SENTIDO > DAILY INTERCEPT > NEWS BRIEF ARCHIVE > MAY 2004

31 May: Evidence of systematic torture, police killings, disappearance under Karimov's regime in Uzbekistan, justified as acts in furtherance of US war on terror... Khobar hostage-takers escape capture: Saudis say they used hostages as human shields; hostage says deal struck to let them go in exchange for not blowing up building (BBC)... Timeline of events on morning of 9/11 attacks shows Bush was en route to grade school photo-op when first plane struck, choosing not to respond to tragedy, raises questions about 37 names missing from flight manifest lists... 1199 SEIU: home health aids living in poverty seek fair compensation... Bonn Conference calls for worldwide commitment to renewables... Last surviving widow of US Civil War veteran has died; married husband 60 years older at 21...

30 May: Saudi forces free hostages, discover 9 dead after raiding Khobar offices where hostages were being held, executed; Number killed in yesterday's nearby gunbattle rises to 16... Fighting in Qufa, Najjaf threatens tentative US ceasefire with Medhi militia... Pinochet immunity revoked as court finds former dictator competent to stand trial...

29 May: UN peacekeeper killed by unidentified gunmen amid internal clashes between factions of Congo's unified military... Gunmen assault oil industry offices in Saudi Arabia, killing 10; incident marks escalation in recent rash of terrorist acts against Saudi oil industry... NY Times reports interrogators from Guantánamo base were sent to Iraqi prisons to train MI in techniques... Providence Phoenix reports widespread self-censorship by US media excludes not only truths about Iraq war, but even word of films, articles asking key questions...

28 May: Iyad Allawi, MD, a shi'a opponent of Saddam, now prospect for Iraq interim PM, liked by CPA, IGC, not yet officially confirmed... UK captures radical cleric on terror charges; US seeks extradition, UK expected to require death penalty waiver, as per EU law... Regular unleaded at $2.419/gallon I-95 in Connecticut...

27 May: US considers truce offer from Al-Sadr to end clashes in holy cities of Najjaf, Qufa... Press under assault worldwide: Reporters Sans Frontieres reports violence against journalists on the rise, highest in decade, more reporters being detained; UN criticizes mass media for ignoring vital stories... NLC accuses Bush campaign of funding Burmese dictatorship through illegal imports... Lebanese military shoots 5 protestors in Beirut, demonstrating against high gas prices... UN brings aid to zone of massive flooding on Haitian-Dominican border; bodies still being recovered... Spain's Rodríguez Zapatero in Mexico: UN is great opportunity for multilateral progress on international conflicts, because UN requires multilateral approach to function effectively...

26 May: Iraq insurgents' roadside bomb shell tests positive for components of Sarin nerve agent; CIA analysis says shell may date from years before '91 Gulf War... IISS report says Iraq war boon for Al Qaeda recruiting, network may now include 18,000 radical terrorist agents... AI annual human rights report says Bush lack of vision, principle in war on terror has spread terror, brutality, not protected freedom, human rights... NPRI's Caldicott calls for immediate global nuclear disarmament, abolition in 5 years; Sam Nunn (CEO, Nuclear Threat Initiative) agrees that complicated universal transparency can be achieved, for global security... In speech to MoveOn PAC, Al Gore called for immediate resignations of Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, Feith, Cambone, Rice and Tenet, blaming "atrocious policies" for Iraq "catastrophe", prisoner abuse... Record gasoline prices, fears of foreign dependence bring surge in demand for hybrid cars, SUVs...

25 May: Most intense fighting between Al Sadr's Medhi militia, Coalition forces in Najjaf; Imam Ali mosque, 1 of most sacred shi'a sites is damaged, Medhi blame US mortar fire; Coalition detains top Sadr aide... Pentagon confirms it will remove General Sánchez from top command in Iraq, says move not linked to Abu Ghraib... Massive flooding causes widespread destruction across Haiti, Dominican Republic, as torrential rains kill 200... Frenchmen Santoro/Clement manufacture longest match in tennis history: 6hr, 33 min at French Open...

24 May: Pres. Bush reiterates claim of link between 9/11 and Iraq war, but acknowledged condition as "Occupation"... Mayfield, Oregon lawyer released by FBI, now cleared of all wrongdoing; government appears to blame error in assessing digital copy of fingerprint (with no reference to original) for false ID... Kerry says he'll take up sweatshop issue in campaign...

21 May: Oregon lawyer detained as material witness after FBI claimed print-match with Madrid bombing evidence, now free; Spain says print actually matched Algerian suspect... NY Mayor Bloomberg bars peace and justice group from demonstrating in Central Park, without Constitutional cause... Northern white rhino may be extinct in months due to Sudanese poaching... 472 prisoners released from Abu Ghraib prison; CNN reports 9 open investigations into suspicious prisoner deaths (6 Iraq, 3 Afghanistan); NBC reports investigations into 37 deaths... Israel withdraws from Rafah, reports finding no arms-smuggling tunnels, says raids will continue...

20 May: Singh approved to take over world's largest democracy... US criticized for bomb attack yesterday in Western Iraq, killing 40 civilians at what witnesses say was wedding ceremony, including 25 from 1 family, children; Iraqi police, Coalition forces raid home of former Pentagon favorite, Chalabi, alleging ties to bribery, extortion, kidnapping... Wall Street Journal reports: GAO rules White House violated anti-propaganda laws with public-funded newsreel campaign promoting its Medicare legislation... House speaker Hastert questions former POW Sen. John McCain's understanding of sacrifice in war; McCain reminds party that irresponsible spending does not honor troop sacrifice...

19 May: As Pentagon denies charges about secret extreme interrogation plans, New York Times says it has sworn statement confirming Military Police at Abu Ghraib were ordered to use extreme and extraordinary measures in treatment of prisoners... 1st soldier tried for prison abuses convicted through plea deal, gets 1 year incarceration, agrees to testify; HRW criticizes Court Martial for barring human rights groups from proceedings... UN Security Council adopts unanimous resolution condemning Israel for latest civilian deaths, collective punishment (US abstains, non-veto considered sign of severe Washington displeasure); today a peaceful demonstration was broken up by missile and tank fire, drawing further international outcry (Israel promises investigation)... 10 governors have written Pres. Bush requesting inquiry into petrol price gouging as 5 of top 6 oil giants report profits 90% above last year...

18 May: Sonia Gandhi opts not to take over as Indian PM; Congress party thought to install Manhoman Singh instead... Salon reports Justice Dept. testified before Supreme Court that "our executive doesn't" torture on same day Abu Ghraib story broke, questions sincerity of testimony... UN, EU, Amnesty International condemn Israeli operation in Rafah, Gaza Strip: largest in 3 decades, using tanks and bulldozers to destroy over 100 civilian homes, killing at least 19, barring entry to camp; Israel says operation designed to create buffer to prevent Israeli deaths... Jail in San Pedro Sula, 110 miles north of Tegucigalpa, Honduras, caught fire, killing 102 inmates; 1 survivor claimed guards fired on trapped prisoners, officials say shots fired in air to discourage escape... Proposed cuts in HUD Section 8 funding may cause thousands of underpriveleged, elderly, and infirm Americans to fall short on rent, pushing them onto the street or into public housing...

17 May: Same-sex couples gather to celebrate legalization of marriage rights, get first court-approved marriage licenses; Bush calls for immediate action on Constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage... Head of Iraqi Governing Council assassinated in bomb attack...

16 May: Israel hits Hamas newspaper, Arafat office, in missile strike; est. 120,000 rally in Israel, calling for peace, Gaza pullout... NBC reports Rumsfeld approved extreme interrogation methods, expanding system targetting Al Qaeda to Iraq prisons, that Pres. Bush knew, Rice cleared move; New Yorker quotes intel official as saying rule was "grab whom you must. Do what you want"... McLaughlin reports 777 US soldiers killed in Iraq, est. 15,200 Iraqi civilians killed... Washington Post reports Bush fundraisers enjoy special treatment (more than 40% received appointments in 2000; only 631 raised as much as 1/3 to 1/2 of all Bush cash)... Powell admits UN testimony now appears based on false intel, after press aids attempt to shut down Meet the Press interview...

15 May: Week of most intensive combat between Israelis and Palestinians ends with more clashes, more deaths on both sides... Family of murdered hostage Berg blame CPA for unlawfully holding him until tensions across Iraq escalated to fever pitch... Powell says US will pull out entirely if asked by interim Iraq government, tells Arab audience "our hearts ache" over prison abuses...

14 May: Congress Party has opportunity to form new government, replace ousted nationalist BJP; Vajpayee resigns... CNN reports crimes against humanity, ethnic cleansing in Darfur, on Chad-Sudan border, as documented by UN, HRW... Members of Congress, visibly disturbed express outrage at 1,800 images of prison abuse flashed before them in secret Pentagon viewing... Rumsfeld decries abuses, promises justice without compromise...

13 May: Andhra Pradesh voters remove pro-business regional leader in Indian election, reducing BJP influence... Red Cross alleges abuses at Guantánamo verge on torture, prisoner attorney suspects high-level coordination; HRW says abuses like those in Iraq also occurred in Afghanistan... US soldier seen in photo with Iraqi prisoner says she was ordered to pose for "psy ops"... Congress questions Dep. Def. Sec. on request for absolute discretion in spending additional $25B for Iraq, assert Constitutional need for Congressional oversight... BBC reports Berg may have been in US custody, prior to his kidnapping and beheading... Venezuela's Pres. Chávez thwarts apparent coup plot; opponents fear crackdown...

12 May: BBC says Iraq prisoner abuse was due to "failure of leadership" but was not US policy... Iraqi insurgents release video showing beheading of American hostage, Nicholas Berg, once held by Iraqi police, Coalition authorities...

11 May: ANC reports 179 deaths in Philippine election violence... Philippine Star cites Toyota plans for engines running on coconut-based fuel... TVE reports American general admits prisoner-abuse at Abu Ghraib was systematic, soldiers followed orders... Monsanto suspends plan to market GM wheat, in face of global opposition...

8 May: Lucia Annunziata, head of Italian network RAI, resigned as protest against government intrusion... Indonesia election puts Golkar ahead of Pres. Megawati Sukarnoputri's party by 3%... Burundi's coalition government broke down with pullout of main rebel faction, raising concern of new civil war...

5 May: US Gen. Hertling says heavy artillery, small arms caches rumored to be in "official buildings" in several Iraq cities, under control of spreading Sadr militia... 3 bombs explode near Athens police station... Indian elections enter third phase, with possible challenge to ruling BJP...

4 May: Role of Saddam general downgraded in "Fallujah brigade" deal...

1 May: Coalition plans to install to Saddam general as security chief for Fallujah, with possible independence from new Iraqi government... Australia's PM seeks to abolish representative self-government for aboriginal population...