iraq a U.S.
soldier was killed and another was wounded in a roadside bombing.
The death brought to 776 the number of U.S. service members who have
died since the start of military operations in Iraq last year. Of
those, 566 died from hostile action and 210 died of non-hostile
causes. At least 38 Iraqis were killed over the last 24 hours.
(AP, 5/16/04)(SSFC, 5/16/04, p.A3)
2004 May 15, More than 100,000
Israelis rallied in favor of a pullout from the Gaza Strip.
(AP, 5/15/04)
2004 May 15, In Jordan a
three-day World Economic Forum began. Augusto Lopez-Claros, chief
economist and director of the Global Competitiveness Program in the
World Economic Forum, said "oil will remain a source of instability
in the world, and perhaps in the short-term it is the most
significant factor."
(AP, 5/14/04)(AP, 5/15/04)
2004 May 15, U.S. forces fought
militiamen loyal to radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr in Karbala, while
insurgents in the northern city of Mosul attacked an Iraqi army
recruiting center, killing four people and wounding 19.
(AP, 5/15/04)
2004 May 15, Visiting U.S.
national security adviser Condoleezza Rice and Russian President
Vladimir Putin on Saturday discussed the next steps necessary to
bring stability to Iraq.
(AP, 5/15/04)
2004 May 16, The United States
announced a new initiative to speed up the approval process for new
combination AIDS drugs that was designed to bring cheap, easy-to-use
treatment to millions of people in Africa and the Caribbean.
(AP, 5/16/05)
2004 May 16, Dominican Republic
President Hipolito Mejia sought a second term in an election. Leonel
Fernandez, former Dominican leader (1996-2000), reclaimed the
presidency in a vote that reflected frustration with the nation's
worst economic crisis in decades. A polling-station shooting left 3
people dead.
(AP, 5/16/04)(AP, 5/17/04)(WSJ, 5/17/04, p.A1)
2004 May 16, Gunmen In Baghdad
fired on a minibus, killing two Iraqi women who worked for the
U.S.-led coalition. Assailants in a southern city killed a coalition
translator and critically injured another.
(AP, 5/16/04)
2004 May 16, It was reported
that a Scottish bus firm had begun issuing DNA “spit kits” to help
drivers verify assault charges on passengers spitting at drivers.
(SSFC, 5/16/04, p.A2)
2004 May 16, Pope John Paul II
named six new saints, including Gianna Beretta Molla, revered by
abortion foes because she'd refused to end her pregnancy despite
warnings it could kill her. Beretta Molla, an Italian pediatrician,
died in 1962 at age 39, a week after giving birth to her fourth
child.
(AP, 5/16/05)
2004 May 16, In Uganda rebels
killed 22 civilians during a raid on a Gulu district camp set up for
refugees.
(AP, 5/22/04)
2004 May 17, Transsexuals were
cleared to compete in the Olympics for the first time.
(AP, 5/17/05)
2004 May 17, In Massachusetts
gay couples began exchanging vows, marking the first time a state
has granted gays and lesbians the right to marry and making the
United States one of four countries where homosexuals can legally
wed.
(AP, 5/17/04)
2004 May 17, Tony Randall (84),
actor who served as a fussy foil for Rock Hudson and Doris Day,
David Letterman and Johnny Carson and, most famously, Jack Klugman
on "The Odd Couple," died in NYC.
(AP, 5/18/04)
2004 May 17, June Taylor (86),
Emmy-winning television choreographer died in Miami.
(AP, 5/17/05)
2004 May 17, China and
Kazakhstan agreed to build a 744-mile crude oil pipeline to send an
initial 10 million tons of Kazakh oil to Xinjiang by 2006.
(WSJ, 6/17/04, p.A16)
2004 May 17, Cuba’s dollar-only
stores were ordered to mark up their prices 10-30% for staples.
(AP, 5/21/04)
2004 May 17, In northern
Honduras authorities said a short-circuit caused a fire that killed
103 inmates before dawn. Survivors of the fire claimed that the
inferno was intentionally set by fellow inmates. The prison at San
Pedro Sula, designed for 800, was crammed with 2,200.
(AP, 5/18/04)(SFC, 5/18/04, p.A8)(Econ, 5/22/04,
p.31)
2004 May 17, India's stock
market took the biggest one-day plunge in its 129-year history as
investors panicked over how communist parties would influence the
new government. An investigation followed into the alleged murky
dealings by a dozen foreign firms.
(AP, 5/17/04)(Econ, 5/28/05, p.76)
2004 May 17, The US military in
Iraq reported that a roadside bomb containing deadly sarin nerve
agent had exploded a few days earlier near a U.S. military convoy.
(AP, 5/17/04)
2004 May 17, Abdel-Zahraa
Othman, also known as Izzadine Saleem, the head of the Iraqi
Governing Council, was killed in a suicide car bombing near a
checkpoint outside the coalition headquarters in central Baghdad. 8
others were also killed.
(AP, 5/17/04)(WSJ, 5/18/04, p.A3)
2004 May 17, Myanmar held a
constitutional convention.
(WSJ, 5/17/04, p.A1)
2004 May 17, Two Russian
workers held hostage in Iraq for a week were freed.
(AP, 5/17/04)
2004 May 18, Randy Johnson (40)
pitched a perfect game to lead the Arizona Diamondbacks to a 2-0
victory over the Atlanta Braves.
(SFC, 5/19/04, p.D1)
2004 May 18, Pres. Bush
formally nominate Alan Greenspan for a 5th 4-year term as chairman
of the Federal Reserve.
(SFC, 5/19/04, p.C1)
2004 May 18, Former NYC fire
commissioner Thomas Von Essen and former police chief Bernard Kerik
came under harsh criticism from some members of the Sept. 11
commission.
(AP, 5/18/05)
2004 May 18, SF Supervisors
learned that the Civil Service Commission had cut their salaries to
$90,000 from $112,000 following a survey of other state
municipalities.
(SFC, 5/19/04, p.B4)
2004 May 18, Kubi, SF Zoo’s
29-year-old gorilla, died, 11 days following his May 7 surgery to
remove a diseased lung.
(SFC, 5/19/04, p.A1)
2004 May 18, In SF Chris
Johnson (26) was killed in the Safeway parking lot at Geary and
Fillmore just after attending a funeral for his nephew, Raymon Bass
(17), who had been killed as part of a gang feud in the Western
Addition. In 2008 Kevin Carradine Jr. (24) was convicted of
first-degree murder for Johnson’s murder and sentenced for 77 years
to life.
(SFC, 2/27/08, p.B4)(SFC, 5/30/08, p.B3)
2004 May 18, Elvin Ray Jones
(76), renowned jazz drummer and member of John Coltrane's quartet
who also played alongside Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker and Miles
Davis, died in new Jersey.
(AP, 5/19/04)
2004 May 18, In Afghanistan
U.S. forces killed 3 Taliban commanders and arrested five more
members of the hardline militia.
(AP, 5/21/04)
2004 May 18, Australia and the
US signed a bilateral free trade agreement.
(WSJ, 5/19/04, p.A16)
2004 May 18, An Azerbaijani
cargo plane crashed in a forest after taking off from an airport in
China's northwest, killing its seven-member crew.
(AP, 5/18/04)
2004 May 18, Chechen rebels
ambushed 2 military vehicles killing 8 Russian soldiers and
4-pro-Moscow police officers.
(WSJ, 5/19/04, p.A1)
2004 May 18, An explosion and a
fire at two coal mines in northern China killed at least 22 workers
and trapped 25.
(AP, 5/19/04)
2004 May 18, Colombia, Ecuador
and Peru opened negotiations in Cartagena for a free trade accord
with the United States as anti-riot police clashed with protesters
who say the pact would lead to job losses in the South American
nations.
(AP, 5/18/04)
2004 May 18, Colombian troops
near La Salina seized 800 bullets soaked in liquid cyanide after
clashes with FARC rebels left 2 guerrillas dead.
(AP, 5/20/04)
2004 May 18, In France Myriam
Delay, an unemployed mother, stunned a courtroom in the northern
French town of Outreau saying she lied in accusing the 13 people of
pedophilia, one of whom committed suicide behind bars. A week later
she again reversed her testimony: "I was there and I saw
everything... We ruined children's lives.” 10 of 17 defendants were
convicted in July. 6 of the 10 convicted were acquitted in 2005.
(AP, 5/20/04)(AP, 5/25/04)(AP, 12/01/05)
2004 May 18, Sonia Gandhi
announced she would "humbly decline" to be the next prime minister
of India. Manmohan Singh (71), a respected Oxford-educated
economist, was reported to be Gandhi's choice to become PM.
(AP, 5/18/04)
2004 May 18, Before dawn U.S.
troops killed nine fighters loyal to al-Sadr in Karbala. Ten Iraqi
fighters were wounded in the clashes near the city's Imam Hussein
and Imam Abbas shrines. At least five Iraqi insurgents were killed
during clashes in Karbala later in the day.
(AP, 5/18/04)
2004 May 18, Israeli troops
under Operation Rainbow combed the Rafah refugee camp for weapons
and gunmen in the biggest Gaza offensive in years. Twenty
Palestinians were killed, including two teenagers shot as they
gathered laundry.
(AP, 5/18/04)(SFC, 5/18/04, p.A3)(SFC, 5/25/04,
p.A5)
2004 May 18, Nigeria's Pres.
Obasanjo declared a state of emergency in a troubled central state
on, invoking sweeping powers in a bid to halt religious and ethnic
bloodletting. Obasanjo sacked Gov. Joshua Dariye and dissolved the
legislature in the central state of Plateau.
(AP, 5/18/04)
2004 May 18, Brian Stewart
(34), a suspected member of an outlawed anti-Catholic gang, was shot
dead in Belfast. Police said a likely motive was feuding between
paramilitary extremists over control of rackets and criminal
profits.
(AP, 5/18/04)
2004 May 18, A powerful typhoon
slammed into the Philippines, causing at least 19 deaths on eastern
islands in the archipelago.
(AP, 5/19/04)
2004 May 18, In Uzbekistan
Andrei Shelkavenko (36) died in police custody from apparent
torture. Human Rights Watch said this was the fifth death from
torture in Uzbek police custody since May 2003. Shelkavenko had been
arrested 3 weeks earlier on suspicion of murder.
(AP, 5/21/04)
2004 May 19, Specialist Jeremy
C. Sivits wept and apologized after receiving a year in prison and a
bad conduct discharge in the first court-martial stemming from abuse
of Iraqis at the Abu Ghraib prison.
(AP, 5/19/05)
2004 May 19, Jack Eckerd (91),
founder of the Eckerd drug store chain, died in Florida.
(WSJ, 5/20/04, p.A1)
2004 May 19, Melvin J. Lasky
(84), an American writer and editor who shaped opinions against
communism in Cold War Europe, died at his home in Berlin.
(AP, 5/27/04)
2004 May 19, In Afghanistan
clashes left at least 4 Taliban dead.
(WSJ, 5/20/04, p.A1)
2004 May 19, Britain opened the
world’s 1st stem cell bank.
(WSJ, 5/20/04, p.A1)
2004 May 19, The European Union
lifted its 6-year-old ban on biotech products by approving imports
of an insect-resistant strain of sweet corn for human consumption.
(AP, 5/19/04)
2004 May 19, Sonia Gandhi
announced that her Congress party had elected economist Manmohan
Singh (71) as the next prime minister of India.
(AP, 5/19/04)
2004 May 19, US Army Spc.
Jeremy C. Sivits received the maximum penalty, one year in prison,
reduction in rank and a bad conduct discharge, in the first
court-martial stemming from mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners at the
Abu Ghraib prison.
(AP, 5/19/04)
2004 May 19, In Iraq US bombing
killed up to 45 people, mostly women and children from the Bou Fahad
tribe, at Mogr el-Deeb near the Syrian border. Witnesses said the
site was a wedding celebration while US officials called it a way
station for infiltrators.
(AP, 5/20/04)(SFC, 5/20/04, p.A1)
2004 May 19, Israeli forces
fired a missile and a tank shell into a large crowd of Palestinians
demonstrating against the invasion of a neighboring refugee camp,
witnesses said. At least 10 Palestinians were killed, all children
and teenagers.
(AP, 5/19/04)
2004 May 19, Ivory Coast's
president fired 3 rebel and opposition ministers from a national
unity government, including the leader of insurgents holding the
northern half of the country.
(AP, 5/20/04)
2004 May 19, A cyclone that
swept through western Myanmar and left more than 140 people dead or
missing, and about 18,000 people homeless.
(AP, 5/28/04)
2004 May 19, In the Philippines
Typhoon Nida left 31 people dead.
(SFC, 5/21/04, p.B10)
2004 May 19, A Moscow court
sentenced Mikhail Trepashkin, a former intelligence agent, to 4
years in prison, on a charge of revealing state secrets. The charge
was related to Trepashkin’s investigations of 4 bombings in
apartments across Russia in 1999 that were blamed on Chechen
separatists.
(SFC, 5/20/04, p.A10)
2004 May 19, Antonina
Presnyakova, Russian Ebola researcher, died following an accidental
needle stick containing the deadly virus. She worked at the Vektor
State Research Center of Virology and Biotechnology outside
Novosibirsk in central Siberia.
(AP, 5/25/04)
2004 May 20, President Bush
made a rare visit to Capitol Hill, where he sought to ease
Republican lawmakers' concerns over the Iraq campaign.
(AP, 5/20/05)
2004 May 20, Detroit Zoo
officials said they will stop exhibiting elephants on ethical
grounds because elephants can develop arthritis and stress-related
ailments in captivity.
(Reuters, 5/20/04)
2004 May 20, In Afghanistan 3
suspected militants were killed and 23 people detained after 4 U.S.
soldiers were shot and wounded during raids against militia forces
in Tani district. Residents claimed a case of mistaken identities.
(AP, 5/21/04)
2004 May 20, In Colombia 3
bombs exploded in 2 parts of Medellin, killing at least four people
and wounding 15. A wave of attacks marked the 40th anniversary of
FARC.
(AP, 5/21/04)(AP, 5/22/04)
2004 May 20, Iraqi police
backed by American soldiers raided the home and offices of Ahmad
Chalabi, a prominent Iraqi politician.
(AP, 5/20/04)
2004 May 20, Taketo Hatakeyama
(41), a member of Japan’s Sumiyoshi Kai crime group, killed himself
as police stormed his apartment building in Utsunomiya. This
followed a 2-day standoff. A woman was found dead inside.
(AP, 5/20/04)
2004 May 20, Voters in Malawi,
one of the world's poorest nations, flocked to the polls for their
third multiparty elections in a decade. Bingu wa Mutharika, Pres.
Muluzi’s handpicked successor, was declared the winner. The ruling
party lost its parliamentary majority.
(AP, 5/20/04)(SFC, 5/24/04, p.A3)
2004 May 20, Palestinian
uprising leader Marwan Barghouti, widely seen as a potential
successor to Yasser Arafat, was convicted of ordering shootings that
killed four Israelis and a Greek monk and supplying funds and arms
for other attacks. Israeli troops pressed their offensive in a Gaza
Strip refugee camp for a third day, killing 8 Palestinians, most of
them armed, and demolishing several buildings. In the West Bank, 3
Palestinians were killed by army fire.
(AP, 5/20/04)
2004 May 20, Four suspected
Saudi militants and a policeman were killed in a shootout the Saudi
city of Buraida.
(Reuters, 5/21/04)
2004 May 20, In Uganda rebels
raided the northern village of Gulu, hacking and burning to death at
least 25 people, including eight children.
(AP, 5/22/04)
2004 May 21, Nearly 100,000
unionized SBC Communications Inc. workers began a four-day strike to
protest the local-phone giant's latest contract offer.
(AP, 5/21/04)
2004 May 21, In northeastern
Bangladesh a bomb exploded during noon prayers at a Muslim shrine,
killing two Bangladeshi men and wounding about 100 people.
(AP, 5/22/04)
2004 May 20, The UN Security
Council approved a peacekeeping force of 5,600 troops for Burundi to
help the African nation finally end a 10-year civil war.
(AP, 5/21/05)
2004 May 21, The European Union
confirmed its backing for Russia to join the World Trade
Organization, and Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow in
turn would speed up ratification of the troubled Kyoto accord on
global warming.
(AP, 5/21/04)
2004 May 21, In Iraq American
AC-130 gunships and tanks bombarded militia positions near two
shrines in the holy city of Karbala, killing 18 fighters loyal to a
rebel cleric.
(AP, 5/21/04)
2004 May 21, Israeli troops
pulled back from two neighborhoods in the Rafah refugee camp.
(AP, 5/21/04)
2004 May 20, Japanese automaker
Mitsubishi Motors Corp., struggling to survive, announced it would
cut 11,000 jobs.
(AP, 5/21/05)
2004 May 21, African finance
ministers began a two-day meeting in Uganda to discuss how their
governments can do more to reduce trade imbalances with rich
nations.
(AP, 5/21/04)
2004 May 22, Filmmaker Michael
Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11," a scathing indictment of White House
actions after the Sept. 11 attacks, won the top prize at the Cannes
Film Festival. It was the first documentary to win Cannes'
prestigious Palme d'Or since Jacques Cousteau's and Louis Malle's
"The Silent World" in 1956.
(AP, 5/23/04)
2004 May 22, Samuel Johnson
(76), who'd built the family's SC Johnson wax company into a
consumer products giant, died.
(AP, 5/22/05)
2004 May 22, An Arab League
summit met for a 2-day session in Tunis. 8 Arab leaders, including
Crown Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, failed to show up and Libyan
leader Moammar Gadhafi walked out on the 1st day.
(AP, 5/23/04)
2004 May 22, The Commonwealth
of Britain and its former colonies lifted a four-year suspension of
Pakistan.
(AP, 5/22/04)
2004 May 22, A bomb planted by
suspected rebels exploded in a crowded discotheque in northwest
Colombia, killing at least six people and wounding 82.
(AP, 5/23/04)
2004 May 22, In Baghdad a car
bomb exploded outside the home of a deputy interior minister,
wounding him and killing at least five people, including four
police.
(AP, 5/22/04)
2004 May 22, Bombs exploded
outside three banks in Jiutepec, central Mexico, heavily damaging
them but causing no injuries. A note near the bombing sites signed
by a group calling itself the Comando Jaramillista Morelense 23 de
Mayo — in tribute to the peasant leader Ruben Jaramillo, who was
murdered along with his family by state forces on May 23, 1962.
(AP, 5/23/04)
2004 May 22, A 3-year-old
Palestinian girl was shot and killed in the Rafah refugee camp on
the fifth day of Israeli searches and house demolitions. A suicide
bomber blew himself at an Israeli army checkpoint in the West Bank,
wounding five people.
(AP, 5/22/04)
2004 May 22, North Korea agreed
to release the family members of Japanese citizens kidnapped by
Northern agents, and Japan pledged aid to the impoverished country
at a summit between the two nations' leaders.
(AP, 5/22/04)
2004 May 22, Spain's Crown
Prince Felipe married former TV anchorwoman Letizia Ortiz, the first
commoner in line to be queen in Spanish history.
(AP, 5/22/04)
2004 May 22, Voters in Sierra
Leone choose local councils for the first time in 30 years.
(AP, 5/23/04)
2004 May 22, The ship car
carrier MV Hyundai, carrying 4,000 cars, sank after colliding with
the oil tanker MT Kaminesan just south of Singapore.
(AP, 5/23/04)
2004 May 22, Arab militiamen
killed at least 56 people in a raid in western Sudan, just days
after the government declared the troubled region was stable.
(AP, 5/24/04)
2004 May 23, Seattle’s new $165
million downtown Central Library, designed by Rem Koolhaas,
officially opened.
(SFC, 5/21/04, p.W1)(WSJ, 1/13/05, p.D8)
2004 May 23, In eastern
Bangladesh 2 river ferries carrying about 250 passengers capsized
during a storm, and dozens of people were feared dead. The death
toll climbed to 74.
(AP, 5/24/04)(WSJ, 5/24/04, p.A1)(AP, 5/25/04)
2004 May 23, Rod Hall (53),
British literary agent, was found dead in his London home. An
autopsy revealed the cause of death to be multiple stab wounds to
the chest and abdomen. On May 29 Usman Durrani, 20, a student from
east London, was charged with the murder.
(AP, 5/30/04)
2004 May 23, In France a
section of the futuristic, cylindrical passenger terminal at Paris'
Charles de Gaulle airport collapsed, killing 4 people and injuring
three.
(AP, 5/23/05)
2004 May 23, In Germany Horst
Koehler, a former head of the IMF and advocate of bolder economic
reforms, was elected as the country's 9th postwar president.
(AP, 5/23/04)(Econ, 5/22/04, p.47)
2004 May 23, In India's portion
of Kashmir suspected Islamic militants blew up a military bus,
killing at least 33 soldiers and relatives, and wounding 15.
(AP, 5/23/04)(SFC, 5/24/04, p.A7)
2004 May 23, It was reported
that Iraq faces an estimated $120 billion debt including over $21
billion creditors of the Paris Club.
(SSFC, 5/23/04, p.A1)
2004 May 23, In Iraq US troops
battled fighters loyal to a radical Muslim cleric in his stronghold
of Kufa, and at least 32 insurgents and three civilians were killed.
Gunmen killed a police captain and a university student who were
headed by car to Baghdad from Baqouba. Insurants loyal to al-Sadr
gave up control of central Karbala.
(AP, 5/23/04)(SFC, 5/24/04, p.A1)
2004 May 23, A car explosion
rocked the West Bank city of Nablus, killing at least 2 people.
Israeli military denied responsibility.
(AP, 5/23/04)
2004 May 23, In Tunisia Arab
leaders concluded a 2-day summit and committed their countries to
political reforms.
(SFC, 5/24/04, p.A7)
2004 May 24, Pres. Bush offered
a 5 step plan in Iraq: 1) hand over authority to a sovereign Iraqi
government; 2) Help establish security; 3) Continue rebuilding the
infrastructure; 4) Encourage more int’l. support; 5) Move toward a
national election.
(SFC, 5/25/04, p.A1)
2004 May 24, In a rare public
apology, the FBI admitted mistakenly linking an American lawyer's
fingerprint to one found near the scene of a terrorist bombing in
Spain.
(AP, 5/24/05)
2004 May 24, NY Attorney
General Eliot Spitzer sued the NY Stock Exchange, former exchange
chairman Dick Grasso and an executive who headed its compensation
committee. Spitzer wanted Grasso to return $100 million of the $200
million plus that the NY Exchange gave or promised to Grasso.
(WSJ, 5/25/04, p.A1)
2004 May 24, It was reported
that Alcoa planned to build a $1 billion aluminum smelter on the
island of Trinidad and another in Iceland.
(WSJ, 5/24/04, p.A1)
2004 May 24, Brooke Wilberger
(19) vanished from an apartment in Corvallis, Ore. In 2009 Joel
Courtney (43) pleaded guilty to her murder and revealed the location
of her remains. He was sentenced to life in prison.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brooke_Wilberger)(SFC, 9/22/09, p.A5)
2004 May 24, A fire in London
hit an art storage warehouse and is believed to have destroyed works
by some 100 contemporary Young British artists (YBAs) worth millions
of dollars, including part of a collection owned by former
advertising guru Charles Saatchi.
(AP, 5/26/04)(Econ, 5/29/04, p.58)
2004 May 24, Heavy rains left
as many as 2000 people dead across the island of Hispaniola. Health
officials feared up to 1,000 people could be dead in the Haitian
town of Mopau. Floods wiped out villages across Haiti and the
Dominican Republic. The final toll was over 3,300 dead.
(AP, 5/27/04)(SFC, 5/28/04, p.A3)(AP,
6/5/04)
2004 May 24, In Iraq an
explosion destroyed a civilian car with armor plating near an
entrance to the headquarters of the U.S.-led coalition, killing four
people including two British civilians. An Associated Press survey
found that more than 5,500 Iraqis died violently in just Baghdad and
three provinces in the first 12 months of the occupation.
(AP, 5/24/04)
2004 May 24, In Liberia an
American citizen working with a U.S. military assessment team was
killed in his hotel room in the capital Monrovia.
(AP, 5/26/04)
2004 May 24, In Malawi
opposition supporters rioted as Bingu wa Mutharika was sworn in as
president.
(WSJ, 5/25/04, p.A1)
2004 May 24, The WHO confirmed
an outbreak of the deadly ebola virus has killed four people in
south Sudan.
(AFP, 5/24/04)
2004 May 25, Phish, a popular
jam band, announced that they would be breaking up following a final
summer tour. Trey Anastasio, band leader, made the announcement on
www.phish.com.
(SFC, 5/27/04, p.AE3)
2004 May 25, Catholic church
officials said the Archdiocese of Boston would close 65 of 357
parishes due to declining attendance and increased financial
problems.
(SFC, 5/26/04, p.A5)(AP, 5/25/05)
2004 May 25, David Dellinger,
peace activist and one of the 1968 “Chicago Seven” defendants, died
in Vermont.
(SFC, 5/27/04, p.B7)
2004 May 25, Publisher Roger W.
Straus Jr. died in New York at age 87.
(AP, 5/25/05)
2004 May 25, U.S. warplanes
helped Afghan forces pound Taliban militants in the mountains of
southern Afghanistan, killing some 20 suspected insurgents at a
recently discovered camp.
(AP, 5/26/04)
2004 May 25, In Ethiopia heads
of state and government from at least 8 African countries attended a
ceremony to inaugurate the new Peace and Security council (PSC) at
the African Union's headquarters in Addis Ababa.
(AP, 5/25/04)
2004 May 25, A sacred shrines
in Najaf suffered minor damage during clashes between U.S. forces
and radical Shiite militiamen that killed at least 13 Iraqis, some
of them civilians.
(AP, 5/25/04)
2004 May 25, In Iraq with U.S.
Marines gone and central government authority virtually nonexistent,
Fallujah resembles an Islamic mini-state and anyone caught selling
alcohol is flogged and paraded in the city.
(AP, 5/25/04)
2004 May 25, Israeli troops
abruptly left the Rafah refugee camp without completing a sweep for
arms smuggling tunnels. The weeklong offensive left 45 Palestinians
killed by Israeli fire, including at least 17 gunmen and 12 children
under 16.
(AP, 5/25/04)
2004 May 25, Officials in
southern Pakistan reported that 9 people have died and 1,600 have
been sickened after drinking contaminated water from a
state-operated reservoir.
(AP, 5/25/04)
2004 May 25, In Pakistan a
powerful gas explosion in a coal mine killed 15 miners near Sajibit,
the capital of Baluchistan province.
(AP, 5/26/04)
2004 May 25, Sudanese officials
said the government has reached an agreement with rebels on issues
that have stalled talks to end the 21-year-old war, clearing the way
for a comprehensive peace deal. The talks in Naivasha, 60 miles west
of Nairobi, do not involve insurgents fighting a 15-month rebellion
in the Darfur region of western Sudan.
(AP, 5/25/04)
2004 May 26, Fantasia Barrino
was crowned the latest American Idol in the Fox network's talent
contest.
(AP, 5/26/05)
2004 May 26, The US government
planned to set a limit on how much salt American should consume to
2,300 mg a day.
(WSJ, 5/26/04, p.A1)
2004 May 26, The FBI issued an
alert warning of a possible major terrorist attack in the US this
summer. Photos of 7 suspects were released.
(SFC, 5/26/04, p.A1)(SFC, 5/27/04, p.A1)
2004 May 26, A District court
jury in McAlester, Oklahoma, convicted Terry Nichols of 161 counts
of 1st degree murder in the 1995 Oklahoma City federal building
bombing. Nichols later received 161 consecutive life sentences.
(SFC, 5/27/04, p.A3)(AP, 5/26/05)
2004 May 26, It was reported
that a new study showed that aspirin might help reduce women’s
chances of developing the most common form of breast cancer.
(WSJ, 5/26/04, p.A1)
2004 May 26, Argentina said it
is imposing a 20% tax on natural gas exports. Chile, which imports
90% of Argentina’s gas, would be hard hit.
(WSJ, 5/27/04, p.A18)
2004 May 26, Amnesty
International charged that Brazilian police killed hundreds of
suspects over the past year, despite a commitment by the government
to set higher standards for public security.
(AP, 5/26/04)
2004 May 26, African and Latin
American leaders meeting in China urged rich countries to fight
terrorism by sharing wealth, not through military intervention.
(AP, 5/26/04)
2004 May 26, The U.N. mission
in Democratic Republic of Congo is widening an investigation into
allegations peacekeepers sexually abused minors in the northeastern
town of Bunia.
(AP, 5/26/04)
2004 May 26, U.S. troops
captured a key lieutenant of radical Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr
during overnight clashes in Najaf that killed 24 people and wounded
nearly 50.
(AP, 5/26/04)
2004 May 26, In Iraq masked
gunmen attacked Russian technicians heading to work at a major
electric power station, killing two of them. In Moscow, the firm's
executive director, Alexander Rybinsky, announced the full
evacuation of company personnel from Iraq. Some 241 employees are
expected to start leaving.
(AP, 5/26/04)
2004 May 26, In Pakistan 2 cars
exploded minutes apart outside an English-language school near the
U.S. consul's residence in Karachi, killing a policeman and wounding
25 other people.
(AP, 5/26/04)
2004 May 26, In Russia Pres.
Putin gave his state-of–the-union address and called for an
expansion of the oil export capacity.
(WSJ, 5/27/04, p.A1)
2004 May 26, Sudanese VP Ali
Osman Taha and John Garang, SPLA southern rebel leader, signed
protocols to pave the way for a comprehensive deal.
(AP, 5/27/04)(Econ, 5/29/04, p.14)
2004 May 26, The U.N. Security
Council called for the immediate deployment of international
monitors to Sudan's western Darfur region and put new pressure on
the country's government to end a conflict there.
(AP, 5/26/04)
2004 May 27, In Baltimore 3
children were found dead. One was beheaded with a butcher knife and
the others were nearly decapitated. Adan Espinoza Canela, 17, and
Policarpio Espinoza, 22, were arrested on murder charges the next
day.
(AP, 5/29/04)
2004 May 27, Australia's
conservative government introduced legislation to ban same-sex
marriages and wants immigration rules to stop gays and lesbians from
adopting foreign children. The government has also announced that
same-sex partners will be recognized for the first time by federal
authorities as dependents.
(AP, 5/27/04)
2004 May 27, In Australia
British-born Jack Roche changed his plea from innocent to guilty,
acknowledging his role in an al-Qaida plot to blow up the Israeli
Embassy in Canberra. On June 1 Roche was sentenced to 9 years in
prison.
(AP, 5/28/04)(AP, 6/1/04)
2004 May 27, London police
arrested Abu Hamza al-Masri, a radical Muslim cleric suspected of
helping the deadly 2000 suicide attack on the USS Cole. The US
sought his extradition on terrorism charges. He was accused of
trying to build a terrorist training camp in Oregon.
(AP, 5/27/04)(WSJ, 5/28/04, p.A1)
2004 May 27, Cuba and Mexico
agreed to return their respective ambassadors following a dispute
earlier this month.
(WSJ, 5/28/04, p.A1)
2004 May 27, In Egypt 5 people
were burned to death and 14 others injured when a gas canister,
carried by a passenger, blew up on a commuter bus in Cairo.
(AFP, 5/28/04)
2004 May 27, The U.S.-led
coalition agreed to suspend offensive operations in Najaf after
local leaders struck a deal with radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr to
end a bloody standoff.
(AP, 5/27/04)(SFC, 5/28/04, p.A1)
2004 May 27, In Iraq gunmen
south of Baghdad attacked a car carrying Japanese journalists
Shinsuke Hashida (61) and his nephew, Kotaro Ogawa (33). The vehicle
burst into flames and both were killed.
(AP, 5/28/04)
2004 May 27, Umberto Agnelli
(69), Fiat Chairman, died in Turin.
(SFC, 5/29/04, p.B6)y
2004 May 27, Lebanese soldiers
opened fire on anti-government demonstrators, killing 5 and wounding
at least seven. Demonstrators set fire to the Labor Ministry.
(AP, 5/27/04)(WSJ, 5/28/04, p.A1)
2004 May 27, The Nigerian state
of Kano abandoned its moratorium on polio vaccinations.
(SFC, 5/28/04, p.A3)
2004 May 27, Relief workers
were racing against the clock to keep hundreds of thousands of
people from dying in Sudan's western Darfur region, in what has
become the biggest humanitarian crisis of "our age."
(AP, 5/27/04)
2004 May 27, Vito Bigione (52),
one of Italy's most-wanted Mafia suspects, was captured in
Venezuela. He was accused of a key role in international drug
trafficking and flown back to Italy. Bigione had spent years living
in Namibia and only recently moved to Venezuela.
(AP, 5/29/04)
2004 May 28, US officials and 5
Central American countries (Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala,
Honduras and Nicaragua) signed a free trade pact (CAFTA), to be
later approved by Congress. The Dominican Republic would be included
later.
(SFC, 5/29/04, p.A4)
2004 May 28, International
Clown Hall of Fame in downtown Milwaukee posthumously inducted the
late Vance "Pinto" Colvig as the first Bozo. Capitol Records
executive Alan Livingston created Bozo for recordings in 1946. For
years, promoter and entertainer Larry Harmon claimed to have both
created the character and said he was the original.
(AP, 5/28/04)
2004 May 28, In Colombia Carlos
Mauricio Garcia, also known as "Rodrigo" or "Double Zero," was shot
in the head five times by assassins as he left a Santa Marta
supermarket. The former right-wing paramilitary leader objected to
the militia's involvement in drug trafficking.
(AP, 5/30/04)
2004 May 28, French engineers
brought the two central ends of the Millau road viaduct in southwest
France together, completing the span of the highest bridge in the
world. The bridge spans the valley of the Tarn river to carry a
motorway from Clermont-Ferrand to Beziers and establishing a major
north-south axis parallel to the Rhone valley. The $378 million
bridge is expected to open Jan 2005.
(AFP, 5/29/04)(Econ, 1/1/05, p.71)
2004 May 28, An earthquake
damaged homes in northern Iran. The toll from a 6.2 earthquake
reached 36 dead with 250 people injured.
(AP, 5/28/04)(AP, 5/30/04)
2004 May 28, The Iraqi
Governing Council nominated one of its own members, Iyad Allawi, a
Shiite Muslim physician who spent years in exile, to become prime
minister of the new government to take power June 30.
(AP, 5/28/04)
2004 May 28, The Tokyo High
Court sentenced Yoshihiro Inoue (34), a former doomsday cult member,
to death for a 1995 nerve gas attack on Tokyo's subways, overturning
a lower court ruling condemning him to life in prison.
(AP, 5/28/04)
2004 May 28, Malaysia issued a
detention order for Buhary Syed Abu Tahir, a Sri Lankan businessman,
on charges that in 2002 he brought 7 Libyan technicians to Malaysia
to be trained to operate machines to produce centrifuge parts for
Libya’s nuclear weapons program. Tahir was a key associate of Abdul
Qadeer Khan, former head of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons program.
(WSJ, 6/4/04, p.A10)
2004 May 28, In Montenegro
gunmen shot dead Dusko Jovanovic, the editor of a conservative
daily. PM Djukanovic had sued Jovanovic and the Dan daily for
stories linking the premier to a major human trafficking case. A
court hearing was to begin next month. Damir Mandic was tried and
acquitted in 2006 but that ruling was overturned after an appeal,
and a retrial was held. In 2009 the Montenegro Higher Court ruled
that karate expert Damir Mandic was guilty of the "well-planned and
premeditated" murder of editor Dusko Jovanovic.
(AP, 5/28/04)(AP, 4/28/09)
2004 May 28, In Saudi Arabia
suspected Islamic militants sprayed gunfire inside two oil industry
compounds on the Persian Gulf, killing at least 10 people including
one American.
(AP, 5/29/04)(SSFC, 5/30/04, p.A1)
2004 May 28, The Sudanese
government and rebels from Darfur agreed that the first
international observers of a fragile ceasefire would deploy there
next week. Villagers in west Sudan said Sudanese aircraft bombed
their village and killed at least 11 people.
(AP, 5/28/04)(Reuters, 5/29/04)
2004 May 29, A new WW II
memorial was dedicated on the National Mall in Washington DC.
(SFC, 5/28/04, p.A1)
2004 May 29, Archibald Cox
(92), fired by Pres. Nixon for his efforts in the Watergate
investigation, died in Maine.
(AP, 5/30/04)
2004 May 29, Samuel Dash (79),
chief Senate counsel during the Watergate hearings, died in
Washington DC.
(SSFC, 5/30/04, p.B7)
2004 May 29, In southern
Afghanistan 4 members of the American special forces were killed in
action in Zabul province, a stronghold of Taliban militants.
(AP, 5/29/04)
2004 May 29, Taliban guerrillas
riding in a fleet of vehicles shot up a government office in
southern Afghanistan, killing four Afghan soldiers.
(AP, 5/30/04)
2004 May 29, In Brazil Inmates
rioted at the Benfica detention center in a northern Rio district,
seizing guns and taking guards hostage after 14 inmates broke out in
a mass escape.
(AP, 5/29/04)
2004 May 29, Unidentified
gunmen shot and killed a U.N. military observer in eastern Congo and
a second was reported missing. About 10,800 U.N. troops are deployed
in Congo, monitoring the peace deal and helping the government
regain control of the country. Elections are scheduled for June
2005.
(AP, 5/29/04)
2004 May 29, In Iran the
Gov. Masoud Emami of Qazvin province was killed along with 7 others
when their helicopter crashed while surveying earthquake damage.
(SSFC, 5/30/04, p.A14)
2004 May 29, A Palestinian
gunman killed an Israeli officer after opening fire on Israeli
troops conducting a routine raid in the West Bank Balata refugee
camp. An Israeli man was stabbed in the back by a Palestinian in
Jerusalem's Old City.
(AP, 5/29/04)
2004 May 29, In Saudi Arabia
gunmen shot down security guards and entered 2 office complexes in
Khobar searching for and murdering anyone looking western.
(Econ, 6/5/04, p.41)
2004 May 30, Buddy Rice won the
Indianapolis 500 in the rain.
(AP, 5/30/05)
2004 May 30, In Hawaii lava
from the Kilauea eruption, which began Jan. 3, 1983, reached the
ocean for the first time in nearly a year on May 30.
(AP, 6/12/04)
2004 May 30, Australians have
been warned they face an environmental crisis unless they stop
squandering scarce water resources in the world's most arid
inhabited continent.
(AFP, 5/30/04)
2004 May 30, In southwest China
a landslide triggered by torrential rains buried a village in
Guizhou province, killing 8 people.
(AP, 6/1/04)
2004 May 30, Ousted Haitian
President Jean-Bertrand Aristide left Jamaica for South Africa,
saying it would be his "temporary home" until he could return to
Haiti.
(AP, 5/30/05)
2004 May 30, An Israeli air
strike killed Wael Nassar (38), a top Hamas commander, along with
his assistant and a bystander in Gaza City.
(SSFC, 5/30/04, p.A9)
2004 May 30, In Pakistan gunmen
killed Mufti Nizamuddin Shamzai, a senior pro-Taliban cleric,
sparking riots across Karachi city by thousands of his Sunni Muslim
supporters who ransacked shops, banks and a police station.
(AP, 5/30/04)
2004 May 30, Saudi commandos
stormed the expatriate resort of Khobar to free up to 60 foreign
hostages seized by Islamic militant gunmen who had attacked oil
industry compounds, killing 22 people. Americans were among those
killed and taken captive. 3 suspects escaped.
(AP, 5/31/04)(WSJ, 6/1/04, p.A1)
2004 May 31, Powerful storms
again swept across the US Midwest and beyond, knocking out power to
thousands of customers and spawning tornadoes that leveled
buildings. At least 9 deaths were blamed on the storms during the
Memorial Day weekend.
(AP, 5/31/04)
2004 May 31, In Austria a
catamaran filled 27 people overturned on Hinterbruehl Grotto,
Europe's largest underground lake, drowning 5 people after the
boat's railings formed a cage 5 feet down on the lake floor.
(AP, 5/31/04)
2004 May 31, Newbridge Capital,
an American private equity firm, became the 1st foreign financial to
gain control of a Chinese bank with an 18% stake in Shenzhen
Development Bank and majority control of the board.
(Econ, 6/5/04, p.70)
2004 May 31, U.S. troops
clashed with Shiite militiamen in the holy city of Kufa for a second
day in fighting that killed two Americans. In Baghdad, a car bomb
exploded near the headquarters of the U.S. coalition, killing at
least two people and injuring more than 20.
(AP, 5/31/04)
2004 May 31, Felipe Calderon,
Mexico's energy secretary resigned, a day after President Vicente
Fox criticized him for an early jump into the 2006 presidential
races.
(AP, 5/31/04)
2004 May 31, Nigeria’s
President Olusegun Obasanjo said that his country's
30-billion-dollar external debt was "burdensome, unsustainable and
unpayable" and appealed for leniency from its creditors.
(AP, 5/31/04)
2004 May 31, In Pakistan 20-25
people were killed in Karachi in an apparent suicide bombing at a
crowded Shiite Muslim mosque.
(AP, 6/1/04)(WSJ, 8/19/04, p.A11)
2004 May 31, Ousted Haitian
President Jean-Bertrand Aristide and his family received a
first-class diplomatic welcome from South Africa, his new home in
exile.
(AP, 5/31/04)
2004 May, Brian Knutson,
professor of neuroscience at Stanford Univ., used an fMRI imaging
machine to study brain patterns and found that the same neural
networks in the brain responded to orgasm, cocaine and stock
trading. He also found that these networks can and often do override
the frontal cortex, our seat of reason.
(SSFC, 2/5/06, p.J4)
2004 May, Michael Franti, SF
musician, traveled to Iraq and shot video that led to his 2006 book
and film titled “I Know I’m Not Alone.”
(SFC, 9/7/06, p.E4)
2004 May, In High Point, North
Carolina, police presented nine suspected drug dealers with
community members, who confronted them on the harm they were causing
as well as incriminating evidence of their activities. The suspects
were offered a chance to stop dealing, which most accepted. Over 2
years later crime was down 25% in the area. The program was the
brain-child of Prof. David Kennedy of New York’s John Jay College of
Criminal Justice.
(WSJ, 9/27/06, p.A1)
2004 May, Bolivian public
sector unions and many workers began a general strike to force the
resignation of Pres. Carlos Mesa due to spending cuts and new taxes.
(Econ, 5/8/04, p.37)
2004 May, The EU and the USA
reached a deal regarding US security interests and the transfer of
passenger data from European airlines. The deal was challenged by
civil liberty groups. In 2006 a court upheld that the agreement
lacked an adequate legal basis.
(Econ, 6/3/06, p.47)
2004 May, A Japanese consulate
worker in Shanghai committed suicide. Japanese newspapers later
reported the official took his life because Chinese officials were
pressuring him for secret information, using a "woman problem" as
leverage. China accused Japan of deliberately smearing China's
international image.
(AP, 1/1/06)
2004 May, An reporter in
Sardinia reported that PM Berlusconi was transforming a grotto into
a secret boat tunnel at his Villa Certosa property and questioned
whether legal permits had been obtained. The next day the Interior
Ministry claimed that all matters relating to the villa were to be
protected under a state secrecy law.
(WSJ, 11/15/04, p.A1)
2004 May, In Macao the Las
Vegas Sands Casino opened with 360 gambling tables. The casino
quickly expanded and by 2007 was the largest under one roof in the
world.
(Econ, 1/27/07, p.66)
2004 May, In Niger a law came
into force that threatened slave-owners with up to 30 years in jail.
Anti-Slavery Int’l. estimated 43,000 slaves in Niger.
(Econ, 3/12/05, p.49)
2004 May, Andrei Kozlov (41),
the top deputy chairman of Russia's Central Bank, yanked the license
of Sodbiznesbank, a midsize Moscow bank, for money laundering.
(WSJ, 9/22/06, p.A6)
2004 May, Singapore introduced
its first batch of 10-dollar plastic notes. In 2005 two-dollar
polymer notes were scheduled to be issued January 12, 2006.
(AP, 12/22/05)
2004 Jun 1, The US Dept. of
Homeland Security awarded a contract, valued as much as a $10
billion, to a group of companies led by a unit of Accenture Ltd., a
Bermuda-based business consultancy.
(WSJ, 6/2/04, p.A1)
2004 Jun 1, A US federal judge
declared the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act unconstitutional, saying
the measure infringed on women's right to choose.
(AP, 6/1/05)
2004 Jun 1, In New Jersey a new
ruling took effect that barred reduced nightclub cover charges and
cocktail tabs for women due to a discrimination suit filed 6 years
earlier.
(SFC, 6/18/04, p.W2)
2004 Jun 1, Anheuser-Busch
offered HK$5.58 per share for China’s Harbin Brewery Group Ltd. 2
days later SABMiller withdrew its HK$4.30 offer.
(WSJ, 6/4/04, p.A3)
2004 Jun 1, William Manchester
(82), historian and biographer, died in Middletown, Conn. His work
included “The Arms of Krupp” (1958) and “The Death of a President”
(1967), an account of the Kennedy assassination.
(SFC, 6/2/04, B7)
2004 Jun 1, In eastern
Afghanistan a bomb planted under the chair of a city police chief
exploded, killing him and wounding two government officials.
(AP, 6/1/04)
2004 Jun 1, In eastern Bolivia
army soldiers fought peasants blocking a highway in a clash that
killed one soldier and one civilian.
(AP, 6/2/04)
2004 Jun 1, In Brazil police
entered the Benfica prison after a three-day rebellion and found the
bodies of 38 inmates, some of them mutilated. At least 14 of 900 had
escaped.
(AP, 6/2/04)
2004 Jun 1, In northeast
Brazilian state of Alagoas 2 days of heavy rains killed 20 people
and left some 2,100 homeless.
(AP, 6/2/04)
2004 Jun 1, Congolese soldiers
battled troops loyal to Brig. Gen. Laurent Nkunda, a renegade
commander in eastern Congo, breaking a shaky cease-fire.
(AP, 6/1/04)
2004 Jun 1, Ecuador's Finance
Minister Mauricio Pozo resigned, leaving struggling President Lucio
Gutierrez to find a replacement to lead an economic policy approved
by international lenders but unpopular at home.
(AP, 6/1/04)
2004 Jun 1, Ecuador hosted the
Miss Universe pageant. Jennifer Hawkins, a 20-year-old, blue-eyed
Australian, was named Miss Universe 2004.
(AP, 6/2/04)
2004 Jun 1, Michel Dansel,
French intellectual, held a mock funeral ceremony for the verb. His
new 233-page book, “Le Train de Nulle Part” (The Train to Nowhere),
was written without verbs.
(WSJ, 7/16/04, p.A1)
2004 Jun 1, In Haiti US
commanders began turning over authority to a UN force under Gen.
Augusto Pereira of Brazil.
(SFC, 6/2/04, A1)
2004 Jun 1, Ghazi Mashal Ajil
al-Yawer, a tribal chief, was named interim president of Iraq.
(AP, 6/1/04)
2004 Jun 1, In Iraq bombs
exploded in central Baghdad and near a U.S. military base in the
northern city of Beiji. At least 14 people were killed.
(AP, 6/1/04)(SFC, 6/2/04, A13)
2004 Jun 1, Leonid Parfyonov, a
leading Russian television news anchor, was dismissed and the his
show, "Namedni (Recently)," shut down after the program tried to
broadcast an interview with the widow of a slain Chechen separatist
leader.
(AP, 6/2/04)
2004 Jun 1, In Turkey Kurdish
rebels, Kongra-Gel, announced a resumption of battle saying the
government had not met their terms.
(Econ, 9/4/04, p.51)
2004 Jun 2, South Dakotans
elected Democrat Stephanie Herseth to Rep. Janklow’s seat.
(WSJ, 6/3/04, p.A1)
2004 Jun 2, U.S. and Afghan
troops backed by American warplanes fought Taliban militants in the
mountains of southern Afghanistan, killing 17 insurgents and
arresting eight. In northwestern Afghanistan 3 foreign medical
workers associated with Doctors Without Borders and 2 Afghans were
killed when their car was ambushed.
(AP, 6/3/04)(SFC, 6/3/04, A10)(SFC, 6/5/04, A8)
2004 Jun 2, In eastern Algeria
insurgents ambushed an Algerian military convoy night, killing at
least 10 soldiers and wounding 45 others.
(AP, 6/2/04)
2004 Jun 2, The Azerbaijani
Fuel and Energy Minister said that $3.4 billion would be invested by
2006 in the first phase of development of the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli
oil field.
(AP, 6/2/04)
2004 Jun 2, In Congo DRC forces
loyal to renegade Congolese Tutsi commander Brig- Gen. Laurent
Nkunda, captured Bukavo, a key eastern border city from government
troops.
(AP, 6/2/04)(Econ, 6/5/04, p.46)
2004 Jun 2, Militants loyal to
Muqtada al-Sadr clashed with U.S. forces near a mosque in Kufa and
in Baghdad. Officials said 6 Iraqis were killed and 40 others
wounded.
(AP, 6/2/04)
2004 Jun 2, In Nepal King
Gyanendra named Sher Bahadur Deuba, a former prime minister fired
two years ago for alleged incompetence, as prime minister again amid
political turmoil.
(AP, 6/2/04)
2004 Jun 2, Romania’s Pres. Ion
Iliescu unveiled the new Logan sedan, a joint venture between
Renault and Romania’s Dacia. Starting prices were around $6,100. In
2007 nearly 80,000 Logans were sold in western Europe.
(SFC, 6/3/04, C5)(Econ, 5/31/08, SR p.7)
2004 Jun 2, Saudi security
forces killed two suspected militants linked to a weekend shooting
and hostage-taking.
(AP, 6/2/04)
2004 Jun 2, In southeast Turkey
Kurdish guerrillas fired on troops a day after announcing an end to
a 5-year cease fire.
(WSJ, 6/3/04, p.A1)
2004 Jun 3, Julio Franco
became, at age 45, the oldest player in major league history to hit
a grand slam, connecting in Atlanta's 8-to-4 victory over
Philadelphia.
(AP, 6/3/05)
2004 Jun 3, Pres. Bush said CIA
Director George Tenet, has resigned for personal reasons. Tenet
announced his resignation amid a controversy over intelligence
lapses about suspected weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and the
Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
(AP, 6/3/05)
2004 Jun 3, The United States
signed an agreement to give Egypt $300 million to compensate it for
"regional unrest" stemming from last year's war in Iraq.
(AP, 6/4/04)
2004 Jun 3, FBI Director Robert
Mueller proposed the creation of an intelligence service within the
FBI with clear authority over all FBI activities.
(SFC, 6/4/04, A5)
2004 Jun 3, Former Pres.
Clinton opened a book tour for his 957-page memoir “My Life” to be
published on June 22.
(SFC, 6/4/04, A2)
2004 Jun 3, In Congo U.N.
troops opened fire on rioters, killing two, as a mob broke into
their base and tens of thousands of protesters overran the capital
city of Kinshasa. Demonstrations swept the country over fighting in
its volatile east.
(AP, 6/3/04)
2004 Jun 3, Germany’s Goethe
Center opened a reading room in Pyongyang, North Korea.
(www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,1207346,00.html)
2004 Jun 3, Several mortar
shells were fired at the Italian Embassy in Baghdad, causing some
Iraqi deaths.
(AP, 6/3/04)
2004 Jun 3, In Beirut, Lebanon,
OPEC leaders agreed to raise their output ceiling by 2.5 million
barrels a day.
(WSJ, 6/4/04, p.A2)
2004 Jun 3, In Pakistan police
and Shiite Muslim protesters clashed the northern city of Gilgit,
killing one man. Investigators named an al-Qaida-linked militant
group as their chief suspect in the suicide bombing of a Shiite
mosque in Karachi that triggered mass rioting.
(AP, 6/3/04)
2004 Jun 3, Nam Cam (Truong Van
Cam, 57), an alleged Vietnamese crime "godfather," and four of his
gangster colleagues were executed by firing squad after being
convicted in a major crackdown on crime that is said to have reached
into the ruling Communist Party.
(AP, 6/3/04)
2004 Jun 4, Pres. Bush
nominated John Danforth, former Republican senator from Missouri, to
be US ambassador to the UN.
(SFC, 6/5/04, A3)
2004 Jun 4, Pope John Paul II
met with President Bush and reminded him of the Vatican's opposition
to the war in Iraq.
(AP, 6/4/04)
2004 Jan 2, Independence Air,
formerly known as Atlantic Coast Airlines, began operations at
Dulles Airport. The DC based carrier shut down Jan 5, 2006.
(SFC, 1/3/06, p.E1)
2004 Jun 4, In Granby, Colo.,
Marvin Heemeyer, a muffler shop owner, tore through town in a plated
bulldozer in anger over a zoning dispute, before shooting himself
dead.
(SFC, 6/5/04, A3)
2004 Jun 4, In southern
Afghanistan U.S. troops and warplanes attacked Taliban rebels
besieging a remote checkpoint. Eight militants were killed.
(AP, 6/5/04)
2004 Jun 4, In Brazil President
Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva designated four new national forests to
protect more than a million acres of rainforest.
(AP, 6/4/04)
2004 Jun 4, In Colombia
Francisco Galan, jailed leader of the ELN, was granted a 1-day
parole to address the Senate. He denounced the problem of landmines
and called for an end to the country’s violence.
(Econ, 6/12/04, p.36)
2004 Jun 4, In Hong Kong tens
of thousands of residents rallied on the 15th anniversary of the
bloody Tiananmen Square crackdown.
(AP, 6/5/04)
2004 Jun 4, American and Shiite
militia forces agreed to withdraw from the holy cities of Najaf and
Kufa and turn over security to Iraqi police. 5 Americans were killed
and 5 wounded in 3 clashes in Sadr City. US combat deaths reached
601.
(AP, 6/4/04)(SFC, 6/5/04, A1)
2004 Jun 4, The two Koreas
agreed, after an all-night negotiating session, to try to ease
tensions by, among other things, ending blaring propaganda efforts
on their border.
(AP, 6/4/04)
2004 Jun 4, Nigerian troops
killed 17 armed bandits in oil-rich Delta state, as military
operations intensified to disarm criminals engaged in oil theft and
piracy in the Niger delta.
(Reuters, 6/5/04)
2004 Jun 4, In central Russia a
bomb hidden behind a kiosk exploded in a crowded market in Samara.
10 people were killed and 37 wounding.
(AP, 6/5/04)
2004 Jun 4-2004 Jun 6, The
Shangri-La Dialogue, a regional security conference, was held in
Singapore. It was organized by the London-based Int’l. Institute for
Strategic Studies.
(Econ, 6/12/04, p.37)
2004 Jun 5, Smarty Jones lost
to Birdstone (36-to-1) at the 136th running at Belmont Park.
(SSFC, 6/6/04, C1)
2004 Jun 5, The U.S.S. Jimmy
Carter, the most advanced nuclear submarine in the U.S. Navy, was
christened at a shipyard in Groton, Conn., in the presence of the
former president and his wife, Rosalynn, who cracked a bottle of
champagne against the sail.
(AP, 6/5/05)
2004 Jun 5, Ronald Reagan
(b.1911), 40th US president (1981-1989), died in California after a
long twilight struggle with Alzheimer's disease. In 2005 Paul Lettow
authored “Ronald Reagan and His Quest to Abolish Nuclear Weapons.”
It focused on what Reagan said and did. John Ehrman authored “The
Eighties: America in the Age of Reagan,” in which he sees Reagan as
the embodiment of the conservative movement. In 2006 Richard Reeves
authored “President Reagan: The Triumph of Imagination.”
(AP, 6/6/04)(SSFC, 3/27/05, p.E3)(Econ, 2/4/06,
p.75)
2004 Jun 5, The European
Investment Bank (EIB) granted a loan of 100 million euros (122
million dollars) to Egypt's state-run natural gas holding company
(EGAS) to finance pipeline construction in Jordan.
(AFP, 6/6/04)
2004 Jun 5, France's first gay
marriage was performed in the southwest city of Bordeaux. On July 27
it was officially declared void by a court but the two homosexual
men involved immediately said they would appeal the ruling.
(AP, 7/27/04)
2004 Jun 5, French engineering
giant Alstom said a consortium it was leading had signed an
88-million-euro ($107 mil) contract for work on three railway lines
in the suburbs of Algiers.
(AP, 6/6/04)
2004 Jun 5, Iranian officials
said police had killed at least 58 drug smugglers and confiscated
more than 50 tons of narcotics in the past two months.
(AP, 6/5/04)
2004 Jun 5, In Iraq a roadside
bomb killed an American soldier and wounded 3 others in the 2nd
fatal attack on U.S. troops in Baghdad in as many days. Iraq's new
leader called for a halt to attacks on foreign troops.
(AP, 6/5/04)
2004 Jun 5, In Iraq 8 people
stormed into a police station south of Baghdad, opened fire and
killed seven officers before planting explosives to destroy the
building.
(AP, 6/6/04)
2004 Jun 5, Japan's legislature
adopted a bill designed to save the country's troubled pension
system following an all-night debate marred by brawls and a walkout
by opposition parties. The bill raised pension fund premiums from
13.58% of pay to 18.3% by 2017.
(AP, 6/5/04)(Econ, 7/16/05, p.36)
2004 Jun 5, In Venezuela tens
of thousands of opposition supporters marched through Caracas to
celebrate a recent announcement by election authorities that
President Hugo Chavez likely will face a recall referendum on his
rule.
(AP, 6/6/04)
2004 Jun 6, In the 58th annual
Tony Awards “Avenue Q” won for best Broadway musical. "I Am My Own
Wife" was named best play; Phylicia Rashad, who starred in a revival
of "A Raisin in the Sun," became the first black actress to win a
Tony for a leading dramatic role.
(SFC, 6/7/04, D1)(AP, 6/6/05)
2004 Jun 6, World leaders,
including President Bush and French President Jacques Chirac put
aside their differences to commemorate the D-Day invasion that broke
Nazi Germany's grip on continental Europe.
(AP, 6/6/05)
2004 Jun 6, In eastern Congo
insurgents ambushed a U.N. convoy, killing two South African
peacekeepers and wounding nine others in continuing.
(AP, 6/6/04)
2004 Jun 6, A car bomb exploded
near the gate to a U.S.-run base north of Baghdad, killing six
people and injuring 20 others. Assailants ambushed a convoy of
security contractors traveling to Baghdad's airport, killing 2
Americans and 2 Poles working for a U.S. security company. The US
military free 320 prisoners at Abu Ghraib leaving some 3,100.
Attacks over the last 24 hours killed at least 21 people.
(AP, 6/6/04)(SFC, 6/7/04, A10)
2004 Jun 6, Ariel Sharon’s
cabinet declared its intent to remove 21 Jewish settlements in the
Gaza strip plus 4 in the West Bank. An Israeli court sentenced
Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti to 5 consecutive life terms and
40 years for his role in attacks that killed 4 Israelis and a Greek
monk.
(AP, 6/6/04)(Econ, 6/12/04, p.45)
2004 Jun 6, In Saudi Arabia
Simon Chambers (36), an Irish cameraman working for the BBC, was
killed in a shooting in Riyadh. A BBC correspondent was injured.
(SFC, 6/7/04, A8)
2004 Jun 7, In Hockey’s Stanley
Cup Tampa Bay defeated the Calgary Flames in game 7.
(WSJ, 6/8/04, p.A1)
2004 Jun 7, The US Supreme
court ordered US highways to be opened to long-haul Mexican trucks,
rejecting objections by labor and environmental groups.
(SFC, 6/8/04, A1)
2004 Jun 7, In Ecuador Indians
blocked the Pan American Highway. They demanded the resignation of
Pres. Gutierrez as he hosted an OAS meeting.
(WSJ, 6/8/04, p.A1)
2004 Jun 7, In eastern India a
boat crowded mainly with women and children capsized in a river,
with at least 40 people feared dead.
(AP, 6/7/04)
2004 Jun 7, In Iraq 9 militias
agreed to disband in exchange for veteran’s pensions, jobs and other
rewards. The Mahdi Army of al-Sadr was not included.
(SFC, 6/8/04, A6)
2004 Jun 7, Pilots at Royal Air
Maroc, Morocco's national carrier, have decided to end their strike,
which began May 26 in response to the firing of 6 colleagues.
(AFP, 6/7/04)
2004 Jun 7, Russian President
Vladimir Putin flew to Mexico for talks with his Pres. Fox, who has
said he hoped to increase military cooperation with Moscow. Putin,
the 1st Russian head-of-state to visit Mexico, said the two major
oil producing nations should share knowledge on oil exploration and
the energy sector.
(AP, 6/7/04)
2004 Jun 7, US and South Korean
officials announced plans to withdraw a third of 37,000 US troops
from South Korea by the end of next year.
(AP, 6/7/04)
2004 Jun 8, John Ashcroft, US
Attorney General, told Congress he would not release a 2002 policy
memo on the degree of pain and suffering legally permitted during
enemy interrogations.
(SFC, 6/9/04, A1)
2004 Jun 8, U.S.-led troops
backed by jet fighters and helicopters killed 21 Taliban militants,
after rebels attacked a convoy in the mountains of southern
Afghanistan.
(AP, 6/9/04)
2004 Jun 8, Britain planned to
give an extra 15 million pounds (27 million dollars) in relief aid
to Sudan's crisis-hit Darfur region.
(AFP, 6/8/04)
2004 Jun 8, In Ecuador foreign
ministers from around the Americas declared war on the deeply
ingrained corruption in the region at the end of a two-day meeting
in Quito.
(AP, 6/9/04)
2004 Jun 8, In Gabon a small
airliner crashed after takeoff from Libreville. At least 14 of 30
people aboard were killed.
(WSJ, 6/9/04, p.A1)
2004 Jun 8, Two volcanoes in
separate parts of Indonesia shot forth plumes of smoke and showers
of stones, killing two hikers and forcing the evacuation of 5,000
villagers.
(AP, 6/8/04)
2004 Jun 8, Iraqi officials
declared that the interim government has assumed full control of the
country's oil industry.
(AP, 6/8/04)
2004 Jun 8, In Iraq 3 Italians
and a Polish contractor who'd been abducted were freed by US special
forces.
(AP, 6/8/05)
2004 Jun 8, In Iraq 2 car bombs
exploded in Mosul and Baquoba, killing at least 14 Iraqis and one
U.S. soldier. 6 coalition soldiers, two Poles, three Slovaks and a
Latvian, were killed in an explosion while defusing mines in
Suwayrah.
(AP, 6/8/04)
2004 Jun 8, In Saudi Arabia an
American citizen who worked for a US defense contractor was shot and
killed in Riyadh.
(AP, 6/8/04)
2004 Jun 8, In Venezuela,
elections officials said President Hugo Chavez must face a recall
vote on Aug 15. Should Chavez lose a recall before Aug. 19, the
completion of the fourth year of his six-year term, presidential
elections would be held within a month. After Aug 19, Chavez's vice
president, Jose Vicente Rangel, would serve out the remainder of
Chavez's term.
(AP, 6/9/04)
2004 Jun 8, The Zimbabwe
government announced that all farmland will be nationalized and
private land ownership abolished. Title deeds of farm properties
will be scrapped and replaced by 99-year leases with rent payable to
the government.
(AP, 6/8/04)
2004 Jun 8, Venus made a rare
transit across face of the sun.
(AP, 6/9/04)
2004 Jun 8, The UN voted 15-0
to accept a US and British resolution to end the formal
co-occupation of Iraq on June 30.
(SFC, 6/9/04, A1)
2004 Jun 9, A new scoring
system for figure skating was approved after the Olympic pairs
scandal forced the sport's governing body to make radical changes.
(AP, 6/9/05)
2004 Jun 9-2004 Jun 10, The
body of Ronald Reagan was laid in state in the Washington DC Capitol
Rotunda. Thousands viewed the flag-draped casket of the 40th
president prior to his burial in California.
(SFC, 6/10/04, A15)(AP, 6/9/05)
2004 Jun 9, G-8 Summit leaders
at Sea Island Resort near Savannah, Georgia, called for Middle East
reform and a broader role for NATO in Iraq.
(WSJ, 6/11/04, p.A7)
2004 Jun 9, The Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) agreed to a record $1.75 million
settlement with Clear Channel to resolve indecency complaints
against Howard Stern and other radio personalities.
(AP, 6/9/05)
2004 Jun 9, An Afghan commander
said that Afghan and U.S. forces killed more than 70 Taliban rebels
in a seven-day operation in a mountainous southern district,
including at least 20 militants who died in a single clash.
(AP, 6/9/04)
2004 Jun 9, In Bangladesh a
six-story apartment building collapsed in Dhaka, killing at least 11
people and trapping about 25 inside.
(AP, 6/9/04)
2004 Jun 9, A Chinese state
newspaper said 1 baby died and 20 were hospitalized with severe
malnutrition in eastern China after drinking low-quality milk
powder, two months after a nationwide crackdown on fake infant
formula.
(AP, 6/9/04)
2004 Jun 9, In eastern Congo
Government forces regained control of Bukavu without a fight as
rebel forces fled.
(AP, 6/9/04)
2004 Jun 9, Human Rights Watch
said as many as one-third of the workers in El Salvador's sugarcane
fields are under the age of 18, urging companies to boycott
Salvadoran sugar.
(AP, 6/9/04)
2004 Jun 9, Kurdish parties
warned that they might bolt Iraq's new government if Shiites gain
too much power. Saboteurs blew up an oil pipeline, forcing a 10
percent cut in electricity output.
(AP, 6/9/04)
2004 Jun 9, In Fallujah a
mortar attack killed 12 members of the Iraqi security force.
(WSJ, 6/10/04, p.A1)
2004 Jun 9, In Nigeria unions
representing millions of workers launched a general strike over fuel
price hikes.
(AP, 6/9/04)
2004 Jun 9, In Nigeria
Christians battled Muslims in Abuja, burning homes and places of
worship in a dispute over construction of a mosque near a Christian
tribal leader's palace. Police confirmed nine deaths and witnesses
put the toll at more than 50.
(AP, 6/10/04)
2004 Jun 9, At least 20
militants were killed in a gunbattle with the Pakistani army in a
tense border region where hundreds of al-Qaida militants are
suspected to be hiding.
(AP, 6/10/04)
2004 Jun 9, State-run Turkish
TV aired its 1st ever broadcast in the Kurdish dialect of Kurmandji.
Hours later Leyla Zana and 3 colleagues were released after spending
10 years in jail for belonging to the PKK rebel group.
(Econ, 6/12/04, p.50)
2004 Jun 10, A G-8 summit at
Sea Island Resort near Savannah, Georgia, ended without an agreement
on Iraq. The group agreed to extend through 2006 the Heavily
Indebted Poor Countries Initiative.
(WSJ, 6/11/04, p.A7)
2004 Jun 10, Ray Charles
(b.1930), rhythm ‘n’ blues piano player and singer best known for
"Hit the Road Jack" and "Georgia on My Mind," died in Beverly Hills.
(USAT, 6/11/04, p.1A)
2004 Jun 10, In northern
Afghanistan gunmen stormed a camp of sleeping Chinese road workers
in Kunduz province, killing at least 11.
(AP, 6/10/04)(WSJ, 6/10/04, p.A1)
2004 Jun 10, Europeans began
casting ballots across 25 member nations of the expanded European
Union for a new European Parliament.
(Econ, 6/19/04, p.49)
2004 Jun 10, German researchers
reported that a border collie named Rico understands more than 200
words and can learn new ones as quickly as many children.
(AP, 6/10/04)
2004 Jun 10, In Indonesia Mount
Awu on Sangihe Island erupted. Nearly 12,000 people living around
the mountain had been evacuated to a nearby town.
(AP, 6/10/04)
2004 Jun 10, In Iraq Shiite
gunmen seized a police station in Najaf. 4 Iraqis were killed and 13
were injured.
(AP, 6/10/04)
2004 Jun 10, In Pakistan gunmen
opened fire on a motorcade carrying the top military official in
Karachi, killing 11 men including 8 soldiers. The general was
unhurt.
(AP, 6/10/04)(WSJ, 8/19/04, p.A11)
2004 Jun 10, In Thailand hooded
assailants with assault rifles slashed the throat of a night guard
outside a government school in the Muslim south and seized weapons
from other security personnel who were inside.
(AP, 6/11/04)
2004 Jun 11, Pres. Reagan’s
formal funeral was held in Simi, Ca.
(USAT, 6/11/04, p.1A)
2004 Jun 11, Terry Nichols
escaped execution as the District court jury in McAlester, Oklahoma,
deadlocked in the penalty phase of his trial. He was convicted May
26 on 161 counts of 1st degree murder in the 1995 Oklahoma City
federal building bombing.
(WSJ, 6/14/04, p.A1)
2004 Jun 11, The Cassini
spacecraft flew within 1,285 miles of Phoebe, one of the outer moons
of Saturn.
(SSFC, 6/13/04, A11)
2004 Jun 11, A new audiotape,
was broadcast on the Arab satellite station Al-Arabiya alleges that
a U.S. plan for reform in the Middle East is really a bid to replace
Arab leaders. It was believed to be from al-Qaida No. 2 Ayman
al-Zawahri.
(AP, 6/12/04)
2004 Jun 11, Congo's government
said its security forces had put down an attempted coup by
dissidents in President Joseph Kabila's personal guard.
(AP, 6/11/04)
2004 Jun 11, Two crowded boats
collided on a lake straddling the Congo-Rwanda border on and one of
them capsized, with some 80 people believed trapped aboard.
(AP, 6/11/04)
2004 Jun 11, In Iraq gunmen
stormed a police station south of Baghdad, drove off the poorly
armed police and blew up the building in the 4th such attack against
Iraqi security installations over the last week.
(AP, 6/11/04)
2004 Jun 11, Al-Sharqiya (The
Eastern), a privately owned TV operation, began broadcasting in
Iraq. Founder Saad al-Bazzaz (54) invested $30 million in start-up
costs.
(WSJ, 8/22/05, p.B1)
2004 Jun 11, Irish voters have
overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment to tighten their
liberal citizenship laws.
(AP, 6/12/04)
2004 Jun 11, Egon von
Furstenberg (57), a Swiss-born aristocrat known as the "prince of
high fashion,” died in Rome.
(AP, 6/11/04)
2004 Jun 11, In Nigeria labor
groups representing millions of workers abandoned a crippling
three-day general strike.
(AP, 6/11/04)
2004 Jun 11, Poland's president
nominated economist Marek Belka as prime minister for the 2nd time,
opening the way for lawmakers to confirm a new government or trigger
early elections by rejecting it.
(AP, 6/11/04)
2004 Jun 11, A commission of
the government of the Republika Srpska, the Serbian part of Bosnia,
finally admitted that Serbian forces were responsible for the 1995
Muslim massacre at Srebrenica.
(Econ, 6/19/04, p.53)
2004 Jun 11, In Palermo,
Sicily, a court convicted and sentenced 30 top Sicilian mobsters to
life imprisonment after a 10-year trial covering a total of 77
murders.
(AP, 6/12/04)
2004 Jun 11, In Yemen a gunman
opened fire with an automatic rifle on worshippers in a mosque
outside the capital during midday prayers, killing four people and
wounding six.
(AP, 6/12/04)
2004 Jun 12, It was reported
that engineers had created a “metal-rubber,” a substance that
conducts electricity like metal, but also stretches like rubber up
to 250% of its original length.
(Econ, 6/12/04, p.14)
2004 Jun 12, Central African
leaders of Chad and Cameroon officially opened the taps on one of
the largest private investments in sub-Saharan Africa, a 663-mile,
$3.7 billion pipeline snaking from Chad through virgin rain forests
to the Atlantic.
(AP, 6/12/04)
2004 Jun 12, Iran said it would
reject international restrictions on its nuclear program and
challenged the world to accept Tehran as a member of the "nuclear
club."
(AP, 6/13/04)
2004 Jun 12, In Iraq gunmen
killed Bassam Salih Kubba, a deputy foreign minister as he went to
work in Baghdad.
(AP, 6/12/04)
2004 Jun 12, In
Indian-controlled Kashmir suspected rebels threw a grenade into a
crowded tourist restaurant, killing 4 people and injuring 25 others.
(AP, 6/12/04)
2004 Jun 12, A Lebanese Foreign
Ministry official said Iraqi gunmen had kidnapped three Lebanese in
Iraq and killed one of them.
(AP, 6/12/04)
2004 Jun 12, In central
Pakistan a powerful bomb exploded outside the home of a senior
security official, killing one person and wounding three.
(AP, 6/12/04)
2004 Jun 12, A parade in Moscow
celebrated the Day of Russia. Formerly known as Independence Day,
the holiday marks the Russian parliament's June 12, 1990,
declaration of sovereignty from the Soviet Union.
(AP, 6/12/04)
2004 Jun 12, In Saudi Arabia an
American was kidnapped. An al-Qaida statement, posted on an Islamic
Web site, showed a passport-size photo of a brown-haired man and a
Lockheed Martin business card bearing the name Paul M. Johnson.
Islamic militants shot and killed Kenneth Scroggs of Laconia, New
Hampshire, in his garage in Riyadh.
(AP, 6/13/04)(AP, 6/20/04)
2004 Jun 13, Former President
George H.W. Bush celebrated his 80th birthday with a 13,000-foot
parachute jump over his presidential library in College Station,
Texas.
(AP, 6/13/05)
2004 Jun 13, It was reported
that a quarter teaspoon of cinnamon a day helped to reduce glucose,
fat and cholesterol levels by a s much as 30%.
(SSFC, 6/13/04, Par p.8)
2004 Jun 13, Robert Lees,
former screenwriter, was decapitated at his Hollywood home. Keven
Lee Graff (27) was later charged with Lees’ murder and that of a
neighbor.
(SFC, 7/29/04, p.B3)
2004 Jun 13, Author and
academic Stuart Hampshire, a former chairman of the department of
philosophy at Princeton University who argued that philosophy must
be studied within the context of other disciplines, died in Oxford,
England. His books included "The Freedom of the Individual."
(AP, 6/16/04)
2004 Jun 13, EU balloting,
begun June 10, ended. Some 150 million Europeans cast ballots across
25 member nations of the expanded European Union. Turnout was 45.3
percent.
(AP, 6/14/04)(Econ, 6/19/04, p.49)
2004 Jun 13, A suicide attacker
detonated a car bomb near a U.S. military camp in Baghdad, killing
at least 12 people, and wounding 13. Gunmen killed a senior
Education Ministry official in the second assassination of a
government figure in as many days.
(AP, 6/13/04)
2004 Jun 13, Pakistani troops
ended a major operation to flush out al-Qaida suspects and their
local supporters from hide-outs in a remote region near Afghanistan.
72 people died, including 17 security personnel.
(AP, 6/14/04)
2004 Jun 13, Philippine air
force troops clashed with communist guerrillas camped out on a farm
near Manila and 3 rebels were killed.
(AP, 6/13/04)
2004 Jun 13, The race for
Serbia's top job produced no outright winner, but left the two top
contenders, nationalist Tomislav Nikolic and reformist Boris Tadic,
to face each other in a second round of voting in two weeks.
(AP, 6/14/04)(Econ, 6/19/04, p.53)
2004 Jun 13, Saudi Arabia held
a 3-day “national dialogue” in Medina on how women’s lives could be
improved. On Jun 15, recommendations (19) were given to Crown Prince
Abdullah.
(Econ, 6/19/04, p.26)
2004 Jun 13, In South Korea
more than 9,000 activists shouting "No to globalization!" marched
through downtown Seoul to protest a meeting of the World Economic
Forum.
(AP, 6/13/04)
2004 Jun 13, The UN Conference
on Trade and Development opened in San Paulo, Brazil. This marked
its 11th forum over a 40 year history. The so-called Group of 77
developing nations actually has 132 member nations.
(AP, 6/13/04)
2004 Jun 14, The US Supreme
Court allowed millions of schoolchildren to keep affirming loyalty
to one nation "under God" but dodged the underlying question of
whether the Pledge of Allegiance is an unconstitutional blending of
church and state.
(AP, 6/15/04)
2004 Jun 14, John Ashcroft
unsealed an indictment against Nuradin Abdi, a Somali immigrant, on
charges of plotting with al Qaeda operatives to blow up a shopping
mall in Columbus, Ohio. Abdi was arrested on immigration charges on
Nov 28, 2003. Abdi was sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2007 after
pleading guilty in an alleged plot to blow up an Ohio shopping mall.
(SFC, 6/15/04, p.A3)(AP, 2/27/09)
2004 Jun 14, Azerbaijan Fatulla
Huseynov (67), an opposition party leader known for his bold
military exploits in the war over the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave, was
shot and killed in Baku.
(AP, 6/14/04)
2004 Jun 14, In Bangladesh the
death toll from a powerful weekend storm rose to at least 13. About
140 fishermen were missing.
(AP, 6/14/04)
2004 Jun 14, UN humanitarian
chief Jan Egeland said Eastern Congo is rapidly turning into a major
humanitarian disaster, with 3.3 million people out of reach of
relief groups.
(Reuters, 6/14/04)
2004 Jun 14, The US military
released hundreds of prisoners from Abu Ghraib prison.
(AP, 6/14/04)
2004 Jun 14, A car bomb tore
through a convoy in central Baghdad, killing at least 12 people,
including an American and four other foreigners working to rebuild
Iraq's power plants.
(AP, 6/14/04)
2004 Jun 14, The bodies of 6
Shiite truck drivers were found at a morgue in Ramadi, west of
Fallujah. They had sought refuge in a police station but were handed
over to a hard-line Sunni cleric because they were Shiites.
(AP, 6/15/04)
2004 Jun 14, The Israeli
Supreme Court decided that Israeli municipalities must permit the
sale of pork where a majority of residents demand it.
(AP, 6/14/04)
2004 Jun 14, An Israeli
helicopter attack in the West Bank killed 2 Palestinian militants.
(WSJ, 6/15/04, p.A1)
2004 Jun 14, It was reported
that Hmong commanders in Laos acknowledged 21 rebel groups with
about 17,000 fighters and family members.
(SFC, 6/14/04, p.A8)
2004 Jun 14, Police in Nepal
said a land mine planted by suspected rebels blew up two police
trucks in western Nepal, killing at least 22 officers.
(AP, 6/14/04)
2004 Jun 12, At least 14 people
were killed in Nigeria's oil-rich Delta state as vigilante mobs
hunted down suspected armed robbers, soaked them in petrol and then
set them alight.
(Reuters, 6/15/04)
2004 Jun 14, UN humanitarian
chief Jan Egeland criticized the Sudanese government for blocking
aid workers, food and equipment from reaching the Darfur region.
(AP, 6/14/04)
2004 Jun 14, The Swiss
parliament voted to end a 96-year ban on absinthe. The green spirit
was allowed back into shops in much of western Europe following an
European Union directive in 1981, but it remained outlawed in
Switzerland.
(AFP, 6/14/04)
2004 Jun 14, Typhoon Chanthu
killed 7 people and left seven more missing when it swept through
central Vietnam over the weekend.
(AP, 6/14/04)
2004 Jun 15, The Detroit
Pistons beat the Los Angeles Lakers 100-87 in Game Five of the NBA
Finals for their first championship in 14 years.
(SFC, 6/16/04, p.D1)(AP, 6/15/05)
2004 Jun 15, The Southern
Baptist Convention quit a global federation of Baptist denominations
as SBC leaders denounced the Baptist World Alliance and other groups
for accepting liberal theology.
(AP, 6/15/05)
2004 Apr 15, Tim Berners-Lee,
inventor of the world wide web, became the 1st recipient of
Finland’s $1.2 million Millennium Technology Prize.
(Econ, 5/14/05,
p.84)(www.infoworld.com/article/04/04/16/HNbernerslee_1.html)
2004 Jun 15, It was reported
that China had ordered water prices increased for the 1st time since
the founding of the People’s Republic due to strains on supplies
from development.
(WSJ, 6/15/04, p.A1)
2004 Jun 15, In Colombia
suspected leftist rebels raided a ranch near La Gabarra in one of
the biggest cocaine-producing regions, tied up 34 coca pickers with
the hammocks they had been sleeping in, and gunned them all down.
(AP, 6/16/04)(Econ, 6/19/04, p.38)
2004 Jun 15, In Germany
Volkswagen fired Klaus-Joachim Gebauer, a midlevel personnel
manager, for alleged embezzlement. Gebauer soon began telling
stories of management sex junkets in Brazil, India and other places.
(WSJ, 11/17/05, p.A1)
2004 Jun 15, Iraq's interim
government received a boost when its neighbors welcomed the transfer
of sovereignty in that country at the end of June. Two explosions on
pipelines in southern Iraq cut oil exports from the south by half.
(AP, 6/15/04)
2004 Jun 15, A Saudi al Qaeda
group threatened to execute Paul M. Johnson Jr. within 72 hours
unless fellow jihadists were released were released from prison.
(SFC, 6/19/04, p.A15)
2004 Jun 15, In Sierra Leone a
U.N.-backed war crimes trial began. The court was trying alleged
crimes including rape, burning and looting, use of child soldiers
and forced marriage committed during the 1991-2002 war.
(AP, 6/16/04)
2004 Jun 16, Rebuffing Bush
administration claims, the independent commission investigating the
Sept. 11 attacks said no evidence existed that al-Qaida had strong
ties to Saddam Hussein.
(AP, 6/16/05)
2004 Jun 16, Gov. Barbour of
Mississippi singed a law capping jury awards in most lawsuits.
(WSJ, 6/17/04, p.A1)
2004 Jun 16, A new computer
worm targeting mobile phones was reported. It was dubbed “Cabir” and
reportedly written by a virus-writing group in Spain known as 29A.
(WSJ, 6/16/04, p.B9)
2004 Jun 16, Al Lapin Jr. (76),
co-founder of the International House of Pancakes in 1958, died in
Los Angeles.
(AP, 6/16/05)
2004 Jun 16, In northern
Afghanistan a remote-controlled bomb hit a convoy of German
peacekeepers, killing an Afghan driver and three civilians.
(AP, 6/16/04)
2004 Jun 16, French power
workers cut electricity to the Eiffel Tower and President Jacques
Chirac's residence in western Paris to protest the government's
plans to partially privatize state utilities in an effort to raise
money.
(AP, 6/16/04)
2004 Jun 16, In India a
passenger train derailed after smashing into boulders on a bridge,
killing at least 20 people and injuring 50. The engine of the
Bombay-bound Matsyagandha Express jumped the tracks and plunged off
the bridge.
(AP, 6/16/04)
2004 Jun 16, Saboteurs blasted
a southern pipeline for the 2nd time in as many days, shutting down
Iraq's oil exports. Gunmen killed a security chief for the state-run
Northern Oil Co. Muqtada al-Sadr ordered his Shiite militias out of
Najaf and Kufa.
(AP, 6/16/04)(WSJ, 6/17/04, p.A1)
2004 Jun 16, A Jordanian
military court convicted 15 men, only one of whom was in custody,
for a terror conspiracy targeting U.S. and Israeli interests.
(AP, 6/16/04)
2004 Jun 16, Libyan Arab
Airline announced plans to spend a billion dollars over the next
decade to buy 22 new aircraft, ranging from 14-seaters to jets with
a capacity of 350 seats.
(AP, 6/16/04)
2004 Jun 16, Jose Fernando
Jimenez Lecona, Mexico City police official, was shot to death
outside his home. Lecona, head of a high-risk crimes unit, was
investigating a string of brazen kidnappings.
(SFC, 6/18/04, p.A3)
2004 Jun 16, In Nepal a
passenger bus veered off a mountainous highway west of the capital,
killing at least 12 passengers and leaving many more injured.
(AP, 6/16/04)
2004 Jun 16, In Pakistan a bus
collided with a truck and plunged from a bridge near Islamabad,
killing at least 40 passengers and injuring 10.
(AP, 6/16/04)
2004 Jun 16, President Vladimir
Putin signed a strategic partnership deal with Uzbekistan, seeking
to restore Russian influence.
(AP, 6/16/04)
2004 Jun 16, Thanom
Kittikachorn (92), ex-military ruler of Thailand died at the age of
92. He helped the US during the Vietnam War before being ousted in a
popular uprising in 1973. Thanom came to be known as one of
Thailand's "Three Tyrants" when he ran the country in the 1960s and
early 1970s with his son, Col. Narong Kittikachorn, and Narong's
father-in-law, Field Marshal Praphas Charusathien.
(AP, 6/17/04)
2004 Jun 17, The US bipartisan
commission investigating the 2001 Sep 11 attacks released its final
report. The report found that officials, blindsided by terrorists
and beset by poor communications, were so slow to react on Sept. 11,
2001, that the last of four hijacked planes had crashed by the time
Vice President Dick Cheney ordered hostile aircraft shot down.
(SFC, 6/18/04, p.A1)(AP, 6/17/05)
2004 Jun 17, President Bush
disputed the Sept. 11 commission's finding that Saddam Hussein had
no strong ties to al-Qaida, saying the former Iraqi leader had had
"numerous contacts" with the terrorist network.
(AP, 6/17/05)
2004 Jun 17, It was reported
that power was shifting away from manufacturers and producers to
retailers and distributors who deliver goods to customers. In 1990
Alvin Toffler authored “Power Shift,” a look at power shifts in the
everyday world.
(WSJ, 6/17/04, p.A1)
2004 Jun 17, In Afghanistan
fighters loyal to several regional warlords stormed Chagcharan, a
provincial capital of western Ghor province, and forced the governor
to flee.
(AP, 6/18/04)
2004 Jun 17, Algerian troops
killed one of North Africa's most-wanted terrorist leaders, who
allied his group with Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network. Nabil
Sahraoui (also known as Abu Ibrahim Mustapha), one of his key
right-hand men and a "good number" of other Salafist lieutenants
were killed in a military sweep.
(AP, 6/20/04)(SFC, 6/21/04, p.A6)
2004 Jun 17, A jury in
Brussels, Belgium, convicted Marc Dutroux (47), an ex-convict, of
abducting 6 girls in 1995-96. It also found him guilty of murdering
2 of the girls and an accomplice.
(AP, 6/17/04)
2004 Jun 17, Brazil’s Senate
backed a rise in the minimum wage to 275 reais ($88) per month and
approved a new bankruptcy law.
(Econ, 6/26/04, p.42)
2004 Jun 17, In Brazil the
Camara Dam on the Mamanguate River burst and flooded the city of
Alagoa Grande in Paraiba state, some 1,300 miles northeast of Sao
Paulo. At least 3 people were killed.
(AP, 6/18/04)
2004 Jun 17, A Chad military
official said Arab militias, known as Janjawids, fought Chadian
troops in Birak, a locality inside Chad about 10 miles (six
kilometers) from the border with western Sudan. 69 Janjawids
militiamen were killed and two taken prisoner in the fighting. He
did not give figures for any losses among Chadian troops.
(AP, 6/17/04)
2004 Jun 17, In the Dominican
Republic Craig Roger Hiserote (55), an American executive for a
North Carolina-based energy company, was killed by two gunmen on a
motorcycle as he drove home from work in the coastal town of San
Pedro de Macoris.
(AP, 6/17/04)
2004 Jun 17, In Iraq 2 car
bombings killed 41 people and wounding 142. A sport utility vehicle
packed with artillery shells blew up in a crowd of people waiting to
volunteer for the Iraqi military. Another car bomb north of the
capital killed six members of the Iraqi security forces.
(AP, 6/17/04)(WSJ, 6/18/04, p.A1)
2004 Jun 17, Tahar Ben Jelloun
(59), a Moroccan-born novelist and poet, won the Int’l. IMPAC Dublin
Literary Award for the best work of English fiction for 2002. Linda
Coverdale, translator of “This Blinding Absence of Light,” received
a quarter of the $120,000 prize.
(SFC, 6/18/04, p.E2)
2004 Jun 17, In Peru the
400-year-old Lima Roman Catholic cathedral celebrated its
restoration, a project that began in 1997. A new museum in a
converted sacristy displays a nine-painting series depicting Santa
Rosa de Lima's road to canonization in the 1600s as the first saint
of the New World.
(AP, 6/18/04)
2004 Jun 17, Pakistan's army
killed Nek Muhammad (Nek Mohammed), a renegade Wazir tribal leader,
tracing him to a mud-brick compound near Wana via a satellite phone
and then leveling the building in a helicopter assault. He was
accused of sheltering al-Qaida fighters. Army troops killed 30
tribesman suspected of shielding al-Qaida fugitives. As many as 70
"foreign terrorists" were also killed in the operation. In southern
Pakistan Munawar Soharwardi, a leading opposition politician, was
slain in a drive-by shooting.
(AP, 6/17/04)(AP, 6/18/04)(AP, 6/23/04)(Econ,
4/14/07, p.44)
2004 Jun 18, The Commerce Dept.
reported that the US current-account deficit grew to a record $144.9
billion in the 1st quarter. The current-account deficit for 2003 was
$530.7 billion.
(WSJ, 6/21/04, p.A12)
2004 Jun 18, The Hanky Panky
thong model 4811 was described as the top seller in its category. In
2003 thongs accounted for a quarter of the $2.6 billion panty
market. Gale Epstein and Lida Orzeck began Hanky Panky in the late
1970s.
(WSJ, 6/18/04, p.A1)
2004 Jun 18, It was reported
that farming and related businesses accounted for 12% of the US GDP
and about 17% of American jobs.
(WSJ, 6/18/04, p.A1)
2004 Jun 18, It was reported
that Terry Semel, CEO of Yahoo, and his wife Jane Bovington Semel
planned to donate $25 million to UCLA’s Neuropsychiatric Institute.
(SFC, 6/18/04, p.C1)
2004 Jun 18, In southern
Afghanistan Taliban insurgents attacked a government office in
Mizan, sparking a gunfight with Afghan troops that killed seven
people.
(AP, 6/19/04)
2004 Jun 18, European Union
leaders sealed a hard-fought deal on a new constitution. It needs
approval by all 25 member states before it can take effect, expected
in 2007.
(AP, 6/19/04)
2004 Jun 18, Germany's
parliament passed a measure that will allow the military to shoot
down hijacked airliners in German airspace if they are deemed a
threat.
(AP, 6/18/04)
2004 Jun 18, Insurgents clashed
with U.S. forces northeast of Baghdad for the second time in as many
days, and two of the militants were killed.
(AP, 6/18/04)
2004 Jun 18, South Korea said
it will send 3,000 soldiers to northern Iraq beginning in early
August to assist the U.S.-led coalition.
(AP, 6/18/04)
2004 Jun 18, A Saudi al-Qaida
group said it killed American hostage Paul M. Johnson Jr., posting 3
photos on the Internet showing his body and severed head. Hours
later Saudi security forces killed Abdulaziz al-Moqrin (31), a top
al-Qaida leader, and 3 other militants in Riyadh.
(AP, 6/18/04)(AP, 6/19/04)
2004 Jun 18, The U.N. atomic
watchdog agency censured Iran for past cover-ups in its nuclear
program in a resolution, warning Tehran to be more forthcoming.
(AP, 6/18/04)
2004 Jun 18, The UN warned the
Aral Sea, once one of the world's largest inland bodies of water,
could dry up unless neighboring countries work to increase its water
supply.
(AP, 6/18/04)
2004 Jun 18, West African
defense chiefs agreed to create a 6,500-strong multinational force
to respond to "crisis and threats to peace" in the war-ravaged
region. The announcement followed a 2-day meeting in Abuja, Nigeria,
involving defense chiefs of staff from the 15 member nations of
ECOWAS.
{Nigeria}
(AP, 6/18/04)(www.ecowas.info/)
2004 Jun 19, In Chechnya rebel
attacks killed seven Russian soldiers and police officers over the
last 24 hours.
(AP, 6/19/04)
2004 Jun 19, A US military
plane fired missiles into a residential neighborhood in Fallujah,
killing 26 people and leveling houses. The target was a hideout of
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's terror network. 23 of the 26 killed were
foreign terrorists. 3 Iraqis were among the dead.
(AP, 6/19/04)(SFC, 6/21/04, p.A7)
2004 Jun 19, In Nepal rebels
ambushed a police truck with a bomb and gunfire, also hitting a
nearby passenger bus in an attack that killed 14 policemen and 4
civilians, including at least one child.
(AP, 6/19/04)
2004 Jun 19, Nikolai Girenko
(64), prominent human rights defender, was shot and killed at his
home in St. Petersburg, Russia. Investigators believed that his work
as an expert witness in racism trials and investigations of
neo-Nazis is the most likely motive for his murder.
(SSFC, 8/14/05,
p.A3)(www.amnesty.ie/user/content/view/full/2425)
2004 Jun 19, Sudanese President
Omar Hassan al-Bashir ordered "complete mobilization" to disarm all
illegal armed groups in the western region of Darfur, including the
Arab militias who have been harassing African villagers.
(AP, 6/19/04)
2004 Jun 20, Bermuda-based
Bacardi Limited agreed to purchase Grey Goose vodka, distilled and
bottled in France, from Sidney Frank Importing Co. for roughly $2
billion.
(AP, 6/21/04)
2004 Jun 20, India and Pakistan
announced they would establish a new hot line to alert each other of
potential nuclear accidents or threats.
(AP, 6/20/04)
2004 Jun 20, In Iraq a roadside
bomb exploded along a highway leading to Baghdad's airport, killing
two Iraqi soldiers and wounding 11 others.
(AP, 6/20/04)
2004 Jun 20, Iraq resumed oil
exports of about 1 million barrels a day through its southern Basra
terminal after completing repairs to pipelines sabotaged by
insurgents.
(AP, 6/21/04)
2004 Jun 20, The Arab satellite
TV network Al-Jazeera aired a videotape purportedly from
al-Qaida-linked militants showing Kim Sun Il (33), a South Korean
hostage, begging for his life and pleading with his government to
withdraw troops from Iraq.
(AP, 6/21/04)(SFC, 6/21/04, p.A7)
2004 Jun 20, A Philippine
congressional committee announced, six weeks after the election,
that President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has won another term in
office. In 2005 an audio file, allegedly wiretapped by military
intelligence, became available with Arroyo speaking to election’s
official Virgilio Garcillano. The “Hello Garci? file became popular
as a cell phone ring tone.
(AP, 6/20/04)(SFC, 6/22/05, p.A2)
2004 Jun 20, Zimbabwe’s
government said it would honor ownership rights to land bought on
the property market, backtracking on previous announcements it would
nationalize all farmland.
(AP, 6/20/04)
2004 Jun 21, The US Supreme
Court ruled 5-4 that people can be arrested for refusing to give
their names to police even if no crime is alleged.
(WSJ, 6/22/04, p.A1)
2004 Jun 21, Connecticut Gov.
John G. Rowland announced his resignation, amid a federal corruption
investigation and a growing move to impeach him.
(AP, 6/21/04)
2004 Jun 21, SpaceShipOne
lifted off from the Mojave Desert in the initial stage of the
world's first attempted commercial space flight. SpaceShipOne
reached 62.21 miles. It was designed by legendary aerospace designer
Burt Rutan and was built with more than $20 million in funding by
billionaire Paul Allen. It was piloted by Michael Melvill.
(AP, 6/21/04)(WSJ, 6/22/04, p.A1)
2004 Jun 21, In northeastern
Bangladesh a bomb exploded at an opposition rally wounding nearly 40
people.
(AP, 6/21/04)
2004 Jun 21, Ephrem Nkezabera
(52), a former Rwandan banker, was arrested in Brussels and held on
charges of genocide and crimes against humanity in the 1994 Rwandan
massacre.
(AP, 7/30/04)
2004 Jun 21, In central Bolivia
a crowded bus plunged off a 800-foot precipice, killing as many as
38 people.
(AP, 6/23/04)
2004 Jun 21, Leonel Brizola
(b.1922), former governor of Rio Grande do Sul and Rio de Janeiro
states, died of a heart attack. Brizola, one of Brazil's most
notable leftist politicians, created and armed the so-called "Groups
of 11," cells designed to resist the military dictatorship.
(AP, 6/22/04)(SFC, 6/24/04, p.B6)
2004 Jun 21, Local and
international police officials warned that Europe is awash in
counterfeit euro bills of excellent quality.
(AP, 6/21/04)
2004 Jun 21, In Iraq ambushes
in Ramadi left 4 US soldiers dead. A roadside bomb south of Mosul
killed 5 Iraqi contractors.
(SFC, 6/22/04, p.D1)
2004 Jun 21, Iran’s
Revolutionary Guards, known as Pasdaran, confiscated three British
military vessels and arrested eight armed crew members in the Shatt
al-Arab waterway. The men were released 2 days later.
(AP, 6/21/04)(SFC, 6/24/04, p.A12)(Econ, 4/7/07,
p.24)
2004 Jun 21, A Swiss court
cleared the way for Gypsies to sue IBM over allegations that the
computer company's expertise helped the Nazis commit mass murder
more efficiently.
(AP, 6/22/04)
2004 Jun 21, Vietnam's central
bank said it has given approval to the US-based Far East National
Bank to open a branch in Ho Chi Minh City, the 3rd US bank branched
in Vietnam.
(AP, 6/21/04)
2004 Jun 22, The American Film
Institute released its list of 100 best movie songs. Judy Garland’s
“Over the Rainbow” from the 1939 “Wizard of Oz” topped the list.
(SFC, 6/24/04, p.E6)
2004 Jun 22, A federal judge
granted class-action status to a lawsuit against Wal-Mart on behalf
of 1.6 million women who claimed discrimination in pay and
promotions.
(SFC, 6/23/04, p.A1)
2004 Jun 22, Former Pres.
Clinton’s 957-page memoir “My Life” went on sale.
(SFC, 6/18/04, p.E1)
2004 Jun 22, Microsoft received
patent #6,754,472 for “a method and apparatus for transmitting power
and data using the human body.”
(Econ, 7/3/04, p.66)
2004 Jun 22, Mattie Stepanek
(13), poet (Heartsongs, 2001) and peace advocate, died from
mitochondrial myopathy, a neuromuscular disease.
(SSFC, 9/5/04, Par p.5)
2004 Jun 22, In Egypt a 5-story
apartment building collapsed in the southern city of Aswan, killing
at least 13. Eight residents remain missing.
(AP, 6/22/04)(AP, 6/23/04)
2004 Jun 22, A bus in western
France overturned, killing at least 11 people and seriously injuring
up to three others.
(AP, 6/22/04)
2004 Jun 22, In Haiti a fire
ripped through a downtown section of Port-au-Prince, destroying more
than 30 businesses.
(AP, 6/23/04)
2004 Jun 22, In the Ivory Coast
dozens of boys and men suffocated in an airless, sweltering shipping
container. Rebels locked up more than 100 people for days. 75 bodies
were pulled out.
(AP, 8/6/04)
2004 Jun 22, Islamic militants
beheaded a South Korean who pleaded in a heart-wrenching videotape
that "I don't want to die" after his government refused to pull its
troops from Iraq. Hours later, the United States launched an
airstrike in Fallujah, where residents said the strike hit a parking
lot. 3 people were killed and 9 wounded. Elsewhere 2 American
soldiers were killed and one wounded in an attack on a convoy near
Balad, 50 miles north of Baghdad. In 2006 it was reported that Spc.
Patrick Ryan McCaffrey and 2nd Lt. Andre Demetrius Tyson had been
killed by Iraqi soldiers patrolling alongside US soldiers near
Balad.
(AP, 6/22/04)(SFC, 6/21/06, p.A1)
2004 Jun 22, Francisco Ortiz
Franco, Mexican newspaper, editor was shot to death in Tijuana.
(AP, 6/22/05)
2004 Jun 22, Thousands of
Russian troops poured into Nazran, Ingushetia, chasing Chechen
rebels who set fire to police and government buildings and killed
over 90 people in brazen overnight attacks.
(AP, 6/22/04)(Econ, 2/12/05, p.21)
2004 Jun 22, North Korea, the
US, and four other nations agreed to discuss a freezing of the
North's nuclear program and inspections that would lead to its
eventual dismantlement.
(AP, 6/22/04)
2004 Jun 23, In a major
retreat, the US abandoned an attempt to win a new exemption for
American troops from international prosecution for war crimes, an
effort that had faced strong opposition because of the Iraqi
prisoner abuse scandal.
(SFC, 6/24/04, p.A3)(AP, 6/23/05)
2004 Jun 23, The US issued 4
new 1st class stamps, part of a series featuring Disney themes. This
set was titled “The Art of Disney.”
(SFC, 6/24/04, p.B3)
2004 Jun 23, In Iraq Polish
forces purchased 17 rockets for a Soviet-era launcher and two mortar
rounds containing the nerve agent cyclosarin for an undisclosed sum.
(AP, 7/2/04)
2004 Jun 23, Saudi Arabia
offered Islamic militants a limited amnesty, saying their lives
would be spared if they surrendered but they would face the "full
might" of state wrath if they did not. Prince Nayef said foreign
residents may be allowed to carry guns.
(AP, 6/23/04)(SFC, 6/25/04, p.A10)
2004 Jun 24, Federal
investigators questioned President Bush for more than an hour in
connection with the news leak of a CIA operative's name.
(AP, 6/24/05)
2004 Jun 24, A federal appeals
court struck down a Federal Communications Commission effort to make
sweeping changes in media ownership rules.
(AP, 6/24/05)
2004 Jun 24, The US Census
Bureau reported that San Antonio had eclipsed Dallas as the nation's
8th-largest city.
(AP, 6/23/04)
2004 Jun 24, Carl Rakosi (100),
American poet, died in SF.
(SFC, 7/2/04, p.A1)
2004 Jun 24, In eastern
Afghanistan 2 U.S. Marines were killed and another was wounded in an
attack at Kunar province.
(AP, 6/25/04)
2004 Jun 24, George Bacchus
(51), a Guyana cattle farmer who prompted an inquiry into an alleged
government hit squad, was assassinated.
(AP, 6/24/04)
2004 Jun 24, In India a bomb
exploded in a crowded bus, killing at least five people and
critically wounding 17 in the northeastern state of Assam.
(AP, 6/24/04)
2004 Jun 24, In southern Iran a
tanker truck carrying gasoline crashed into packed buses and erupted
in flames, killing 71 people. 108 people were injured, many
suffering severe burns.
(AP, 6/25/04)
2004 Jun 24, Western advisers
completed their handover Iraq’s remaining government ministries. The
final 11 of 25 were handed over 6 days before the official end of
coalition occupation.
(SFC, 6/25/04, p.A13)
2004 Jun 24, Insurgents
launched coordinated attacks against police and government buildings
across Iraq. The strikes killed over 105 people, including three
American soldiers. In Mosul alone 4 car bombs killed 62 people.
(AP, 6/24/04)(SFC, 6/25/04, p.A1)
2004 Jun 24, Israeli troops
posted near a Gaza Strip settlement killed two Palestinians wearing
bulletproof vests and armed with submachine guns, ammunition clips
and grenades.
(AP, 6/24/04)
2004 Jun 24, In Russia Yukos
named Steven Theede, an American oil industry veteran, as chief
executive. Yukos faced a $3.41 billion bill for back taxes.
(WSJ, 6/25/04, p.B2)
2004 Jun 24, In Istanbul,
Turkey, bombs shattered a bus and exploded outside a hotel where
President Bush was to stay the following weekend, in back-to-back
attacks that killed four people and wounded 17.
(AP, 6/25/04)
2004 Jun 25, Pres. Bush stopped
in Ireland to meet with EU leaders, while on his way to Turkey for a
summit with NATO leaders. Thousands of protesters demonstrated
against his actions in Iraq.
(SFC, 6/26/04, p.A3)
2004 Jun 25, Jack Ryan (44), US
Republican Senate candidate from Illinois, pulled out of the race
following the disclosure of details from his 1999 divorce from TV
actress Jeri Ryan.
(SSFC, 6/27/04, p.A5)
2004 Jun 25, In southern
Afghanistan suspected Taliban gunmen sprayed a van with bullets
after finding that occupants had registered to vote. some 10-16
people were killed.
(SFC, 6/28/04, p.A6)(AP, 6/25/05)
2004 Jun 25, Australia's
government decided to cover most of the outside of cigarette
packages with graphic images showing the physical damage caused by
smoking.
(AFP, 6/25/04)
2004 Jun 25, The Council of
Australian Governments (COAG) agreed to and signed the National
Water Initiative (NWI) to improve water management across the
country.
(www.pmc.gov.au/nwi/index.cfm)
2004 Jun 25, US air strikes hit
Fallujah and up to 25 people were killed. Al-Sadr announced a
unilateral cease fire.
(SFC, 6/26/04, p.A13)
2004 Jun 25-2004 Jun 27,
Ugandan rebels (LRA) in southern Sudan unleashed a two-day campaign
of arson, looting and murder, killing 100 villagers and forcing
15,000 others to flee their homes.
(AP, 7/9/04)
2004 Jun 26, President Bush won
support from the 25-nation European Union for an initial agreement
to help train Iraq's armed forces.
(AP, 6/26/05)
2004 Jun 26, The world’s top
central bankers approved Basel 2, “Int’l. Convergence of Capital
Measures and Capital Standards,” a new capital-adequacy framework
for banks.
(Econ, 7/3/04,
p.61)(www.bsp.gov.ph/about_bsp/CAF/basel2.htm)(Econ, 5/20/06, Survey
p.10)
2004 Jun 26, Taliban remnants
claimed responsibility for the bomb attack that killed two Afghani
United Nations election workers in eastern Afghanistan.
(AP, 6/26/04)
2004 Jun 26, In Beijing, China,
4 days of talks on North Korea’s nuclear program ended with a
promise for further discussion.
(SSFC, 6/27/04, p.A24)
2004 Jun 26, Czech PM Vladimir
Spidla resigned after his Social Democrats did badly in EU
elections.
(Econ, 7/3/04, p.6)
2004 Jun 26, In Berlin,
Germany, hundreds of thousands of revelers sporting costumes from
full Victorian garb to skimpy leather outfits and feather boas
celebrated gay pride.
(AP, 6/26/04)
2004 Jun 26, In
Indian-controlled Kashmir suspected Islamic rebels raided a village
and shot to death 12 Muslims while they slept.
(AP, 6/26/04)
2004 Jun 26, Insurgents
launched attacks in the strife-ridden city of Baqouba, and nine
people died, six of them insurgents. Attacks occurred in other
cities north and south of Baghdad.
(AP, 6/26/04)
2004 Jun 26, In Iraq explosions
that rocked the center of the predominantly Shiite Muslim city of
Hillah killed 40 people and injured 22.
(AP, 6/27/04)
2004 Jun 26, Israeli troops
killed 7 Palestinian militants during a raid in Nablus.
(SSFC, 6/27/04, p.A24)
2004 Jun 26, Israeli composer
Naomi Shemer (74) died. Her most famous work was "Jerusalem of
Gold," an emotional ballad describing the country's attachment and
yearning for the city, shortly before Israel captured east Jerusalem
in the 1967 Mideast war.
(AP, 6/26/04)
2004 Jun 26, Pakistan Prime
Minister Zafarullah Jamali told a meeting of ruling party members he
had resigned from office, dissolved the cabinet and nominated as his
successor president of the Pakistan Muslim League (PML) Chaudhry
Shujaat Hussain.
(AP, 6/26/04)
2004 Jun 26, Rebels from
Sudan's remote Darfur demanded the imposition of a military no-fly
zone, free access for aid workers and war crimes trials for Arab
militias who have looted and burned throughout the region.
(AP, 6/26/04)
2004 Jun 27, Insurgents
threatened to behead Cpl. Wassef Ali Hassoun, a U.S. Marine who'd
vanished in Iraq, in a videotaped that aired on Arab television.
However, Hassoun contacted American officials in his native Lebanon
the following month; after being reunited with his family in Utah,
Hassoun disappeared in December.
(AP, 6/27/05)
2004 Jun 27, In Lithuania
Valdas Adamkus won the 2nd round of elections against center-left
candidate Kazimira Prunskiene.
(WSJ, 6/28/04, p.A1)
2004 Jun 27, Hundreds of
thousands of Mexicans wearing white staged a silent march through
the heart of their nation's capital to protest kidnappings, violent
crimes and the failures of law enforcement to curb them.
(AP, 6/27/04)
2004 Jun 27, In Mongolia
elections the renamed Communists lost their majority to an
opposition block. The left-leaning MPRP won 36 seats while the MDC
took 34.
(WSJ, 6/29/04, p.A1)(Econ, 8/7/04, p.35)
2004 Jun 27, Palestinian
militants blew up an Israeli army post with explosives in a tunnel
near the Gush Katif settlement in the Gaza Strip. At least one
soldier was killed. A firefight followed that left 2 Palestinians
dead.
(SFC, 6/28/04, p.A6)
2004 Jun 27, Serbia held
elections. Pro-Western Boris Tadic led early polls over the
ultranationalist candidate, Tomislav Nikolic. Boris Tadic, won 53.5
percent of votes.
(AP, 6/28/04)
2004 Jun 27, Saudi Arabia
dispatched two planeloads of aid to Sudan's war-torn western region
of Darfur.
(AFP, 6/27/04)
2004 Jun 27, Turkey rejected
the demands of Islamic militants who are threatening to behead three
of its kidnapped citizens during a visit by President Bush to
Turkey.
(AP, 6/27/04)
2004 Jun 27, Over 40 thousand
Turks chanting anti-Bush slogans demonstrated against the
president's visit to their country and a NATO summit. NATO leaders
closed ranks on a pledge to take a bigger military role in Iraq;
Pres. Bush declared that the alliance was poised to "meet the
threats of the 21st century." Pres. Bush called on the EU to admit
Turkey as a member.
(AP, 6/27/04)(Econ, 9/11/04, p.50)(AP, 6/27/05)
2004 Jun 28, The US Supreme
Court ruled 6-3 that detainees at Guantanamo must have access to the
US legal system. The Court ruled that the war on terrorism did not
give the government a "blank check" to hold a US citizen and
foreign-born terror suspects in legal limbo.
(WSJ, 6/29/04, p.A1)(AP, 6/28/05)
2004 Jun 28, America resumed
direct diplomatic ties with Libya after a 24-year break.
(USAT, 6/29/04, p.12A)(AP, 6/28/05)
2004 Jun 28, In Texas 2 freight
trains collided in San Antonio and one engineer was killed. Derailed
train cars released clouds of chlorine gas and ammonium
nitrate. 2 people died from the toxic gases.
(USAT, 6/29/04, p.3A)(WSJ, 6/30/04, p.A1)
2004 Jun 28, Seven Afghan
policemen were killed as NATO agreed to boost its troop contingent
there to 10,000 ahead of September elections.
(WSJ, 6/29/04, p.A1)
2004 Jun 28, In Canada the
Liberal Party suffered heavy losses forcing PM Paul Martin to
establish the 1st minority government since 1979.
(WSJ, 6/29/04, p.A1)(SFC, 6/30/04, p.A7)
2004 Jun 28, In Germany
Mozart's opera "Die Entfuehrung aus dem Serail" (The Abduction from
the Seraglio) has caused a scandal in Berlin. A new production
featured rape, torture and masturbation, a nude bass singing an aria
in the shower and a cross-dressing hero who rounds off the night by
slaughtering a troupe of semi-naked prostitutes.
(AP, 6/28/04)
2004 Jun 28, The European Union
denied China's request to be officially recognized as a market
economy, saying that an assessment of the Chinese economy showed too
much state interference and poor corporate governance.
(AP, 6/28/04)
2004 Jun 28, Iran’s Deputy
Interior Minister Ali Asghar Ahmadi said two Iranian soldiers and
eight rebels were killed in clashes with Kurds. A pro-Kurdish news
agency said 16 soldiers and four rebels died.
(AP, 7/10/04)
2004 Jun 28, The US-led
coalition in a surprise move, transferred sovereignty to an interim
Iraqi government two days early.
(AP, 6/28/04)
2004 Jun 28, NATO leaders
agreed to help train Iraq's armed forces just hours after the new
government in Baghdad took over sovereignty from the U.S.-led
administration.
(AP, 6/28/04)
2004 Jun 28, A Palestinian
rocket attack on Sderot killed an Israeli boy (3) and man (49).
(USAT, 6/29/04, p.12A)
2004 Jun 29, The US Supreme
Court blocked a law meant to shield Web-surfing children from online
pornography.
(AP, 6/29/05)
2004 Jun 29, In Ecuador 33
prisoners, some armed with assault rifles and knives, battled their
way out the front door of Quito's main prison in an escape that left
4 inmates and a guard dead.
(AP, 6/29/04)
2004 Jun 29, Israeli forces
countered a Palestinian rocket attack with tanks and missiles in
northern Gaza. One Palestinian was killed.
(USAT, 6/29/04, p.12A)
2004 Jun 29, A UN helicopter
crashed in Sierra Leone and all 24 aboard were killed.
(WSJ, 6/30/04, p.A1)
2004 Jun 30, The US Federal
Reserve raised interest rates by a quarter point.
(SFC, 7/1/04, p.A1)
2004 Jun 30, A federal appeals
court approved an antitrust settlement Microsoft had negotiated with
the Justice Department.
(AP, 6/30/05)
2004 Jun 30, The Cassini probe
entered Saturn’s orbit for 4 years of explorations. Its 4-year
mission included a close approach to Saturn’s 3rd moon Iapetus.
(Econ, 4/24/04, p.83)(WSJ, 7/1/04, p.A1)
2004 Jun 30, The Iraqis took
legal custody of Saddam Hussein and 11 of his top lieutenants, a
first step toward the ousted dictator's expected trial for crimes
against humanity.
(AP, 6/30/05)
2004 Jun 30, From Nigeria it
was reported that Alhaji Dokubo-Asari head of an ethnically diverse
mix of fighters who chiefly worship Egbesu, the traditional god of
war for ethnic Ijaw, was trying to wrest the oil-rich Niger Delta
away from multinational oil giants and the government, and put it
into the hands of "the people."
(AP, 7/1/04)
2004 Jun, The US Treasury Dept.
imposed restrictions requiring that academic trips to Cuba be at
least 10 weeks long. This eliminated popular 1-2 week visits offered
by US universities.
(SSFC, 4/9/06, p.F4)
2004 Jun, The US IRS warned
companies in the Virgin Islands, in what is known as the Economic
Development Commission program, to avoid manipulating residency and
income rules to qualify for tax breaks. Enforcement of new
regulations began in early 2005.
(WSJ, 12/27/06, p.A4)
2004 Jun, In Georgia Chris
Griffin reportedly killed a 1,000-pound hog with 9-inch tusks at the
River Oak Plantation. Only a photo portrayed the “Hogzilla” kill. In
2005 experts from National Geographic confirmed the kill but reduced
the size to about 800 pounds.
(AP, 7/29/04)(SFC, 3/22/05, p.A2)
2004 Jun, Chiquita Brands
Int’l., a Cincinnati-based banana company, sold its Colombian banana
operations.
(SFC, 3/15/07, p.A5)
2004 Jun, Doctors at Rhode
Island Hospital implanted a BrainGate, pea-size sensor made by
Cyberkinetics, in the brain of Matthew Nagle, a quadriplegic, which
connected to computer. Over a 9-month period he learned to use his
mind to control motion on a video monitor and a robotic arm. The
journal Nature reported the results of the experiment on July 13,
2006.
(SFC, 7/13/06, p.A1)(Econ, 7/15/06, p.77)
2004 Jun, In Alsace, France,
Pierre Bodein, nicknamed "Pierrot le fou," or "Crazy Pierre," raped,
killed and mutilated two young victims, Jeanne-Marie Kegelin (11)
and Julie Scharsch (14). He also murdered and mutilated Edwige
Vallee (38), and attempted to kidnap two other girls. In 2007 Bodein
was convicted of viciously murdering two girls and a woman and
sentenced to life in prison.
(AP, 7/11/07)
2004 Jun, The Saudi parliament
passed legislation overturning a law banning girls and women from
participating in physical education and sports. In August the
ministry of education announced that it had no intention of honoring
the legislation.
(SFC, 8/26/04, p.B1)
2004 Jun, Fawaz al-Nashimi (aka
Turki bin Fuheid al-Muteiry), an al-Qaida operative, was killed in a
gunbattle with Saudi forces. He was involved in the May 29 attack
inside two oil industry compounds. In 2006 an al-Qaida statement
identified him as the would-be 20th hijacker for the Sep. 11
attacks.
(SFC, 6/21/06, p.A3)
2004 Jun, In northern Yemen
Shiite Muslim rebels began a revolt in Saada. By 2009 fighting
claimed at least 4,000 lives. The rebels were led by Shiite cleric
Hussein Badr Eddin al-Hawthi until his death in clashes later in
2004. Abdel-Malek al-Hawthi, the brother of the slain leader, became
chief.
(AP, 8/6/09)
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2004
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