SENTIDO > DAILY INTERCEPT > NEWS BRIEF ARCHIVE > FEBRUARY 2004

29 February: Aristide relinquishes power at dawn, flees to Dominican Republic (Haiti's 33rd coup in 200 years)... Iran has alleged capture of Bin Laden being kept secret for election gimmickry; US, Pakistan vehemently deny charge... Same-sex marriage gains momentum, now includes SF, New Paltz (NY), MA, New Mexico, mayors of Salt Lake, Chicago voicing support... Bush, Schroeder met to discuss new cooperation between US, Germany in Iraq...

27 February: Manila ferry fire sends passengers into sea; 110 missing... Bush administration "hints" at need for Aristide's resignation, in light of opposition refusal to negotiate... CA court declines petition to nullify SF weddings... US House extends 9-11 Commission deadline by 60 days... Pentagon-sponsored report cites "worst-case scenario": global warming may lead to worldwide instability, suffering...

26 February: UN warns any tapping of delegate or Annan phones would be illegal, seeks answers (spying alleged by former UK Int'l Development Sec. Short... President of Macedonia presumed dead in plane crash... Aristide tells CNN 32 coups d'etat are enough for Haiti's history, says "terrorists" are running weapons, drugs into Gonaïves... Bernie Sanders (I-VT) called for Greenspan's firing, decries attempts to undermine social services...

25 February: One day after Aristide's impassioned plea for international help, France indicates disenchantment with his leadership; no clear possibility of opposition signing on to power-sharing peace-plan... Uganda torn by rash of tribal violence, professed retaliation for factional violence against civilians, military intervenes... Whistleblower who leaked plan to tap UN phones freed by British court for lack of evidence of violation of secrecy laws... BBC reports Italian PM Berclusconi bans satire across his media networks, but satire continues on stage...

23 February: Haiti crisis now full-scale rebellion: rebels vow to take capital Port-au-Prince, capital prepares for seige; US sends troops to secure embassy... Protests in West Bank as International Court of Justice in Hague deliberates on Israeli defense barrier... Nader clarifies reasons for run in press conference, says he will run in all 50 states, urges Dems "relax"... UN SG Annan says no Iraqi elections until end of 2004, or later...

22 February: Aristide agrees to cede authority after his term expires in 2006, agrees to terms of OAS, US, France plan, to disarm gangs, secure peace; opponents object; rebels say they are establishing their own government... Nader announces he will run as independent... 60 leading scientists (20 Nobels) call for restored integrity in US policy, allege distortion of evidence... Courts again refuse to stop same-sex marriages in SF; Schwarzenegger says he'll fight to stop them...

21 February: Swaziland declares national emergency as AIDS, poverty converge to put 250,000 at hunger risk (UN: 40% of adult Swazis HIV positive)... Guardian reports possible wrongful death suits in Iraq conflict... Peace plan for Haiti, as foreigners begin to flee... NY Times reports possible ballot confusion in upcoming primary...

19 February: CA Coastal Commission rejects Homeland Security's demand for a fence along beaches, border (HS seeks to fill in canyons, modify natural landscape to facilitate barrier)... Powell indicates Bush admin. would not object to Aristide's being forced from office; Aristide says he would sooner die than give in to violence... EU pledges fight against anti-semitism...

18 February: Freight train breaks away from engine, explodes, killing 195 in Neyshabur, Iran... Howard Dean officially "no longer actively pursuing the presidency", pledges to continue building grassroots network...

16 February: New round of peace talks between Pakistan and India begin today, both sides sound positive, suggesting small steps toward cessation of border disputes and of nuclear tensions... FT reports Dutch government plans expulsion of 26,000 asylum seekers, expulsion ruled "illegal" by Human Rights Watch... Iranian elections may be most lopsided in years, as hardliners refuse to restored barred candidates, reformers call for boycott of vote...

15 February: 1,000+ same-sex couples married this weekend in San Francisco; Georgia legislature to rewrite state's constitutional anti-discrimination provisions to ban same-sex marriage...

14 February: Guerrillas raid Iraqi police station in Fallujah, free 100 prisoners, leaving more than 20 dead; attack comes as UN observers warn of emerging civil unrest... Greek, Turkish Cypriots to resume talks about unification plan... Bush, Clinton, Gore will meet with 9-11 Commission, Cheney holding out... White House seals Iraq Intel commission financial discolsures...

13 February: Same-sex couples marry in San Francisco City Hall, for second day, citing anti-discrimination clause in CA Constitution... 2 Halliburton whistleblowers allege company routinely overcharged Pentagon; 1 testifies today on Capitol Hill... Putin opponent who was missing for 5 days, claims he was kidnapped and drugged... México, Chile allege wiretapping of emissaries to UN...

12 February: Insurgents in Iraq staged attack on CentCom commander Gen. Abizaid, who was unharmed... Rebel gangs block Haitian highways, obstruct distribution of food; UN warns 268,000 poor in north could go hungry... South Korean scientists clone human embryos in order to extract stem cells... Kean tells press he will call Bush, Clinton, VPs to testify before 9-11 commission...

11 February: Rep. Upton, House Telecom-Internet Chair, today proposed ban on broadcasters with 3 "indecency" violations... White House response to bloody revolt in northern Haiti: Aristide should "respect human rights"... Powell admits there were "objections" from "one or more intelligence agencies" about UN testimony one year ago, but says war "had the right basis"...

10 February: Car bomb kills 50 south of Baghdad... Uprising in Haiti spreads amid weakness of non-military government, Annan says UN will get more involved... White House Press Sec. testifies before federal grand jury investigating CIA name leak...

9 February: German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder has resigned as leader of the Social Democratic Party, will continue as Chancellor... Sri Lanka's President dissolves parliament, deepening political turmoil... Asian nations ban poultry imports from US after isolated case of Avian Flu was discovered in Delaware flock... UN World Food Prog.: food stocks fail in N. Korea, endangering 6.5 million lives... Haitian PM accuses opposition of engineering coup... Liberian Transitional Government Chairman Bryant addressed the National Press Club today...

8 February: Rebels clash with police in Haitian city, Gonaives... Israel missile attack kills Islamic Jihad member, 12-year-old boy... Resurgence in Kashmir violence kills 15... Unannounced poll closings, relocations obstruct voter access in Michigan's Sat. caucuses; Kerry wins Michigan, Washington...

7 February: Bush appointed Intel chair is judge who overruled conviction of Oliver North for Iran-Contra... Venice flooded wih Carnaval revelers, Tenerife's celebrations will last one month... Michigan, Washington state to hold Democratic party caucuses, Dems talk jobs, intelligence...

6 February: 39 killed in Moscow underground... Sen. McCain named to Iraq intel panel, no sitting Democrats; panel to include Yale President, former counsel to Carter, Clinton... Gephardt endorses frontrunner Kerry, who seeks his labor support... Renewed calls for Scalia to recuse himself from Cheney secrecy case after hunting trip with Cheney, energy executives... Tenet says CIA never declared Iraq "imminent threat"...

5 February: Demonstrations in Lima against corruption, includes group Perú Posible... Powell indicates new information may have altered his position on war... Anti-war protestors in London steal spotlight, accusing Blair government of "whitewash"...

4 February: CA legislature addresses little-known Mexico-Repatriation Program of 1930s (Tavis, reparations issue)... MA Supreme Court rules denying gays full marriage rights unconstitutional... Belgium sees protests against proposed law restricting display of religious symbols in schools...

3 February: PM Sharon has ordered evacuation of all Israeli settlers from Gaza strip, sets no date... 40,000 Brazilians forced from home by mudslides... PM Blair to launch Iraq WMD intel probe in UK... Hubble telescope finds oxygen, carbon in atmosphere of planet orbiting distant star... Powder found in Sen. Frist's DC office tests positive for ricin...

2 February: 67 killed in suicide attacks in Irbil, northern Iraq; target: Kurdish political leaders... Iranian reformists to boycott coming elections in protest of candidate ban... Bush announces he will appoint an independent panel to investigate Iraq intelligence failure; plans to cut 65 federal programs WH views as superfluous, sharply reduce 63 more... Vietnam reports possible first human-human transmission of Avian Flu...

1 February: 240+ killed in Hajj stampede in Saudi Arabia... 1/3 Iranian MP's resign, charge Guardian Council is engineering Taliban-style theocracy... BBC finds factual deficit in Hutton report...