Candle-mas day. Candles are blessed in honor of the presentation of the baby Jesus in the Temple and the purification of the Virgin Mary. The French of long ago believed that pancakes eaten on this day prevented hemorrhoids. Pagans call the day Brigid and Irish Catholics call it St. Brigid’s Day. Druids call it Imbolc or Imbolg.
(WUD, 1994, p.216)(SFC, 1/17/98, p.C5)(SSFC, 2/3/02, p.E4) 962Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Otto I (912-973), founder of the Holy Roman Empire, was crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope John XII.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otto_I,_Holy_Roman_Emperor)(AHD, 1971, p.931)1032Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Conrad II claimed the thrown of France.
(HN, 2/2/99)1348Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, The Knights of the Cross defeated a Lithuanian army at Streva.
(LHC, 2/2/03)1386Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Jogaila was elected King of Poland.
(LHC, 2/2/03)1461Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2-3, The English houses of York and Lancaster battled at Mortimer’s Cross, the Battle of the Three Suns. In the War of the Roses Edward of York defeated the Welsh Lancastrians in the 2nd battle of St Alban’s.
(MH, 12/96) (AM, 7/01, p.69)(MC, 2/2/02)1494Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Columbus began the practice using Indians as slaves.
(HN, 2/2/01)1536Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, The Argentine city of Buenos Aires was founded by Pedro de Mendoza of Spain. The memorial Column standing at the center of Buenos Aires, gives the date as 1500.
(AP, 2/2/97) (MC, 2/2/02)1556Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, The worst earthquake in history devastated China’s Shanxi Province, killing 830,000 people.
(PCh, 1992, p.190) (www.kepu.ac.cn/english/quake/ruins/rns03.html)1571Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, All eight members of a Jesuit mission in Virginia were murdered by Indians who pretended to be their friends.
(HN, 2/2/99)1594Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Giovanni Perluigi da Palestrina (68), Italian composer, died.
(MC, 2/2/02)1602Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, The first recorded performance of Shakespeare’s comedy “Twelfth Night” took place. It was not published until 1623,
(Econ, 3/9/13, p.86)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelfth_Night)1626Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Charles I was crowned King of England. His wife was Queen Henrietta Maria.
(HN, 2/2/99) (WSJ, 10/31/02, p.D6)1650Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Nell [Eleanor] Gwyn, English actress, mistress to King Charles II, was born.
(MC, 2/2/02)1653Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, New Amsterdam, later New York City, was incorporated.
(AP, 2/2/97)1754Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Charles Maurice de Tallyrand-Perigord, minister of foreign affairs for Napoleon I, was born. He represented France brilliantly at the Congress of Vienna.
(HN, 2/2/99)1762Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Thomas Arne’s opera “Ataxerxes,” premiered in London.
(MC, 2/2/02)1789Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Armand-Louis Couperin (63), French composer, organist at Notre Dame, died.
(MC, 2/2/02)1795Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Joseph Haydn’s 102nd Symphony in B premiered.
(MC, 2/2/02)1803Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Albert Sidney Johnston, Genl. (Confederate Army), was born. He died in 1862 at Shiloh.
(MC, 2/2/02)1808Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Josef Kajetan Tyl (d.1856), Czech dramatist and songwriter, was born.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josef_Kajet%C3%A1n_Tyl)1811Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Russian settlers established Ft. Ross trading post in northern California. Fort Ross was settled by peg-legged Ivan Kuzkov (Kuskov) in Sonoma County (1912). It was designed as a base for fur hunters and a warm weather supplier for the Russian colonies in Alaska. The colonists included 25 Russians and over 80 Aleut Indians from the islands of western Alaska. Kuskov managed the settlement until 1821.
(SFEC, 3/23/97, p.T5) (SFEC, 9/20/98, Z1 p.4) (SFC, 6/15/01, WBb p.7) (MC, 2/2/02)1817      Feb 2, John Glover, English chemist (sulfuric acid), was born.
(MC, 2/2/02)1823Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Rossini’s opera “Semiramide” premiered in Venice.
(MC, 2/2/02)1826      Feb 2, Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin (b.1755), French lawyer and epicure, died. “Tell me what you eat and I will tell you what you are.” His famous work, Physiologie du goût (The Physiology of Taste), was published in December 1825, two months before his death.
(WSJ, 7/19/08, p.W1) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brillat-Savarin)1848Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, US and Mexico signed the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. Mexico ceded one-third of its territory to the US including California, agreed to the Rio Grande as the boundary between Texas and Mexico and was awarded $15 million. 25,000 Mexicans and 12,000 Americans lost their lives in the 17-month old conflict.
(HFA, ”˜96, p.48) (SFC, 6/13/96, p.A17) (HN, 2/2/99)
1848Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, The 1st ship load of Chinese arrived in SF.
(MC, 2/2/02)1852Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Alexandre Dumas Jr.’s “Le Dame aux Camelias,” premiered in Paris.
(MC, 2/2/02)1861Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Solomon R. Guggenheim, philanthropist (Guggenheim Museum NYC), was born.
(MC, 2/2/02)
1861Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Mohammed VI, last sultan of Ottoman Empire (1918-22), was born.
(MC, 2/2/02)1865Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Confederate raider William Quantrill and his bushwackers robbed citizens, burned a railroad depot and stole horses from Midway, Kentucky.
(HN, 2/2/01)1869Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, James Oliver invented the removable tempered steel plow blade.
(MC, 2/2/02)1870Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Samuel Clemens, Mark Twain, married Olivia Langdon in Elmira, New York. He fell in love with her photograph during an 1867 trip to the Holy Land with her brother Charles.
(SFEM, 1/25/98, p.31)
1870Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, The press agencies Havas, Reuter and Wolff signed an agreement whereby between them they would cover the whole world.
(HN, 2/2/99)
1870Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, The “Cardiff Giant,” supposedly the petrified remains of a human discovered in Cardiff, N.Y., was revealed to be nothing more than carved gypsum.
(AP, 2/2/97)1873Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Baron Konstantin von Neurath, German secretary of State (1932-38), was born. After WW II he was tried as war criminal and received jail sentence.
(MC, 2/2/02)1875Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Fritz Kreisler, violinist, composer, was born in Vienna, Austria.
(MC, 2/2/02)1876Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, The National League of Professional Base Ball Clubs with eight teams (Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, Hartford, Louisville, New York, Philadelphia, St Louis) was formed in New York.
(AP, 2/2/97) (HN, 2/2/99) (MC, 2/2/02)1882Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, James Joyce (d.1941), Irish novelist and poet was born near Dublin. He wrote “Ulysses” and “Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man.” From “Ulysses”: “History, Stephen said, is a nightmare from which I am trying to awake.” In 1998 John Wyse Jackson and Peter Costello published the biography: “John Stanislaus Joyce: The Voluminous Life and Genius of James Joyce’s Father.”
(AP, 6/22/98) (AP, 2/2/99) (HN, 2/2/99)1887Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, People began gathering at Gobbler’s Knob in Punxsutawney, Pa., to witness the groundhog’s search for its shadow.
(WSJ, 2/2/99, p.B1)1890Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Charles Correl, “Andy” of the “Amos and Andy” radio program, was born.
(HN, 2/2/99)1892Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Bottle cap with cork seal was patented by William Painter in Baltimore.
(MC, 2/2/02)1893Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, The first movie close-up (of a sneeze) was made at the Edison studio, West Orange, NJ.
(HFA, ’96, p.24) (MC, 2/2/02)1895Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, George Halas, National Football League co-founder, was born.
(HN, 2/2/99)1897Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Fire destroyed the Pennsylvania state capitol in Harrisburg. A new statehouse was dedicated on the same site nine years later.
(AP, 2/2/97)1900Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Gustave Charpentier’s opera “Louise” premiered in Paris.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louise_%28opera%29)1901Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Jascha Heifetz (d.1987), US violin virtuoso (Carnegie Hall), was born in Vilnius, Lithuania.
(www.musicianguide.com/biographies/1608002800/Jascha-Heifetz.html)
1901Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Mexican government troops were badly beaten by Yaqui Indians.
(HN, 2/2/99)1905Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Ayn Rand (d.1982), writer and social philosopher (Atlas Shrugged, Fountainhead), was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, as Alisa Rosenbaum. Her work espoused the political-economic philosophy of Objectivism, capitalism and what she called “rational selfishness.” She graduated from the University of Leningrad in 1924 and moved to the United States in 1926, becoming a citizen in 1931. In Objectivism, the individual alone and his acts of self-interest are seen as the positive driving force of society. Rand rejected ideologies of altruism and self-sacrifice. Her novels “Fountainhead” (1943) and “Atlas Shrugged” (1957) and a number of non-fiction works brought wide recognition to her and her theories. Rand founded the journal The Objectivist in 1962. She died in 1982. “Upper classes are a nation’s past; the middle class is its future.” “So you think that money is the root of all evil. Have you ever asked what is the root of money?”
(AP, 4/30/97) (AP, 5/13/98) (HNPD, 9/27/99) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayn_Rand)1906Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, A Papal encyclical denounced the separation of church & state.
(MC, 2/2/02)1911Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Johan J. “Jussi” Bjorling, great Swedish tenor, was born. Now regarded by many as the greatest opera tenor of the middle 20th Century.
(MC, 2/2/02)1913Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, The new Grand Central Terminal in NYC opened. It first opened in 1871 and was rebuilt by Cornelius Vanderbilt at 42nd and Park Ave. It was designed by the architectural firms of Reed and Stem and Warren and Wetmore, and was extensively remodeled in 1998.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Central_Terminal) (WSJ, 12/9/04, p.D10)(SSFC, 1/3/10, p.L4)1915Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Abba Eban (d.2002), Israeli statesman, was born in South Africa. He grew up in England, attaining honors at Cambridge University, where he honed his oratory as a leader of the university debating society.
(AP, 11/17/02)1918Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, John L. Sullivan (59), American former heavyweight boxing champ, died.
(AH, 2/06, p.34)1920Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, A. Wang, founder of Wang Labs and Wang Computers, was born.
(MC, 2/2/02)1922Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, James Joyce’s novel “Ulysses” was published in Paris with 1,000 copies.
(SFC, 10/15/99, p.C12) (MC, 2/2/02)1923Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Ethyl gasoline was 1st marketed in Dayton, Ohio.
(MC, 2/2/02)1927Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Stan Getz, jazz saxophonist, was born in Philadelphia.
(SFC, 12/28/99, p.C4)1932Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Al Capone was sent to prison at Atlanta, Georgia, for “tax evasion.”
(MC, 2/2/02)1933Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Adolf Hitler dissolved Parliament 2 days after becoming chancellor.
(MC, 2/2/02)
1933Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Reichstag President Herman Goring banned communist meetings and demonstrations in Germany.
(MC, 2/2/02)
1933Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Than Shwe, later military ruler of Myanmar (1992), was born.
(WSJ, 5/15/08, p.A9) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Than_Shwe)1934Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, The SF Police Commission promulgated a set of regulations regarding dance permits to Barbary Coast nightclubs. These included a prohibition against colored and white people dancing together.
(SSFC, 2/1/09, DB p.50)
1934Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Alfred Rosenberg was made philosophical chief of the Nazi Party.
(HN, 2/2/99)1935Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, A lie detector, invented in 1921, was 1st used in court at Portage, Wisc.
(MC, 2/2/02) (Econ, 7/10/04, p.71)1939Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Hungary broke relations with the Soviet Union.
(HN, 2/2/99)1942Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, A Los Angeles Times column urged security measures against Japanese-Americans, arguing that a Japanese-American “almost inevitably … grows up to be a Japanese, not an American.”
(AP, 2/2/99)
1942Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, US auto factories switched from commercial to war production.
(MC, 2/2/02)1943Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, The remainder of Nazi forces from the Battle of Stalingrad surrendered in a major World War II victory for the Soviets. 23 generals, 2,000 officers, and at least 130,000 German troops surrendered. This was later considered as the turning point of WW II.
(AP, 2/2/97) (HN, 2/2/99) (WSJ, 3/28/03, p.A1)1944Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Andrew Davis, conductor, was born in Ashbridge, England.
(MC, 2/2/02)
1944Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, The Germans stopped an Allied attack at Anzio, Italy.
(HN, 2/2/99)1945Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, President Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill departed Malta for the Yalta summit with Soviet leader Josef Stalin.
(AP, 2/2/97)
1945Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Some 1,200 Royal Air Force planes blasted Wiesbaden and Karlsruhe.
(HN, 2/2/99)
1945Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Karl F. Goerdeler (60), mayor of Leipzig, “July 20th plot”, was hanged.
(MC, 2/2/02)1946Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 1, A press conference for what is considered the first computer, the Electronic Numerical Integrator and Calculator (ENIAC), was held at the University of Pennsylvania. The machine took up an entire room, weighed 30 tons and used more than 18,000 vacuum tubes to perform functions such as counting to 5,000 in one second. ENIAC, costing $450,000, was designed by the U.S. Army during World War II to make artillery calculations. The development of ENIAC paved the way for modern computer technology–but even today’s average calculator possesses more computing power than ENIAC did.
(HN, 2/2/99)1948Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, President Harry Truman sent to Congress a 10-point civil rights program calling for measures against lynching, poll taxes and job discrimination.
(AP, 2/2/08)
1948Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, The United States and Italy signed a pact of friendship, commerce and navigation.
(HN, 2/2/99)1950      Feb 2, Nuclear physicist Klaus Fuchs was arrested on spy charges. The Klaus Fuchs (d.1988) confession revealed that the Soviet Union obtained the atomic bomb from sources within the Manhattan Project. It was later revealed that Theodore Alvin Hall, a scientist on the project, passed information to the Soviets. The story is told in the 1997 book: “Bombshell: The Secret Story of America’s Spy Conspiracy” by Joseph Albright and Marcia Kunstel. Fuchs served 9 ½ years in a British prison. Ruth Werner (d.2000) served as a contact for Fuchs in Britain.
(http://tinyurl.com/kjpk5) (WSJ, 10/20/97, p.A19) (SFEC, 12/21/97, BR p.7) (SFC, 7/11/00, p.A23)1954      Feb 2, President Eisenhower reported the 1952 detonation of 1st Hydrogen bomb.
(MC, 2/2/02)1956Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Figure skater Tenley Albright became the first American woman to win a gold medal at the Winter Olympics in Italy. She achieved this despite an ankle injury.
(NYT, 2/3/1956, p. 26)1959Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Buddy Holly made his last performance.
(MC, 2/2/02)
1959Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Arlington and Norfolk, Va., peacefully desegregated public schools.
(HN, 2/2/99)1960Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, The U.S. Senate approved 24th Amendment calling for a ban on the poll tax.
(HN, 2/2/99)1961Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, The hijackers of the Portuguese ocean liner the Santa Maria allowed the passengers and crew to disembark in Brazil, 11 days after seizing the ship.
(AP, 2/2/07)1965Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Joe Orton’s farce, “Loot,” premiered in Brighton.
(MC, 2/2/02)1967Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, The American Basketball Association (ABA) was officially born as the brainchild of promoter Dennis Murphy. He later founded the World Football League, the World Hockey Association, and World Team Tennis.
(www.hoophall.com/genrel/070307aaa.html)1969Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Boris Karloff (b.1887), British actor born as William Henry Pratt, died. He is best remembered for his roles in horror films and his portrayal of Frankenstein’s monster in the 1931 film Frankenstein.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boris_Karloff)
1969Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, In Marin County, Ca., a fire destroyed a 22-room mansion at Rancho Olompali occupied by members of “the Chosen Family” led by Donald McCoy (1932-2004).”
(SSFC, 10/24/04, p.B7) (SFC, 1/14/09, p.B12)
1969Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Giovanni Martinelli (b.1885), Italian opera singer, died. He enjoyed a long career at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City and appeared at other international theatres.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giovanni_Martinelli)1970Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Bertrand Russell (B.1872), philosopher, social gadfly and British MP, died in Merioneth. “Why is propaganda so much more successful when it stirs up hatred than when it tries to stir up friendly feeling?” He wrote “Pricipia Mathmatica.” In 1996 “Bertrand Russel: The Spirit of Solitude,” 1871-1921 by Ray Monk was published.
(WSJ, 9/27/96, p.A16) (AP, 1/7/99) (HN, 5/18/99) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bertrand_Russell)1971Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, The Apollo XIV astronauts confirmed that they would attempt a lunar landing.
(G&M, 2/2/96, p.A-2)
1971Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, The Ramsar Convention, officially titled “The Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, especially as Waterfowl Habitat,” was developed and adopted by participating nations at a meeting in Ramsar, Iran. It came into force on December 21, 1975. The US ratified the Ramsar agreement in 1986.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramsar_Convention) (NH, 5/01, p.35)
1971Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Idi Amin assumed power in Uganda, following a coup that ousted President Milton Obote. Idi Amin Dada (1925-2003) appointed himself president.
(AP, 2/2/97) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idi_Amin)1972Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, The play “Jumpers” by Tom Stoppard (b.1937) was first performed at the Old Vic Theatre, London, England.
(SFEM, 1/2/00, p.6) (www.complete-review.com/reviews/stoppt/jumpers.htm)
1972Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Winter Olympics began in Sapporo, Japan.
(HN, 2/2/01)1973Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Crocodile Rock by Elton John peaked in the top 10 singles.
(http://goodyoldies.com/billboard/1973.htm)1974Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Barbra Streisand made her 1st #1 hit, “The Way We Were.”
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_100_number-one_hits_of_1974_(USA))
1974Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, In Fort Myers, Florida, Cynthia Nadeau was raped and her boyfriend Terry Milroy was murdered. Delbert Tibbs (1939-1974) was soon after arrested in Ocala, Fl., for the rape and murder. In December Tibbs was falsely convicted and sentenced to death. In 1976 a judge reveiewed the case and found no evidence to support the conviction. Tibbs was released in 1977.
(www.floridacapitalcases.state.fl.us/case_updates/Htm/046450.htm) (Econ, 12/21/13, p.140)1976Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Susan LeFevre (21) escaped from a Michigan prison, where she was serving a 10-year sentence for a heroin conviction. In 2008 she was arrested in San Diego, where she lived as a suburban mother under the name Marie Walsh. In 2009 LeFevre (54) was released from prison in Michigan.
(http://quintessentialprocrastinator.blogspot.com/2008/08/susan-lefevre.html)(SFC, 5/19/09, p.A5)1979Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, John Simon Ritchie (b.1957), better known as Sid Vicious, the bassist for the British Sex Pistols rock group, overdosed from heroin in NYC.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sid_Vicious)1980Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Reports surfaced that the FBI had conducted a sting operation targeting members of Congress using phony Arab businessmen in what became known as “Abscam,” a codename protested by Arab-Americans.
(AP, 2/2/00)
1980Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, A 2-day prison riot began at the old main penitentiary near Santa Fe, NM. The riot left 33 inmates butchered by other prisoners.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Mexico_State_Penitentiary_riot)1982Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Pres. Hafez Assad ordered the Syrian army under his brother, Rifaat Assad, to crush a fundamentalist Muslim revolt in Hama. At least 10,000 residents were massacred. The Muslim Brotherhood played a role in the crushed uprising.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hama_Massacre)(Econ, 10/27/07, p.33)(Econ, 2/18/12, p.50)1984Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, In Venezuela Pres. Jaime Lusinchi took office as the country’s 57th president and continued to 1989.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaime_Lusinchi)1985Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, David Raley, a caretaker at the Carolands Chateau in Hillsborough, Ca., lured 2 teenage girls inside, where he assaulted and stabbed them, killing one. The 2nd girl survived and identified her assailant. In 2006 an appeals court upheld his death sentence.
(SFC, 8/19/97, p.A17) (Ind, 2/26/00, p.5A)(SFC, 4/15/06, p.B3)1987Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, The White House announced the resignation of CIA director William Casey, who was hospitalized and had undergone brain surgery.
(AP, 2/2/06)
1987Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Largest steel strike in American history, in progress since August, ended.
(HN, 2/2/99)1988Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, In a speech that three major television networks declined to broadcast live, President Reagan pressed his case for aid to the Nicaraguan Contras.
(AP, 2/2/97)1989Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, President Bush met at the White House with Japanese Prime Minister Noboru Takeshita, after which both leaders sounded upbeat about U.S-Japanese relations.
(AP, 2/2/99)1990Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, In a dramatic concession to South Africa’s black majority, President F.W. de Klerk lifted a ban on the African National Congress and promised to free Nelson Mandela.
(AP, 2/2/00)
1990Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, In South Africa Benedict Daswa, as Catholic schoolteacher, was beaten to death in a spasm of violence born of a flash of lightning and a witch hunt. In 2012 a movement was under way to have the Vatican declare Daswa South Africa’s first saint. Daswa was beatified on Sep 13, 2015.
(AP, 7/15/12) (AFP, 9/13/15)1991      Feb 2, In Brazil Expedito Ribeiro de Souza, an environmental activist and head of the Farmworkers Union, was killed. Jose Serafim Sales was convicted for the shooting in 1995 and was sentenced to 24 years in prison. He later escaped. In 2000 rancher Jeronimo Alves Amorim was convicted for ordering the killing and was sentenced to 19 ½ years in prison.
(SFC, 6/8/00, p.A16)1992Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, The U.S. Coast Guard shipped home 250 more Haitian refugees from the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba, a day after repatriating a shipload of about 150 Haitians.
(AP, 2/2/02)
1992Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Longtime “Miss America” emcee Bert Parks died in La Jolla, Calif., at age 77.
(AP, 2/2/02)1993Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, In a speech to the National Governors’ Association, President Clinton pledged to transform welfare into a “hand up, not a handout” by giving recipients training and then requiring them to work.
(AP, 2/2/97)
1993Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, IRS and Willie Nelson settled on $9M tax bill (of $16.7M). In November 1990 the IRS had raided Willie Nelson’s home in Texas and seized everything. The IRS auctioned off Nelson’s home and his property, though friends and fans bought most of his things and gave them back later.
(www.440.com/twtd/archives/feb02.html) (www.bankruptcy-usa.info/famous-bankruptcies.html)1994Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, The US Commerce Department reported that its Index of Leading Economic Indicators rose for the fifth straight month, with a 0.7 percent advance in December 1993.
(AP, 2/2/04)
1994Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Marija Alseika-Gimbutas (b.1921), Lithuanian-born archeologist and pre-historian, died in LA, Ca.
(LHC, 1/23/03)1995Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, President Clinton nominated Henry Foster Jr. to succeed fired Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders; however, Foster’s nomination was later defeated in the Senate.
(AP, 2/2/00)
1995Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, The leaders of Egypt, Israel, Jordan and the Palestinians held an unprecedented summit in Cairo to try to revive the Mideast peace process.
(AP, 2/2/00)(http://tinyurl.com/255pml)1996      Feb 2, Gil Amelio (b.1943), CEO of National Semiconductor from 27 May 1991 to 2 February 1996, took over as chairman and CEO of Apple Computer. Markkula became vice-chairman and Michael Spindler left the company. Amelio lasted until 1997 when Steve Jobs came back to the company. In 1998 Amelio published “On the Firing Line: My 500 Days at Apple,” written with William L. Simon.
(WSJ, 7/2/98, p.A20)(SFC, 1/24/04, p.A12)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gil_Amelio)
1996Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Barry Loukaitis (14) turned his guns loose on fellow 9th graders at Frontier Middle School in Seattle.
(SFEC, 6/14/98, p.A1)
1996Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, A deep freeze continued in the Plains, the Midwest and much of the South, breaking temperature records that had stood for a century.
(AP, 2/2/06)
1996Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Gene Kelly (83), dancer actor and choreographer, famous for his part in the musical Singin’ in the Rain, died of complications from strokes at his home in Beverly Hills, Ca.
(WSJ, 2/5/96, p.A-1)(AP, 2/2/08)1997Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Authorities in Vallejo, Calif., recovered 500 pounds of stolen dynamite and arrested two men in bombings that destroyed three bank teller machines and blasted a courthouse wall. Six men wound up receiving long prison terms for their roles in the case.
(SFC, 2/3/97, p.A1)(AP, 2/2/07)
1997Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, In Algeria Islamic guerrillas killed 31 people. The dead were all believed to be related to a dissident member of the GIA, the Armed Islamic Group. After their throats were cut a dwarf hacked off their heads with an ax and a knife.
(SFC, 2/3/97, p.C2)
1997Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, In Belgium some 20 thousand demonstrators joined workers of bankrupt Forges de Clabecq, a steel firm, to protest job losses and social injustice.
(SFC, 2/3/97, p.C3)
1997Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, In Columbia at least 25 soldiers were killed and scores wounded in fighting with leftist guerrillas east of Bogota.
(SFC, 2/3/97, p.C3)
1997Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, In Serbia riot police beat pro-democracy protestors in the biggest show of force in 75 days of anti-government protests.
(SFC, 2/3/97, p.A1)1998Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Pres. Clinton proposed a $1.73 trillion fiscal 1999 budget and projected a $10 billion surplus, the first year without a deficit since 1969. He planned to pump billions to schools, health and child care.
(WSJ, 2/2/98, p.A1) (AP, 2/2/99)
1998Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, The government released statistics showing deaths from AIDS fell by almost half during the first half of 1997, a decrease attributed to increased use of powerful combinations of medicines.
(AP, 2/2/99)
1998Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, In Florida three days of storms began the left an estimated damage of over $25 million. Gov. Chiles requested $19 million in federal disaster aid.
(SFC, 2/10/98, p.A8)
1998Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, UN Sec-Gen Kofi Annan recommended that the Security Council more than double the amount of oil Iraq is allowed to sell.
(SFC, 2/3/98, p.A6)
1998Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, In Algeria the military reported that they killed 60 rebels in a weekend offensive. Local media said 17 civilians were killed in 3 massacres in western and southern provinces.
(WSJ, 2/3/98, p.A1)
1998Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Russia announced that an envoy in Baghdad received concessions from Saddam Hussein on UN weapons inspections. US Sec. Albright failed to get permission from Saudi Arabia for US use of air bases to launch air strikes against Iraq. France, Turkey, Jordan, the Arab League and Yasser Arafat said they would send envoys to Baghdad to avert a possible US military strike.
(SFC, 2/3/98, p.A6)
1998Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, In the Philippines a Cebu Pacific Air DC-9 crashed on Mount Sumagaya as it approached for landing at Cagayan de Oro. 104 people were onboard. Rescuers reached the wreckage the next day but found no survivors.
(SFC, 2/3/98, p.A6) (SFC, 2/4/98, p.C3)1999Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, A federal jury in Portland, Oregon, ordered abortion foes who had created “wanted” posters and a Web site listing the names and addresses of “baby butchers” to pay $107 million in damages; the defendants said they would appeal. In 2004 the case was before the U.S. Supreme Court.
(AP, 2/2/04)
1999Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, In Angola a chartered Antonov crashed in a Luanda residential area and 28 people were killed.
(WSJ, 2/3/99, p.A1)
1999Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, In Brazil Pres. Cardoso fired Central Bank chief Francisco Lopes. He appointed Arminio Fraga (42), an investment strategist and former associate of George Soros, to the post.
(SFC, 2/3/99, p.A9)
1999Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, In Guinea-Bissau a grenade destroyed a church and killed 3 people. 35 people were reported killed since fighting began Jan 31.
(SFC, 2/3/99, p.A10)
1999Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, In Kosovo members of the KLA agreed to attend peace talks in France.
(SFC, 2/3/99, p.A9)
1999Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, In Iraq US pilots operated under broader rules of attack and targeted a newly assembled missile site.
(SFC, 2/3/99, p.A1)
1999Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, In Russia the top court banned the death penalty until a jury system is adopted throughout the nation. Police commandos also raided the Moscow headquarters of Sibneft, an oil company believed to be controlled by financier Boris Berezovsky.
(WSJ, 2/3/99, p.A1) (SFEC, 2/7/99, p.A22)
1999Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, In Venezuela Hugo Chavez was sworn in as president. He soon began Plan Bolivar 2000, a national effort to refurbish schools and clinics using military forces.
(SFC, 2/3/99, p.A9) (SFC, 6/14/99, p.A12)
1999Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, In Yemen kidnappers freed 4 Dutch and 2 British nationals.
(WSJ, 2/3/99, p.A1)2000Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, The TV cable Oxygen channel, dedicated to female viewers, made its debut.
(SFEC, 1/30/00, p.D5)
2000Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Pres. Clinton proposed a $2 billion “ClickStart” program to bring Internet access to low-income households.
(SFC, 2/3/00, p.A1)
2000Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, The US Federal Reserve raised short-term interest rates by .25%.
(SFC, 2/3/00, p.A1)
2000Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, A federal jury in Portland, Oregon, ordered abortion foes who had created “wanted” posters and a Web site listing the names and addresses of “baby butchers” to pay $107 million in damages; the defendants promised to appeal.
(AP, 2/2/01)
2000Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Searchers recovered the cockpit voice recorder from the wreckage of Alaska Airlines Flight 261 in the Pacific Ocean, off the California coast.
(AP, 2/2/05)
2000Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, In Bolivia an oil spill was reported to have leaked some 5,000 barrels into the Desaguadero River, which empties into Lake Titicaca. The spill was reported to have reached Lake Poopo and Lake Uru Uru and was spreading to the communities of the Aymara Indians.
(SFC, 2/5/00, p.A16)
2000Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, In Israel an Israeli Arab legislator, Issam Mahoul, announced that the country possessed up to 300 nuclear warheads and that 3 new German-made submarines would be fitted with nuclear weapons.
(SFC, 2/3/00, p.A13)
2000Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, In Kosovo a rocket attack on a NATO escorted bus filled with Serb civilians killed 2 villagers and wounded 3.
(SFC, 2/3/00, p.A12) (WSJ, 2/3/00, p.A1)
2000Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, In southern Lebanon a roadside bomb killed one man and injured 2 Israeli militiamen.
(SFC, 2/3/00, p.A13)
2000Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, In Tajikistan at least 5 people were killed and 22 wounded when a city bus exploded outside Dushanbe. A natural gas canister or home made bomb was blamed.
(SFC, 2/3/00, p.A13)
2000Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, In Turkey the bodies of 5 more Hezbollah victims were found in Diyarbakir and Gaziantep and raised the total to 55.
(SFC, 2/3/00, p.A14)2001Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Former President Clinton and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton said they would pay for $86,000 worth of White House gifts they’d chosen to keep.
(AP, 2/2/02)
2001Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Mexico agreed to sell a small amount of power to California. The Bush administration refused to impose energy price caps despite pleas by Western governors.
(SFC, 2/3/01, p.A3,8)
2001Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Congo’s Pres. Joseph Kabila called for the armies of Rwanda, Uganda and Burundi to withdraw and promised that troops from Angola, Namibia and Zimbabwe would leave after stability was restored.
(SFC, 2/3/01, p.A8)
2001Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Hutu militiamen backing Joseph Kabila ambushed a bus in rebel-controlled eastern Congo and killed 11 passengers.
(SFC, 2/6/01, p.A10)
2001Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Alfred Sirven, former 2nd in command of Elf Aquitaine, was arrested in Manila following 4 years on the lam. He was involved in a multimillion-dollar corruption case against Roland Dumas, a former French foreign minister.
(SFC, 2/3/01, p.A10)2002Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Jim Kelly of the Buffalo Bills and Pittsburgh Steelers star John Stallworth were elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
(AP, 2/2/03)
2002Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, The NHL World All-Stars rallied to defeat North America 8-5.
(AP, 2/2/03)
2002Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, The Bush administration approved a $700 million grant to help rebuild lower Manhattan devastated by the Sep 11 terrorist attacks.
(SSFC, 2/3/02, p.A13)
2002Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, In NYC protesters of the World Economic Forum turned out in large numbers. Inside foreign economic leaders criticized the US for protectionist policies, and Bill Gates and U2 rock star Bono pushed for increases in foreign aid by rich countries to poor countries.
(SSFC, 2/3/02, p.A3) (AP, 2/2/03)
2002Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, New Orleans voters approved a $1 per hour increase in the minimum wage above the $5.15 federal standard in a referendum that went to court for resolution.
(SSFC, 2/17/02, p.A9)
2002Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, A special committee of the Enron Corp. board filed a 217-page report that concluded Enron executives had manipulated company profits.
(SSFC, 2/3/02, p.A1)
2002Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, In Lagos, Nigeria, fighting broke out between militants of the Yoruba and Hausa tribes. At least 55 people were killed over the next 2 days as fighting spread.
(SFC, 2/4/02, p.A3) (SFC, 2/5/02, p.A5)
2002Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, In Pakistan police arrested 2 people in Karachi linked to the Jan 23 kidnapping of WSJ reporter Daniel Pearl.
(SSFC, 2/3/02, p.A7)2003Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, The search continued for pieces of the space shuttle Columbia, a day after the spacecraft disintegrated during re-entry over Texas, killing all seven astronauts.
(AP, 2/2/08)
2003Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Lou Harrison (85), US composer, died. His work melded Asian and Western styles.
(SFC, 2/4/03, p.A19)
2003Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Australia’s first cloned sheep, Matilda (b. Apr, 2000) died unexpectedly of unknown causes.
(AP, 2/7/03)
2003Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, BP and AAR, a Russian consortium, agreed to combine their Russian oil and gas interests, with each holding a 50% stake in TNK-BP.
(Econ, 6/9/12, p.68)
2003Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Chechen rebel attacks and mines killed 5 Russian servicemen and wounded 8.
(AP, 2/3/03)
2003Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, In northeastern China, fire tore through the Tiantan Hotel Harbin, killing 33 people at the start of Chinese New Year.
(AP, 2/2/03)
2003Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, A tornado tore through remote villages in Bandundu province in central Congo, killing 164 people, destroying homes and ruining crops.
(AP, 2/6/03)
2003Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Vaclav Havel stepped down after 13 years as president of the Czech Republic.
(AP, 2/2/03)
2003Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Indonesian police arrested Mas Selamat bin Kastari, a major terrorist suspect, on the island of Bintang.
(SFC, 2/4/03, p.A9)
2003Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, In Kazakhstan Progress M-47 lifted off atop a Soyuz-U rocket to deliver supplies to the int’l. space station.
(SFC, 2/3/03, p.A5)
2003Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, In Nigeria a powerful explosion destroyed a bank and dozens of apartments above it on Lagos Island, and relief workers reported at least 46 killed and many more trapped.
(AP, 2/2/03) (AP, 2/3/04)
2003Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, In the Philippines a two-hour gunbattle involving about 70 New People’s Army rebels killed two soldiers and five rebels near the town of Baganga in the southern Davao Oriental province.
(AP, 2/2/03)2004Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Pres. Bush proposed a $2.4 trillion federal budget with a projected deficit of $521 billion for this year. It included an increase in rent for San Francisco’s use of Hetch Hetchy reservoir in the Yosemite Valley from $30,000 a year to $8 million.
(SFC, 2/3/04, p.A1) (SFC, 2/4/04, p.A1)
2004Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, A white power containing Ricin, a deadly poison, was discovered in a mail room near the office of US Senate majority leader Bill Frist.
(SFC, 2/3/04, p.A3)
2004Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Scientists reported the discovery of elements 113 and 115.
(SFC, 2/3/04, p.A4)
2004Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, The US ambassador to Ecuador said the US will withhold $15 million in military aid to Ecuador for not signing an agreement granting US military members immunity from an international court.
(AP, 2/2/04)
2004Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, PM Ariel Sharon told his stunned Likud Party he plans to dismantle all Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip, his most specific comment yet on unilateral steps if peace talks fail.
(AP, 2/2/04)
2004Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Israel killed a leader of Islamic Jihad and three other militants in a Gaza raid.
(AP, 2/2/05)
2004Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, In Nepal some 15,000 people marched in downtown Katmandu demanding democratic reforms. Police broke up the rally with tear gas, water cannons and bamboo batons, injuring at least 12 people.
(AP, 2/2/04)
2004      Feb 2, Pakistan said Abdul Qadeer Khan, the founder of its nuclear program, has acknowledged in a written statement that he sent sensitive technology to Iran, Libya and North Korea to aid their atomic programs.
(AP, 2/2/04)
2004      Feb 2, A 6-year-old Thai boy, who had been in contact with roosters used in cock fights, died in Bangkok of bird flu. Thailand breeders began hiding their valuable fighting roosters.
(WSJ, 2/10/04, p.A1)
2004Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, In central Turkey an 11-story apartment building collapsed in Konya, killing at least 63 people. 12 people were found alive in the rubble the next day.
(AP, 2/3/04) (AP, 2/6/04)(AP, 2/7/04)
2004Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, In western Uganda a boat overloaded with passengers and cargo capsized in stormy weather on Lake Albert and more than 40 people were feared drowned.
(AP, 2/3/04)2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, President Bush showcased his Social Security plan and claimed advances on jobs and against terrorism in his State of the Union address. Bush called for changes in Social Security that would combine reduced government benefits for younger workers with “a chance to build a nest egg” through personal accounts.
(AP, 2/3/05) (AP, 2/2/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, The US Federal Open Market Committee, for the 6th straight meeting, increased its target for overnight interest rates by a quarter percentage point to 2.50% and signaled that rates will rise further in coming months.
(AP, 2/2/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, The US said that North Korea’s nuclear initiative is a threat to world peace and urged the secretive regime in Pyongyang to resume talks aimed at ending the program.
(AP, 2/2/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Matthew Carrington (21), a student at Cal State Chico, died of heart failure after drinking excessive amounts of water while doing calisthenics during a hazing ritual for the Chi Tau fraternity.
(SFC, 1/18/07, p.A5)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, China and Russia agreed to set up a new body to consult more closely on security issues.
(AP, 2/2/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Marxist rebels in southern Colombia ambushed an army convoy with explosives and gunfire, killing 8 soldiers and wounding 4 others.
(AP, 2/3/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, The EU told Italy, France and Germany, to do more to bring their budgets in balance as required by the rules of Europe’s single currency.
(AP, 2/2/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, French Pres. Jacques Chirac planned to visit Senegal for the first time in a decade, hoping to boost ties with a former West African colony at a time when the US is raising its military profile in the region.
(AP, 2/1/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Max Schmeling (b.1905), the heavyweight champion whose two fights with Joe Louis set off a propaganda war between the Nazi regime and the US on the eve of World War II, died at age 99 at his home in Hollenstedt, Germany.
(AP, 2/4/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, India’s Finance Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram said India has raised the interest rate for its largest pension fund, the Employees Provident Fund (EPF), to 9.5%. India raised the foreign investment cap in telecoms companies to 74% from 49%.
(Reuters, 2/2/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, the Shiite Muslim who heads the ticket expected to have won the largest number of parliamentary seats in Iraq’s election, indicated that his group wants the post of prime minister in the new government. Leading Sunni Muslim clerics said the country’s landmark elections lacked legitimacy because large numbers of Sunnis did not participate in the balloting, which the clerics had asked them to boycott.
(AP, 2/2/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, In Iraq 2 civilians were killed and six injured when insurgents fired mortar shells at a U.S. base in Tal Afar, 30 miles west of Mosul.
(AP, 2/3/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani outlined a set of demands for Shiite political parties and said Kurds would back only Shiites willing to maintain the current Kurd autonomy.
(WSJ, 2/3/05, p.A15)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Armando Guebuza was sworn in as president of Mozambique.
(Econ, 2/5/05, p.48) (www.voanews.com/english/2005-02-02-voa28.cfm)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Nepal’s King Gyanendra announced a 10-member Cabinet dominated by his own supporters, one day after he dismissed the government.
(AP, 2/2/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Russia’s government said the country’s economy grew by 7.1 percent last year, an increase in its preliminary estimates.
(AP, 2/2/05)2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, US House Republicans elected Ohio Rep. John Boehner as majority leader to replace Texas Rep. Tom DeLay.
(WSJ, 2/3/06, p.A1)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, In California Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory announced that it will install a battery of machine guns to deter terrorists. The Gatling guns will be capable of firing 4,000 rounds a minute from 6 barrels with a range of nearly a mile.
(SFC, 2/4/06, p.B1)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Tornadoes tore through New Orleans neighborhoods that had been hit hard by Hurricane Katrina five months earlier.
(AP, 2/2/07)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a billionaire known for his philanthropy, anonymously donated $100 million to Johns Hopkins University to support stem cell research.
(AP, 2/2/06)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, United Airlines’ new stock debuted on the Nasdaq Stock Market, a day after the carrier emerged from bankruptcy following a three-year restructuring.
(AP, 2/2/06)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, In New Bedford, Mass., Jacob D. Robida (18) used a hatchet and a gun to attack 3 patrons at a gay bar. On Feb 4 in Arkansas Robida shot himself after he killed a Gassville police officer and a woman in his car. He died the next day.
(AP, 2/3/06) (AP, 2/5/06) (SFC, 2/8/06, p.A3)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Climate experts confirmed the start of La Nina, a mild cooling of the tropical Pacific Ocean. It often coincides with more numerous hurricanes, a wetter Pacific Northwest and a drier South.
(SFC, 2/3/06, p.A18)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, German alternative-power company Solarworld AG said it will buy businesses from Shell to take over as the top maker of solar power equipment in the US.
(AP, 2/2/06)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, The Greek government reported that mobile phones belonging to top Greek military and government officials, including the prime minister and the US embassy, were tapped for nearly a year beginning in the weeks before the 2004 Olympic games. It was not known who was responsible for the taps, which numbered about 100.
(AP, 2/2/06)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Guatemalan police said they have arrested 7 Christian fundamentalist vigilantes who extorted travelers and may have killed five people they believed were criminals.
(AP, 2/2/06)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Honduras numbered 24 state prisons, but only one, the National Penitentiary, was actually built to house inmates. Prison facilities built for 6,000 prisoners housed 13,000.
(AP, 2/2/06)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Eight survivors were rescued two days after an overcrowded Indonesian ferry sank in rough seas on the western side of Timor island. At least 20 people were still missing.
(AP, 2/2/06)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, A US helicopter fired rockets into a crowded Shiite neighborhood of eastern Baghdad, killing a young woman, after the aircraft was fired on. In eastern Baghdad 2 bombs exploded about 20 minutes apart, killing at least 11 Iraqis and wounding dozens. A US soldier was killed in a roadside bombing north of Baghdad.
(AP, 2/2/06)(SFC, 2/4/06, p.A7)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, In Iraq a mortar attack on the Northern Oil. Co. in Kirkuk resulted in devastating pipeline fires and a shut down of all oil operations in the area. The director of the plant was arrested 2 days later along with several employees and police officials and all were charged with helping to orchestrate the attack.
(SSFC, 2/5/06, p.A18)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Italy’s government won a vote of confidence in the upper house of parliament on a broad decree that includes financing for the country’s mission in Iraq.
(AP, 2/2/06)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Lebanese officials said the bullet-ridden body of a 15-year-old shepherd was found in disputed territory occupied by Israel.
(AP, 2/2/06)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Mexican authorities captured Oscar Arriola Marquez, leader of the Arriola Marquez cartel, wanted in the US on cocaine trafficking and money laundering charges, and ranked among the world’s most-wanted fugitives.
(AP, 2/3/06)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, In Nepal the homes of 3 mayoral candidates loyal to the king were bombed, a week before nationwide municipal elections that insurgents have called a sham and vowed to disrupt.
(AP, 2/2/06)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Armed militants, angered by a cartoon drawing of the Prophet Muhammad published in European media, surrounded EU offices in Gaza and threatened to kidnap foreigners as outrage over the caricatures spread across the Islamic world. A fatwa was issued by Yussuf al-Qaradawi, a Brotherhood sheikh with his own program on al-Jazeera. Other radical groups joined the fray. Although there is no Quranic injunction against images, Islam in its early years came into contact with a version of Christianity that was militantly iconoclastic and some Muslim theologians issued fatwas against any depiction of the Godhead.
(AP, 2/2/06) (WSJ, 2/8/06, p.A16)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, South Korea decided to begin talks with the US toward achieving a free trade agreement between the two countries.
(AP, 2/2/06)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, South Korea’s spy agency said that North Korea was not currently producing counterfeit currency, apparently contradicting US allegations that have become the latest obstacle in nuclear disarmament talks with the communist country.
(AP, 2/2/06)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, In Russia 3 bombs ripped through slot-machine parlors in the southern city of Vladikavkaz, the capital of North Ossetia, killing at least two people and injuring up to 25 others.
(AP, 2/3/06)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Russia and Ukraine announced the signing of an agreement finalizing their Jan 4 compromise on natural gas prices.
(WSJ, 2/3/06, p.A10)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, The Vatican announced that Pope Benedict XVI has accepted the resignation of an auxiliary bishop of Detroit, Thomas Gumbleton, a liberal voice in the US church who recently revealed that a priest abused him 60 years ago.
(AP, 2/2/06)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, President Hugo Chavez said that Venezuela is expelling a US Navy officer for allegedly passing secret information from the Venezuelan military to the Pentagon and warned he will throw out all US military attaches if further espionage occurs.
(AP, 2/2/06)2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Scientists from 113 countries issued a report saying they have little doubt global warming is caused by man, and predicting that hotter temperatures and rises in sea level will “continue for centuries” no matter how much humans control their pollution. The 4th report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was published in Paris.
(AP, 2/2/07)(Econ, 2/10/07, p.86)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Gov. Rick Perry issued an order making Texas the 1st state to require schoolgirls get vaccinated against the sexually transmitted virus that causes cervical cancer.
(SFC, 2/3/07, p.A3)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Storms blew through central Florida, killing 21 people, flattening dozens of homes and a church and lifting a tractor trailer into the air.
(AP, 2/3/07) (AP, 2/2/08)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Ivan Santos (15) was shot and killed in San Pablo, Ca. On Mar 22-23 Police arrested Ramon Alejandre (30), Roberto Garcia (21) and a boy (17) for shooting Santos, who was allegedly dressed like a rival gang member.
(SFC, 3/24/07, p.B3)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Joe Hunter (79), Motown’s first bandleader, died in Detroit, Mich.
(SSFC, 2/4/07, p.B6)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Billy Henderson (67), singer in the band called the Spinners, died in Florida. His songs included “I’ll Be Around” (1972) and other hits. The 5-member band had formed in 1954 in Ferndale, Mich.
(SSFC, 2/4/07, p.B6)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Eric von Schmidt (75), guitarist and painter, died in Connecticut. He was a mentor for Bob Dylan, who wrote the liner notes for Schmidt’s 1969 album: “Who Knocked the Brains Out of the Sky.”
(SFC, 2/5/07, p.B4)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, In Bolivia a high court ruled in favor of a Amauris Sanmartino, a Cuban dissident who was recently deported from Bolivia for criticizing President Evo Morales, saying a law prohibiting foreigners from involvement in the Andean country’s politics is unconstitutional. Sanmartino went to Colombia and planned to relocate to Norway.
(AP, 2/2/07) (AP, 2/28/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, US Peace Corps volunteers flew to Cambodia to teach English at rural schools, marking the 45-year-old organization’s first mission there.
(AP, 2/2/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Abdoulaye Miskine, the head of one of the Central African Republic’s main rebel groups, inked in Libya a peace deal described as “historic” by the government. Under the deal, which CAR’s other main rebel factions are expected to sign up to, there will be an immediate ceasefire and Miskine’s rebels will be integrated into civilian life or absorbed into the army. Rebel prisoners are to be freed.
(AFP, 2/3/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, A mine explosion in China’s Henan province killed 24 coal miners at the Xing’an coal mine. Newspapers later reported that mining officials had said that seven miners had died in the blast, and that mine owner Fu Faming ordered miners back into the shaft to seal it with earth in an attempt to bury evidence of the deaths.
(AP, 2/10/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Ecuador’s President Rafael Correa dismissed the country’s army commander, just over a week after a military helicopter crash killed Ecuador’s first female defense minister.
(AP, 2/2/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, A French court convicted dozens of people in a baby-trafficking case involving the sale of nearly two dozen Bulgarian infants over two years.
(AP, 2/2/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, In northern India a crowded bus veered off a steep mountain road and fell into a gorge, killing at least 10 people and injuring 17 others.
(AP, 2/2/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Iran said it will allow UN surveillance cameras at its Natanz nuclear complex.
(WSJ, 2/3/07, p.A1)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, US forces killed 18 insurgents in fighting overnight after insurgents opened fire on the Americans from several positions in Ramadi. A roadside bomb struck a police patrol in the northern city of Mosul, killing one officer. A US military helicopter went down near Taji and 2 crew members were killed.
(AP, 2/2/07) (SFC, 2/3/07, p.A4)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, UN envoy Martti Ahtisaari unveiled his long-awaited plan for Kosovo, a proposal recommending internationally supervised statehood for the contested province where separatists fought a bloody war with Serbia in the late 1990s.
(AP, 2/2/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Lebanon’s top Sunni Muslim clerics published a religious edict prohibiting Muslims from killing their fellow countrymen, particularly other Muslims.
(AP, 2/2/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Fatah fighters stormed a Hamas-affiliated university for the second time, hours before the two political factions grappling for control of the Palestinian government said they had agreed on a new cease-fire. 17 people, including four children, were killed in renewed fighting before the announcement.
(AP, 2/2/07) (WSJ, 2/3/07, p.A1)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Malaysia said it is ready to halt free trade talks with the United States after a US lawmaker called for a suspension in protest over an energy deal with Iran signed in January.
(AFP, 2/2/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, President Gen. Pervez Musharraf said Pakistan will erect fencing to reinforce parts of its porous mountain border with Afghanistan, acknowledging for the first time that some outgunned Pakistani frontier guards have allowed militants to cross. The United States handed over eight Cobra attack helicopters to Pakistan, which is under growing pressure to stop Taliban guerrillas crossing into Afghanistan to fight NATO forces.
(AP, 2/2/07) (Reuters, 2/2/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Suspected Muslim guerrillas stormed a Philippine jail and blasted a hole through a wall, freeing three alleged bombers and dozens of other inmates. In the southern Philippines 50 people were killed and 65 others injured when a tanker truck exploded as it was negotiating a downhill mountain road.
(AP, 2/2/07) (AP, 2/3/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, In Somalia an explosion at an Islamic school for women and girls in Mogadishu wounded at least seven people. At least three mortar attacks were launched overnight in the city by unknown attackers.
(AP, 2/2/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Chinese President Hu Jintao offered Sudan assistance for the peaceful resolution of the Darfur conflict but ignored Western pressure to make future aid conditional on the progress made. Jintao agreed on closer economic cooperation with Sudan after sealing talks with a series of trade agreements. Jintao told Sudan’s leader he must give the United Nations a bigger role in trying to resolve the conflict in Darfur.
(AFP, 2/2/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, A ruling by Switzerland’s highest court opened up the possibility that people with serious mental illnesses could be helped by doctors to take their own lives.
(AP, 2/2/07)2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Mitt Romney coasted to a win in presidential preference voting by Maine Republicans, claiming his third victory in a caucus state and fourth overall.
(AP, 2/3/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, In Tinley Park, Ill., a gunman herded five women into the back room of a strip mall Lane Bryan clothing store and killed them during a botched robbery. He vanished after walking out of the shop’s front door.
(AP, 2/3/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Gus Arriola (b.1917), cartoonist, died in Carmel, Ca. His Gordo (1941-1985) cartoon strip was one of the first in the US to celebrate Mexican culture.
(SSFC, 2/3/08, p.B1)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Joshua Lederberg (b.1925), Stanford professor and Nobel-winning molecular biologist, died in NY.
(SFC, 2/8/08, p.B9)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, African Union leaders condemned the latest unrest in Chad and Kenya at the close of a summit overshadowed by new crises on the continent and which saw little headway achieved on older ones. Hundreds of rebels penetrated the capital of Chad, clashing with government troops and moving on the presidential palace after a three-day advance through the oil-producing central African nation.
(AFP, 2/2/08) (AP, 2/2/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Hamas agreed to Egyptian calls to control the flow of Palestinians through the breached Gaza border and expects Egypt to seal remaining gaps in the frontier wall.
(AP, 2/2/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, French President Nicolas Sarkozy married former model Carla Bruni at the Elysee Palace.
(AP, 2/2/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, An Indonesian health ministry official said floods in Jakarta have killed three people and displaced nearly 100,000 after two days of torrential rain.
(AP, 2/2/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Iraqi forces raided two villages north of the capital, killing seven suspected militants and arresting four others. Near Samarra, Iraqi police killed four men and captured a senior aide to an al-Qaida in Iraq leader. Near Tal Afar Iraqi commandos killed three wanted men and arrested three others. The US military accidentally killed nine Iraqi civilians near Iskandariyah during an operation targeting al-Qaida in Iraq, the deadliest known case of mistaken identity in recent months.
(AP, 2/2/08) (AP, 2/4/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, An Iraqi government official said Iraq has halted oil exports to Austria’s OMV, the leading oil and gas group in central Europe, to protest a deal with the self-ruled Kurdish region.
(AP, 2/3/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, A Lebanese prosecutor issued arrest warrants for 11 soldiers and six civilians in connection with Jan 27 clashes between troops and Shiite Muslim protesters that left 7 people dead.
(AP, 2/2/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, A police raid in Pakistan’s northwest triggered a shootout that killed two officers and three militants and led the insurgents to use women and children as human shields.
(AP, 2/2/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, South Korean car giant Hyundai Motor Co opened a second plant in India, making the country its biggest foreign manufacturing site.
(AP, 2/2/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, In central Sri Lanka a bomb tore through a bus packed with mostly elderly Buddhist pilgrims, killing 18 people and wounding 51 others.
(AP, 2/2/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Taiwan’s president inaugurated a runway on disputed Taiping island in the Spratlys chain in the South China Sea, sparking a protest from the Philippines which also claims sovereignty over the isle.
(AP, 2/3/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, In Turkey tens of thousands of secular Turks rallied against a plan by the government to allow women students to wear the Muslim headscarf at university, a move they say will usher in a stricter form of Islam.
(Reuters, 2/2/08)2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, President Barack Obama promised to establish a review board to oversee the government’s $700 billion rescue package aimed at averting a financial meltdown, declaring that some of the nation’s banks would have to write down bad debts, while other banks may fail.
(AP, 2/2/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Eric Holder won US Senate confirmation as the nation’s first African-American attorney general, after supporters from both parties touted his dream resume and easily overcame Republican concerns over his commitment to fight terrorism and his unwillingness to back the right to keep and bear arms.
(AP, 2/2/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Tom Daschle, President Barack Obama’s choice to head the Health and Human Services Department, apologized to the Senate panel that will decide his fate, saying he was “deeply embarrassed and disappointed” about failing to pay more than $120,000 in taxes. On Feb 3 Daschle withdrew his name from nomination.
(AP, 2/2/09) (WSJ, 2/4/09, p.A1)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, In New Mexico Richard Leon Goyette (47) was arrested in Albuquerque for conveying false information. Angered over losses in the stock market he has sent financial institutions angry e-mails and dozens of threatening letters containing suspicious powder.
(WSJ, 2/4/09, p.A6)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, In southern Afghanistan a Taliban suicide bomber in a police uniform detonated his explosives inside a police training center, killing 21 officers and wounding at least 20.
(AP, 2/2/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Hundreds more British power plant workers went on strike in a widening labor campaign over the use of overseas workers to build an oil refinery in Immingham. Workers were upset over the decision by Italian construction company IREM SpA to use Italian and Portuguese workers for a 200 million-pound ($280 million) project at a Total refinery. An estimated 6 million people skipped work when the largest snowstorm to hit London in 18 years stopped bus and subway services, grounded airliners and hobbled businesses.
(AP, 2/2/09)(AP, 2/3/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, In Cambodia police in Siem Reap arrested Jack Louis Sporich (75), an American from Chicago. He was charged with sexually abusing four Cambodian boys.
(AP, 2/4/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, In England a protester hurled abuse and then a shoe at China’s Premier Wen Jiabao as he delivered a speech on the global economy at Cambridge University.
(AP, 2/3/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, A Chinese official said an estimated 26 million desperately poor rural Chinese are jobless after pinning their hopes on factory jobs that dried up due to the global economic slowdown, noting that widespread unemployment could threaten the country’s social stability.
(AP, 2/2/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, In Ethiopia Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi was elected to head the 53-nation African Union at a summit amid concerns over deadly unrest in Madagascar and a bid to indict Sudan’s president for war crimes.
(AFP, 2/2/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, In Greece riot police fired tear gas at farmers to prevent them from driving their tractors to Athens as part of a protest demanding government financial help.
(AP, 2/2/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Guyana banned nighttime flights because of a strike by air traffic controllers. The strike began the night of Jan 30 over union demands for salary increases of 5 percent. The government says it cannot grant the pay hikes because it needs to upgrade airport safety equipment.
(AP, 2/2/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) signed a nuclear inspections deal with India.
(AP, 2/2/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Indonesia’s navy picked up 198 starving, dehydrated boat people from Myanmar who said they drifted for three weeks after authorities in Thailand forced them to sea in a boat without an engine. Indonesian fishermen had discovered the 40-foot (12-meter) boat off Aceh’s coast in northern Sumatra and towed it to shore.
(AP, 2/3/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Iran successfully launched a missile carrying Omid (hope in Farsi), its first domestically made satellite into orbit. In 2005, Iran launched its first commercial satellite on a Russian rocket in a joint project with Moscow, which appears to be the main partner in transferring space technology to Iran.
(AP, 2/3/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, In Iraq a roadside bomb targeting an American convoy exploded. Two people were killed and six others were wounded.
(AP, 2/2/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, A missile from an Israeli aircraft struck a car traveling in the southern Gaza Strip, killing a Palestinian militant and further straining a truce with the territory’s Hamas rulers. Defense Minister Ehud Barak proposed linking Gaza with the West Bank by digging a tunnel through Israeli territory.
(AP, 2/2/09)(WSJ, 2/3/09, p.A1)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, A volcano near Tokyo erupted, shooting up billowing smoke and showering parts of the capital with a fine ash that sent some city residents to the car wash and left others puzzled over the white powder they initially mistook for snow.
(AP, 2/2/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, In southwestern Pakistan gunmen seized John Solecki, head of the UN refugee office in the city of Quetta, as he traveled to work. On April 4 Solecki was released unharmed.
(AP, 2/2/09) (SSFC, 4/5/09, p.A7)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Saudi Arabia issued a list of its 83 most wanted suspects living abroad, including six Saudis released from Guantanamo Bay, and asked Interpol for help in arresting them.
(AP, 2/2/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, In Somalia AU peacekeepers opened fire on civilian vehicles and fatally shot 18 people after an AU vehicle was hit by a land mine in Mogadishu.
(SFC, 2/3/09, p.A3)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, In Sri Lanka rare images of suffering civilians trapped in the war zone emerged: Dead parents still cradling their children. A teenage boy with no arms crying in despair. A severely crowded hospital with many patients lying on mats under already full beds.
(AP, 2/2/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Zimbabwe’s central bank revalued its dollar again, lopping another 12 zeros off its battered currency to try to tame hyperinflation and avert total economic collapse.
(AP, 2/2/09)2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, In Hayward, Ca., 2 men were killed outside the Manheim San Francisco Bay auto auction business. On Feb 4 police arrested Karl George Sanft (34) for the slaying of security guard Angelito Erasquin (63) and truck driver Jim Wightman (56). On June 24 Sanft, who pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, was convicted of two counts of first degree murder. On June 30 a judge ruled that Sanft was legally sane.
(SFC, 2/5/10, p.C2)(SFC, 6/25/15, p.D3)(SFC, 7/1/15, p.D7)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, In Afghanistan gunmen on a motorcycle killed two associates of Pres. Karzai’s brother.
(AP, 2/2/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Australian researchers said they had discovered a gene associated with long-sightedness, a development they said could lead to drug treatments that will replace glasses.
(AFP, 2/2/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, A remote Bosnian village, home to highly conservative Wahhabi Muslims, was raided by hundreds of police who said they were searching for an unspecified security threat.
(AP, 2/2/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 1, Brazil’s government approved the 11 billion dollar Belo Monte project on the Xingu river that will flood 500 square km (193 square miles) and supply 11% of Brazil’s electricity. Detractors said the dam in northern Para state will trigger droughts along a 100 km (60 mile) stretch of the Xingu, displace thousands of indigenous people, attract an army of job-seekers, and accelerate the deforestation and destruction of the rain forest.
(AFP, 2/2/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, In Ethiopia African leaders wrapped up their annual summit less divided and looking at brighter economic prospects but still facing a raft of conflicts, including Sudan’s predicted break-up. An AU official said leaders of the 53-member African Union want Madagascar’s rival politicians to stick to the agreements meant to help the Indian Ocean island out of a prolonged crisis.
(AFP, 2/2/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Germany and Switzerland headed for a fresh spat over banking secrecy after Berlin decided to buy a disc said to hold details of some 1,500 suspected tax-dodgers with funds in Swiss accounts.
(AFP, 2/2/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Iran said it was ready to send its uranium abroad for further enrichment as requested by the UN.
(AP, 2/2/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, In Kashmir Indian police and Muslim protesters clashed for the second day running over the death of a Muslim boy killed by a police tear-gas shell.
(AFP, 2/2/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Latvia’s government said it will accept one inmate from the US prison at Guantanamo Bay.
(AP, 2/2/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, The key witness in a Mafia trial in Sicily told a court that a close ally of PM Silvio Berlusconi had direct links with the former “Boss of Bosses” of the Cosa Nostra.
(Reuters, 2/2/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, In Pakistan 8 missiles fired from US drones killed at least 4 militants in Dattakhel village, in North Waziristan. The death toll from the night time drone attacks, the heaviest ever in terms of the number of missiles fired, soon rose to 31.
(AFP, 2/2/10)(Reuters, 2/2/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Saudi Arabia said it will not get involved in peacemaking in Afghanistan unless the Taliban stops providing shelter and severs all ties with Osama bin Laden and Al-Qaeda. Afghan Pres. Karzai was in Saudi Arabia hoping for an active Saudi role to persuade Taliban militants to switch sides.
(SFC, 2/3/10, p.A4)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, UN and Sudanese officials said almost half the population of south Sudan is facing food shortages because of conflict and drought, a fourfold rise in the numbers needing aid since last year.
(Reuters, 2/2/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Venezuela deported alleged major drug traffickers to the US and France. Suspected Colombian drug kingpin Salomon Camacho Mora, French smuggling suspect Jean Marie Bonnamy and alleged Colombian paramilitary member Oscar Ospino were ferried to the nation’s main airport for deportation.
(AP, 2/3/10)2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, US federal regulators took the first step in setting a drinking water limit for perchlorate, a noxious component of rocket fuel, flares and fire works known to hamper thyroid function and hinder brain development in young children. Most of the contaminations stemmed from military and munitions operations.
(SFC, 2/3/11, p.A6)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, News Corps’ Rupert Murdoch introduced a new publication tailored for Apple’s iPad. Called the Daily, the US publication will cost 99 cents a week or $39.99 a year. British billionaire Richard Branson had unveiled a magazine, Project, designed for the iPad last November at a cost of $2.99 per month.
(SFC, 2/3/11, p.D3)(Econ, 2/5/11, p.78)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, In northern California John Luebbers, a school janitor, shot and killed Placerville elementary school principal Sam LaCara (50), following a personal dispute.
(SFC, 2/5/11, p.A4)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, NASA scientists reported that the Kepler spacecraft, launched in 2009, has found over 1,000 possible planets with at least 54 of them within their suns’ habitable zones.
(SFC, 2/3/11, p.A1)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, A massive storm billed as the worst in decades barreled toward the northeast, leaving vast swaths from Chicago to New York paralyzed by snow and ice.
(AP, 2/2/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Afghan President Hamid Karzai arrived in New Delhi to discuss efforts to restore security in Afghanistan and to attend a conference on sustainable development.
(AP, 2/2/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Afghanistan’s Finance Minister Omar Zakhilwal called for an investigation into allegations he personally benefited from corruption at Kabul Bank, the country’s largest bank. Details of alleged improper interest payments were made public by The Wall Street Journal a day earlier.
(AP, 2/2/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, In Afghanistan Australian Corporal Richard Edward Atkinson (22) was killed while on patrol in Uruzgan’s Deh Rahwod. This upped the number of Australian troops killed in the conflict to 22.
(AFP, 2/3/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Italian Maria Sandra Mariani (53) was kidnapped in southeastern Algeria near the town of Djanet by Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). Algeria’s official news agency reported the kidnapping on Feb 4. Mariani was released on April 17, 2012.
(AP, 2/4/11) (AFP, 7/21/11)(AFP, 4/17/12)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, In northeastern Australia Cyclone Yasi ripped roofs from buildings and cut power to thousands of homes. The scale of disaster was unknown as officials and residents holed up while the tempest raged.
(AP, 2/2/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, British investment banker Christian Littlewood (37) was sentenced to 40 months in prison for insider trading. He pleaded guilty to eight counts of insider dealing after a Financial Services Authority (FSA) investigation. His wife and co-conspirator Angie Littlewood was given a 12-month suspended sentence.
(Econ, 10/15/11, p.83)(http://tinyurl.com/6jxggd2)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, In CongoDRC at least 14 people were killed and around 20 injured when a goods train derailed in Western Kasai province.
(AFP, 2/2/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, In Egypt several thousand supporters of President Hosni Mubarak, including some riding horses and camels and wielding whips, attacked anti-government protesters as the upheaval took a dangerous new turn. In scenes of chaos and pitched fighting, the two sides pelted each other with stones, and protesters dragged attackers off their horses. Egyptian troops fired warning shots in a bid to end clashes with regime supporters and the protesters reacted jubilantly. The government said three people were killed. The government began to reinstate Internet service after days of an unprecedented cutoff, and state TV announced the easing of a nighttime curfew. As many as 11 people were killed and over 1,000 wounded.
(AP, 2/2/11)(AFP, 2/2/11) (Econ, 2/12/11, p.28)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, German riot police clearing out one of Berlin’s last squats, Liebig 14, clashed with protesters in pitched battles, reviving memories of fights that brought down a local government in 1990. Liebigstrasse 14, occupied in 1990, had 10 flats, artists’ studios and 25 tenants.
(Reuters, 2/2/11) (Econ, 2/12/11, p.59)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Indian police arrested former telecom minister A. Raja and other senior officials as part of a probe into one of the country’s biggest corruption cases.
(AFP, 2/2/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Indonesian prosecutors formally charged Abu Bakar Bashir (72), spiritual head of the al-Qaida-linked Jemaah Islamiyah network, with planning terrorist attacks. He was also was charged with helping fund a new terror cell in Aceh province and mobilizing foot soldiers.
(AP, 2/2/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Jordan’s new premier, Maruf Bakhit, began consultations on forming a government charged with passing reforms and meeting the demands of popular protests, despite objections from the Islamist opposition.
(AFP, 2/3/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, In Mexico gunmen fired upon a group of Mexican marines who were responding to reports of illicit activity at an apartment complex In the wealthy Monterrey suburb of San Pedro Garza Garcia. The marines returned fire, killing four suspected gunmen. Gunmen killed Manuel Farfan, a retired army general who took over a month ago as police chief of Nuevo Laredo. Two of his bodyguards also were slain and two suffered wounds.
(AP, 2/2/11) (AP, 2/3/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, In northwest Pakistan a car bomb killed nine people close to Peshawar. 3 children were among the dead. A group of militants attacked a security post in the Anarggi area of Mohmand tribal region, killing three paramilitary soldiers and wounding four. Troops returned fire and killed 16 insurgents. A roadside bomb hit a paramilitary vehicle in the Davezai area of Mohmand, killing one soldier and wounding three others. An artillery shell fired by the military hit a house in the area, killing two women. In the nearby Orakzai tribal region, fighter jets pounded suspected militant hideouts, killing 15 alleged militants and wounding 10 others. Several mortars fired from Afghanistan landed near an army checkpoint in the Ghulam Khan area of North Waziristan, killing one Pakistani soldier and wounding three others.
(AP, 2/2/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, A Philippine official said police commandos have arrested Arabi Sali, an al-Qaida-linked militant allegedly involved in the killing of American tourists and two US soldiers in the southern Philippines in September, 2009. Allegations that former military chiefs benefited from massive corruption led to calls for the government to get serious about reforming the armed forces.
(AP, 2/2/11) (SFC, 2/3/11, p.A2)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, In southern Russia 2 masked gunmen burst into a cafe in Kabardino-Balkaria and shot dead four traffic policemen on their lunch break. In Dagestan two suspected insurgents were killed in an overnight gunbattle with police.
(AP, 2/2/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Spain’s PM Zapatero signed a solemn “social pact” with unions and employers, covering pensions, collective bargaining and more.
(Econ, 2/5/11, p.62)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Tunisia’s interim government moved to impose its control over the country’s security forces and state institutions, firing dozens of senior allies of fallen dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.
(AFP, 2/2/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh told parliament he will not seek another term in office or hand power to his son. His current term in office expires in 2013. Saleh also said he will freeze plans to change the constitution that would have enabled him to remain president for life.
(AP, 2/2/11) (AFP, 2/2/11)2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, The US Justice Department said it has indicted Wegelin, the oldest Swiss private bank, on charges that it enabled wealthy Americans to evade taxes on at least $1.2 billion hidden in offshore bank accounts. In January, 2013, a reduced Wegelin pleaded guilty in a New York court to allowing more than 100 American citizens to hide $1.2 billion from the Internal Revenue Service over a 10-year period.
(Reuters, 2/3/12) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wegelin_%26_Co.)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, The US national Football League announced it would give the SF 49ers $200 million loans and straight payments for its new $1 billion stadium in Santa Clara, Ca.
(SFC, 2/3/12, p.C1)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, NATO’s top official joined the US and France in calling for Afghan forces to take the lead in all combat operations by mid-2013, a year earlier than the original timeline.
(AP, 2/2/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Britain sent Foreign Secretary William Hague to Mogadishu and appointed an ambassador (Matt Baugh), for the first time in two decades. The last British ambassador left Somalia 21 years ago, as the Horn of Africa spiraled into chaos during the 1991 ouster of president Siad Barre.
(AFP, 2/2/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, The Anglo-Swedish drugs giant AstraZeneca said that it would axe 7,300 jobs by the end of 2014 in a new cost-cutting drive, despite delivering bumper annual profits.
(AFP, 2/2/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, In Colombia assailants in pickup trucks fired homemade mortars at a police station in Villa Rica, killing at least six people and wounding more than 20. Among the dead were police post’s commander, a 3-year-old girl and a 19-year-old woman.
(AP, 2/3/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, CongoDRC officials from the discredited electoral commission announced the last of the winning legislators in results it has issued piecemeal and following a suspension of the count from the Nov. 28 balloting. Kabila still will command a majority in parliament, where his coalition of several parties has won about 260 of the 500 seats, down from more than 300 in the previous assembly.
(AP, 2/2/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Egyptians ranging from soccer fans to lawmakers blamed the country’s military rulers for a bloody post-match riot as anger mounted over the failure of police to stop the violence. PM Kamal el-Ganzouri dissolved the Egyptian Soccer Federation’s board and referred its members for questioning by prosecutors.
(AP, 2/2/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, El Salvador police said they have found the bodies of four people inside black plastic bags dumped separately in the town of Sonsonate. Among the victims was former professional soccer player Ladislao Nerio, who had been strangled.
(AP, 2/2/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, A French appeals court upheld the Church of Scientology’s 2009 fraud conviction on charges it pressured members into paying large sums for questionable remedies.
(AP, 2/2/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Gambian President Yahya Jammeh dissolved his cabinet, two months after he was reelected to a fourth term as the head of Africa mainland’s smallest country.
(AFP, 2/3/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, India’s Supreme Court cancelled second-generation (2G) mobile licenses issued in 2008. The court cancelled 122 licenses. The ruling affected about 70 million subscribers — out of India’s 894-million odd mobile users — who were clients of the operators which lost their licenses.
(AFP, 2/3/12) (Econ, 2/11/12, p.67)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Ireland’s government slashed payments to families struggling to cover the expense of kitting out their children for Catholic religious ceremonies. The Department of Social Protection said the payment would now be capped at 110 euros.
(Reuters, 2/2/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Israel’s chief of military intelligence, General Aviv Kochavi, warned at a security conference that Iran has enough radioactive material to produce four nuclear bombs.
(AFP, 2/2/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Kuwait held parliamentary elections. Opposition groups that included hard-line Islamists took control of parliament, in a rise that could limit the hands of pro-Western rulers in dealings such as US plans to boost its military presence in the oil-rich Gulf nation. The conservative surge left the 50-seat assembly without any women lawmakers. Women had four seats in the parliament that was dissolved in December.
(AP, 2/3/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Kyrgyzstan’s government said it will reprimand officials responsible for allowing contaminated radioactive coal to be imported into the country from neighboring Kazakhstan.
(AP, 2/2/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, In Mali protestors surrounded the palace of the president, angry about the government’s handling of attacks by Tuareg rebels in the country’s north.
(AP, 2/2/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, North Korea’s top ruling body again rebuffed South Korea’s call for talks, saying Seoul’s conservative leaders should first “repent of their crimes” and honor past summit agreements.
(AFP, 2/2/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Pakistan’s top court summoned PM Yousuf Raza Gilani to appear February 13 to be indicted with contempt over his refusal to pursue corruption cases against the president.
(AFP, 2/2/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Palestinians tried to block the UN chief from entering the Gaza Strip and flung shoes at his armored convoy, the second day of Ban Ki-moon’s mission to the region to keep informal peace talks alive.
(AP, 2/2/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, A Papua New Guinea ferry sank with 351 passengers and 12 crew on board. Rescuers plucked 246 survivors from the sea off PNG’s east coast. Some 117 people remained missing.
(AP, 2/2/12) (AP, 2/3/12) (AFP, 2/5/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, The Philippine military said it killed three of Southeast Asia’s top Islamic militants in a US-backed airstrike, including Malaysian bombmaker Zulkifli bin Abdul Hir, alias Marwan, though his body was not yet found. The air strike used US made smart bombs. Marwan was accused of being a senior member of regional terror network Jemaah Islamiyah and behind multiple bomb attacks in the Philippines. In 2007 the US government offered a $5-million reward for his capture. At least 15 people were killed including Filipino Abu Pula, also known as Doctor Abu and Umbra Jumdail, one of the core leaders of the Abu Sayyaf militant organization and Singaporean Mohammad Ali, alias Muawiyah, another top name in Jemaah Islamiyah. On Feb 5 two security officials said that new intelligence showed that Jumdail was killed but that the two foreign terror suspects were alive and were not in the Abu Sayyaf lair that was bombed.
(AFP, 2/2/12) (SFC, 2/3/12, p.A4) (SFC, 2/4/12, p.A3) (AP, 2/5/12) (AP, 3/21/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, At least 11,000 villagers have been trapped by heavy snow and blizzards in Serbia’s mountains, as the death toll from Eastern Europe’s weeklong deep freeze rose to 122, many of them homeless people.
(AP, 2/2/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, In South Africa Impala Platinum, the world’s number two producer, fired 13,000 miners who went on an illegal strike. Over the past month, the Johannesburg-based company has sacked a total of about 17,200 workers at its mine in the northwestern town of Rustenburg, more than half of the 30,000 people employed in the town.
(AFP, 2/2/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Togo official Lt. Col. Yark Damehane said authorities are holding more than 150 Sri Lankan refugees who entered the West African nation en route to Canada. Damehane said most of the group arrived in Togo in 2011 and overstayed their one-week tourist visas.
(AP, 2/2/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Tunisia cut ties with Syria. TAP news agency said authorities have seized dozens of yachts as well as cars, company shares and houses belonging to ousted leader Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and his family. Confiscated items included 34 vehicles, shares in 117 companies, 233 property deeds and 48 yachts and two homes.
(AFP, 2/2/12) (AP, 4/2/15)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Tunisian security forces killed two members of an armed group and arrested a third after a clash the day before left a policeman and three soldiers wounded, one of them critically. State news described the men as involved in arms smuggling.
(AP, 2/2/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, The World Bank said Egypt has asked for a $1.0 billion loan to help it rebuild its economy.
(AFP, 2/2/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, In Yemen gunmen loyal to President Ali Abdullah Saleh besieged the offices of the state-owned Al-Thawra daily after it stopped printing the departing leader’s portrait on its front page. Anti-Saleh demonstrators meanwhile gathered in Sanaa’s Change Square calling for the trial of Saleh, who received blanket immunity against prosecution from parliament.
(AFP, 2/2/12)2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, The US and Mexico reached a tentative agreement on cross-border trade in tomatoes.
(SFC, 2/4/13, p.A8)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, In San Diego the 165-foot South Bay Power Plant was demolished to make room for a city park.
(SSFC, 2/3/13, p.A7)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, In California deputies in Calaveras County found the bodies of 3 people. Phillip Marshall (54) had shot and killed his two teenage sons before killing himself.
(SFC, 2/4/13, p.A8)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Nebraska Lt. Gov. Rick Sheehy resigned abruptly in a scandal involving thousands of calls to four women on his state-issued cellphone, including one woman who said she had a romantic relationship with the politician.
(AP, 2/2/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, In central Texas a shooting at a gun range at the Rough Creek Lodge, west of Glen Rose, killed former Navy SEAL and “American Sniper” author Chris Kyle and his friend. Eddie Ray Routh (25) of Lancaster was arraigned on two counts of capital murder. On Feb 24, 2015, Routh was convicted for the two slayings and received an automatic life sentence without parole.
(AP, 2/3/13) (SFC, 2/24/15, p.A9)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, In Afghanistan a roadside bomb killed a family of five in Helmand province.
(AP, 2/3/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, China’s Xinhua News reported that 13 people died after an overloaded bus tumbled down a slope. Over 50 people were killed in the last 24 hours in 4 major accidents.
(SSFC, 2/3/13, p.A6)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, An Egyptian court sentenced Habib al-Adly, the country’s former interior minister, to three years in prison after finding him guilty of abusing his position in power by forcing police conscripts to work on his mansion and land outside Cairo. The Giza court also convicted former riot police chief Hassan Abdel-Hamid of authorizing the illegal labor and sentenced him to three years in prison. Several thousand anti-government demonstrators marched again on the presidential palace denouncing the police and Islamist President Mohammed Morsi. Over 50 people have been killed in violence over the last 10 days.
(AP, 2/2/13) (AP, 2/3/13) (SSFC, 2/3/13, p.A3)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, In Greece more than 5,000 supporters of the extreme-right Golden Dawn party marched past the US Embassy in Athens, chanting anti-Turkish, anti-US and anti-immigrant slogans to commemorate a 1996 border incident that caused a crisis between Greece and Turkey.
(AP, 2/2/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Iran unveiled its newest combat jet, the the Qaher F-313, or Dominant F-313. Military officials claimed the domestically manufactured fighter-bomber can evade radar.
(AP, 2/2/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu took on the job of forming a new government and said its most important task would be to ensure that Iran does not gain nuclear arms.
(Reuters, 2/2/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Israeli troops fired tear gas and stun grenades at rock-throwing Palestinian protesters as soldiers tried to dismantle an encampment near Burin that activists set up in the West Bank to protest Israeli building restrictions.
(AP, 2/2/13)
2013      Feb 2, In Mali French President Francois Hollande, bathed in the cheers and accolades of the thousands of people of Timbuktu, made a triumphant stop six days after French forces parachuted into the city.
(AP, 2/2/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, In Mali secular rebels from Mali’s Tuareg group (NMLA) arrested Mohamed Moussa Ag Mohamed of Ansar Dine and Oumeini Ould Baba Akhmed of the Movement for Unity and Oneness of the Jihad, or MUJAO, near Mali’s border with Algeria.
(AP, 2/5/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, In northwestern Pakistan Taliban militants wearing suicide vests fired automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades at an army post in a pre-dawn raid, killing 23 people, including 10 civilians in Serai Naurang town of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. 12 attackers also were killed in the assault.
(AP, 2/2/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Paraguayan presidential candidate Lino Cesar Oviedo (69) was killed in a helicopter crash, ending a dramatic political career that included coups and repeated attempts to lead his impoverished country. His bodyguard and pilot also died in the crash.
(AP, 2/3/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, A Senegal town leader said that at least five people have been killed after rebels in the restive south raided a village in the Casamance region and targeted a bank.
(AP, 2/2/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, South Africa teenager Anene Booysen (17) was gang-raped, mutilated and left for dead on a building construction site in the Western Cape. She lived long enough to identify one of her attackers. Police on Feb 7 said they have arrested a second suspect for the gang-rape. On May 21 a magistrate said there was not enough evidence to try suspect Jonathan Davids (22), her rejected boyfriend. On Nov 1 Johannes Kana (21), a man convicted of raping and murdering the girl, was sentenced to life in jail.
(AP, 2/7/13) (AP, 5/21/13) (AFP, 11/1/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Syrian rebels captured a strategic neighborhood near Aleppo’s international airport. Elsewhere fighting continued unabated, killing more than 60 people nationwide.
(AP, 2/2/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, The Yemeni military said it has wrested control of al-Maraksha in Abyan province from al-Qaida fighters after three days of clashes that killed 17 people.
(AP, 2/2/13)2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, The Seattle Seahawks defeated the Denver Broncos 43-8 in Super Bowl XLVIII played in New Jersey.
(SFC, 2/3/14, p.B1)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, In Florida Doreen Landstra (79) backed her SUV into a group of people in Bradenton killing 3 with 5 others hospitalized.
(SFC, 2/3/14, p.A4)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, In Illinois Michael Worsham (43) was found dead in his house after he killed his wife (42), son (17) and daughter (15) in Robbins, a suburb of Chicago.
(SFC, 2/4/14, p.A4)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Philip Seymour Hoffman (46), who won the Oscar for best actor in 2006 as writer Truman Capote, was found dead in his apartment in NYC with what law enforcement officials said was a needle in his arm. His films included “Scent of a Woman” (1992), “Boogie Nights” (1997), “The Big Lebowski” (1997), “Along Came Polly” (2004), “Doubt” (2008) and “Synecdoche, New York” (2008).
(AP, 2/2/14) (Econ, 2/8/14, p.86)
2014      Feb 2, In North Carolina a leaking pipe dumped 82,000 tons of coal ash into the Dan River in Eden. A permanent plug was installed and tested on Feb 8.
(SFC, 2/10/14, p.A5)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Tens of thousands of people are without electricity in Austria, Croatia and Slovenia after icy rain and sleet caused major disruptions. Hundreds of motorists were evacuated overnight from their vehicles in Serbia, where massive snow drifts have caused widespread travel chaos.
(AP, 2/2/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, In the Central African Republic witnesses said international forces have retaken Sibut, a strategic town occupied for days by Muslim Seleka fighters.
(AP, 2/2/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Costa Rican held presidential elections. None of four candidates had a clear lead in the polls.
(AFP, 2/2/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, El Salvador held presidential elections. With 58% of the votes counted VP Salvador Sanchez had a 49% lead over San Salvador mayor Norman Quijano of ARENA with nearly 39%.
(Reuters, 2/2/14) (SFC, 2/3/14, p.A3)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Thousands of demonstrators gathered in Paris and Lyon in a renewed protest against France’s legalization of gay marriage.
(Reuters, 2/2/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, In France a video, posted on Facebook, was filmed in the southeastern town of Fontaine showing two boys pushing an 18-year-old mentally-disabled man in a park, making him fall and shouting at him before shoving him into a stream, from which the bewildered-looking victim emerges and walks away. Over the next two days four boys were detained over the assault and one (12) was released.
(AFP, 2/4/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, In Germany Frankfurt’s 116-meter (380-foot) University Tower, built in 1972, was brought down with explosives in one of the biggest such operations in Europe.
(AP, 2/2/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, German conductor Gerd Albrecht (78) died in Berlin. He had led orchestras in the Czech Republic, Japan and Denmark and worked to bring music to children.
(AP, 2/3/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Iraqi government forces pressed their assault on militant strongholds in Anbar province as attacks elsewhere killed 13 people.
(AFP, 2/2/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, In Kenya gunfire erupted in and around a mosque in the port city of Mombasa following a raid by armed police who had received a tip-off that Muslim youths were being radicalized and trained for militant attacks. At least one officer and a young man were killed.
(Reuters, 2/2/14)(AP, 2/2/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Mauritania’s PM Moulaye Ould Mohamed Laghdaf and his cabinet resigned, a move that had been expected after the ruling party scored a sweeping victory in legislative and local elections last year.
(AFP, 2/2/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, The Pakistani Taliban said in a statement that it wants five well-known political and religious figures including ex-cricketer Imran Khan to represent them in peace talks with the government.
(AP, 2/2/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, In the Philippines 5 people were injured when motorcycle-riding men hurled a grenade into a church in Zamboanga, a city known for Muslim rebel activity.
(AFP, 2/2/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, In Russia several thousand protesters marched through central Moscow to call for the release of 20 people who were arrested after clashes between police and demonstrators in May 2012.
(AP, 2/2/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Saudi Arabia put into effect jail terms of up to 20 years for belonging to “terrorist groups” and fighting abroad, as it struggles to deter Islamist Saudis from becoming jihadists.
(AFP, 2/3/14) (SFC, 2/3/14, p.A4)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, In Spain several thousand people marched from a Coca-Cola bottling plant in a southwestern suburb to downtown Madrid to protest the company’s plan to close four plants in Spain and lay off 1,253 workers.
(AP, 2/2/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Syrian military helicopters dropped more improvised “barrel bombs” on the northern city of Aleppo, a monitoring group said, bringing the death toll to at least 83 people in the latest episode of a campaign many consider a war crime. A twin car bombing killed a senior leader in an Islamic brigade opposed to al-Qaida near Aleppo.
(Reuters, 2/2/14) (AP, 2/2/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, In northern Syria ISIL fighters freed more than 400 people from a prison, who had been held by the rival Islamist Liwa al-Tawhid unit. In the eastern province of Deir al-Zor ISIL seized the Koniko gas field from the Nusra Front and other Islamist rebels who had controlled it for several weeks after wresting it from tribal gunmen.
(Reuters, 2/3/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Thailand held nationwide elections without bloodshed despite widespread fears of violence. Although balloting was largely peaceful, protesters forced thousands of polling booths to close in Bangkok and the south, disenfranchising millions of registered voters.
(AP, 2/2/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Yemen tribal sources said Shi’ite rebels have overrun strongholds of a rival Sunni tribal group in fighting that has killed at least 40 people in the north in the last two days.
(Reuters, 2/2/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Yemeni tribesmen said they had kidnapped a German man to press their government to free jailed relatives.
(Reuters, 2/2/14)Â http://www.timelinesdb.com
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