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, 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 Pakistan 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, 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, In Ivory Coast journalist Guy-Andre Kieffer (b.1949), a dual citizen of France and Canada, was kidnapped. He was working in the commercial capital, Abidjan, as an independent journalist, writing articles about corruption.
(AP, 1/7/12)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guy-Andr%C3%A9_Kieffer)
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, In California Scott Peterson pleaded innocent in the deaths of his pregnant wife and unborn son.
(AP, 4/21/04)
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. This was later believed to have been an assassination attempt on Kim Jong Il. A mobile phone was used to detonate a huge bomb a t a train station. The incident markedly delayed the introduction of mobile phones in North Korea.
(http://ajw.asahi.com/article/asia/korean_peninsula/AJ201109089693)(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, It was reported that ten US contractors in Iraq have paid over $300 million in penalties since 2000 to resolve various allegations.
(SFC, 4/27/04, p.C1)
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, 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, former head 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.
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elon_Musk)(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, Bangladesh police in Chittagong intercepted a shipment from China of rifles, submachine guns, hand grenades and more valued at $5 million. The weapons were intended for rebels in India’s Assam state. In 2014 a trial court sentenced 14 men to death on smuggling charges.
(SFC, 2/20/14, p.40)
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, In Tunisia the Nawaat collective blog was created. It was quickly blocked and remained blocked until January 2011. It played a major role in channeling the opposition to Ben Ali's long rule and covered protests that culminated in his ouster.
(AFP, 6/5/12)
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, In Iraq British troops engaged in a battle near the town of at Al Majar Al Kabir. In 2008 lawyers released evidence that they said shows British soldiers may have tortured and executed up to 20 Iraqis after the battle of Danny Boy. On Feb 4, 2013, Britain’s Al-Sweady Inquiry began oral hearings in the case.
(AP, 2/22/08)(AP, 3/4/13)
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, 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, 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, In Iraq a US patrol was hit by a roadside bomb that contained the nerve agent sarin. This was the first case of an IUD used to disperse a nerve agent. In 2014 Staff Sgt. James Burns and Pfc. Michael Yandell, wounded in the attack, shared their story in NY Times report.
(SSFC, 12/7/14, p.A19)
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, 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, A burglary in Pleasant Hill, Ca., left Michael Fidler dead in his apartment. Three years later a witness identified two men involved. Kenneth York was convicted as one of the robbers and sentenced to life without parole. In 2018 his life sentence was overturned it was found that York's trial lawyer had ignored cell phone records that could have undermined the prosecution's case.
(SSFC, 6/3/18, p.C1)
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 drug market intervention (DMI) 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)(Econ, 3/3/12, p.42)
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 $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 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 Cumbers (36), an Irish cameraman working for the BBC, was killed in a shooting in Riyadh. BBC correspondent Frank Gardner was left paralyzed. In 2014 eight men, part of an 86-member terrorist cell, were found guilty of attacks against foreigners that included Cumbers and Gardner.
(SFC, 6/7/04, A8)(AP, 11/18/14)
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. In 2014 a court in Riyadh sentenced an Al-Qaeda member to death for the kidnapping and murder of Johnson.
(AP, 6/13/04)(AP, 6/20/04)(AFP, 8/19/14)
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 EU 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 an 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 Japan Cyberdyne was founded by Yoshiyuki Sankai, a professor at the University of Tsukuba as a venture company to develop his ideas for an exoskeleton suit.
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyberdyne_Inc.)
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 videotape 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, The International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (popularly known as the International Seed Treaty) came into force.
(http://practicalaction.org/seed_treaty)
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, A pilot Confucius Institute program, designed to promote the study of Chinese abroad, was established in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. The first Confucius Institute was then established in Seoul on Nov 21, 2004. The 75th was established in Cracow, Poland, in 2006. In 2017 there were some 500 institutes in 140 countries.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confucius_Institute)(Econ, 3/25/17, p.37)
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 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, 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 Pakistan 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, 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, In Ivory Coast journalist Guy-Andre Kieffer (b.1949), a dual citizen of France and Canada, was kidnapped. He was working in the commercial capital, Abidjan, as an independent journalist, writing articles about corruption.
(AP, 1/7/12)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guy-Andr%C3%A9_Kieffer)
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, In California Scott Peterson pleaded innocent in the deaths of his pregnant wife and unborn son.
(AP, 4/21/04)
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. This was later believed to have been an assassination attempt on Kim Jong Il. A mobile phone was used to detonate a huge bomb a t a train station. The incident markedly delayed the introduction of mobile phones in North Korea.
(http://ajw.asahi.com/article/asia/korean_peninsula/AJ201109089693)(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, It was reported that ten US contractors in Iraq have paid over $300 million in penalties since 2000 to resolve various allegations.
(SFC, 4/27/04, p.C1)
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, 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, former head 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.
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elon_Musk)(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, Bangladesh police in Chittagong intercepted a shipment from China of rifles, submachine guns, hand grenades and more valued at $5 million. The weapons were intended for rebels in India’s Assam state. In 2014 a trial court sentenced 14 men to death on smuggling charges.
(SFC, 2/20/14, p.40)
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, In Tunisia the Nawaat collective blog was created. It was quickly blocked and remained blocked until January 2011. It played a major role in channeling the opposition to Ben Ali's long rule and covered protests that culminated in his ouster.
(AFP, 6/5/12)
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, In Iraq British troops engaged in a battle near the town of at Al Majar Al Kabir. In 2008 lawyers released evidence that they said shows British soldiers may have tortured and executed up to 20 Iraqis after the battle of Danny Boy. On Feb 4, 2013, Britain’s Al-Sweady Inquiry began oral hearings in the case.
(AP, 2/22/08)(AP, 3/4/13)
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, 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, 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, In Iraq a US patrol was hit by a roadside bomb that contained the nerve agent sarin. This was the first case of an IUD used to disperse a nerve agent. In 2014 Staff Sgt. James Burns and Pfc. Michael Yandell, wounded in the attack, shared their story in NY Times report.
(SSFC, 12/7/14, p.A19)
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, 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, A burglary in Pleasant Hill, Ca., left Michael Fidler dead in his apartment. Three years later a witness identified two men involved. Kenneth York was convicted as one of the robbers and sentenced to life without parole. In 2018 his life sentence was overturned it was found that York's trial lawyer had ignored cell phone records that could have undermined the prosecution's case.
(SSFC, 6/3/18, p.C1)
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 drug market intervention (DMI) 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)(Econ, 3/3/12, p.42)
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 $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 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 Cumbers (36), an Irish cameraman working for the BBC, was killed in a shooting in Riyadh. BBC correspondent Frank Gardner was left paralyzed. In 2014 eight men, part of an 86-member terrorist cell, were found guilty of attacks against foreigners that included Cumbers and Gardner.
(SFC, 6/7/04, A8)(AP, 11/18/14)
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. In 2014 a court in Riyadh sentenced an Al-Qaeda member to death for the kidnapping and murder of Johnson.
(AP, 6/13/04)(AP, 6/20/04)(AFP, 8/19/14)
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 EU 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 an 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 Japan Cyberdyne was founded by Yoshiyuki Sankai, a professor at the University of Tsukuba as a venture company to develop his ideas for an exoskeleton suit.
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyberdyne_Inc.)
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 videotape 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, The International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (popularly known as the International Seed Treaty) came into force.
(http://practicalaction.org/seed_treaty)
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, A pilot Confucius Institute program, designed to promote the study of Chinese abroad, was established in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. The first Confucius Institute was then established in Seoul on Nov 21, 2004. The 75th was established in Cracow, Poland, in 2006. In 2017 there were some 500 institutes in 140 countries.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confucius_Institute)(Econ, 3/25/17, p.37)
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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