211Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Lucius Septimius Severus (64), emperor of Rome (193-211), died.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Septimius_Severus)786Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Harun al-Rashid succeeded his older brother the Abbasid Caliph al-Hadi as Caliph of Baghdad.
(HN, 2/4/99)1194Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Richard I, King of England, was freed from captivity in Austria with the payment of Leopold VI’s ransom of 100,000
(HN, 2/4/99)(ON, 8/07, p.9)1505Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Joan of Valois (40), Queen of France, saint, died.
(MC, 2/4/02)1508Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Proclamation of Trent. [need more data]
(HN, 2/4/99)1515Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Michael Radvila the Black was born in Nesvizh. He later became palatine of Vilnius, chancellor of Lithuania, and supporter of Reformation.
(LHC, 2/4/03)1600Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Tycho Brahe and Johannes Kepler met for 1st time near Prague.
(MC, 2/4/02)1617Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Louis Elsevier (~76), Dutch publisher, died.
(MC, 2/4/02)1699Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Czar Peter the Great executed 350 rebellious Streltsi in Moscow.
(MC, 2/4/02)1710Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, August II with the support of the Russian army was recognized by the parliament in Warsaw as King of Lithuania and Poland.
(LHC, 2/4/03)1733Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In England the widow Mrs Lydia Duncomb (80), her long term infirm companion Mrs Harrison (60), and servant Ann Price (26) were murdered during a robbery. The servant Sarah Malcolm (22) of County Durham was indicted. She strongly defended herself but was convicted and executed on Mar 7.
(Econ, 9/28/13, p.80) (http://tinyurl.com/kcbjla7)1747Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Tadeusz Kosciusko, patriot, American Revolution hero (built West Point), was born in Poland. [see 1746]
(MC, 2/4/02)1769Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Journalist John Wilkes was expelled from the British Parliament.
(ON, 12/11, p.9)1783Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Britain declared a formal cessation of hostilities with its former colonies, the United States of America.
(AP, 2/4/97)1787Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Shay’s Rebellion, an uprising of debt-ridden Massachusetts farmers, failed.
(HN, 2/4/99)1789       Feb 4, Electors unanimously chose George Washington to be the first president of the United States and John Adams as vice-president. The results of the balloting were not counted in the US Senate until two months later. Washington accepted office at the Federal Building of New York. His first cabinet included Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton as first secretary of the Treasury, Henry Knox, and Edmund Randolph.
(A & IP, ESM, p.10) (WSJ, 3/12/97, p.A18) (AP, 2/4/07)1794Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, France’s First Republic (Convention) voted for the abolition of slavery in all French colonies. The abolition decree stated that “the Convention declares the slavery of the Blacks abolished in all the colonies; consequently, all men, irrespective of color, living in the colonies are French citizens and will enjoy all the rights provided by the Constitution.” Slavery was restored by the Consulate in 1802, and was definitively abolished in 1848 by the Second Republic, on Victor Schoelcher’s initiative.
(www.ambafrance-uk.org/Slavery-Slavery-was-abolished-in.html)
1794Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Slaves in Haiti won emancipation.
(AP, 4/7/03) (WSJ, 3/1/04, p.A16)1797Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Earthquake in Quito, Ecuador, some killed 40,000 people. Riobamba was destroyed.
(www.newadvent.org/cathen/13061c.htm) (http://tinyurl.com/btbdc)1801Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, John Marshall was sworn in as chief justice of the United States.
(AP, 2/4/97)1802Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Mark Hopkins, USÂ educator, philosopher (Williams College), was born.
(MC, 2/4/02)1809Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Louis Braille was born. He was blinded at age four as the result of an accident in his father’s shop. Nevertheless, he became an accomplished organist and cellist and won a scholarship in 1819 to attend the National Institute for Blind Youth in Paris. At age 15, Louis witnessed a demonstration there by Charles Barbier, a soldier who had invented “night writing,” a system of letters embossed on cardboard for silent communication along trenches. While Barbier’s system was too complex to be practical, Braille simplified and adapted it to a six-dot code representing letters that enabled people with impaired vision to not only read but also write for themselves. In 1827, the first Braille book was published, but Braille himself died of tuberculosis at age 43–before his system gained widespread acceptance.
(HNPD, 2/4/99)1822Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Free American Blacks settled Liberia, West Africa. The first group of colonists landed in Liberia and founded Monrovia, the colony’s capital city, named in honor of President James Monroe.
(HNPD, 7/26/98) (MC, 2/4/02)1824Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, J.W. Goodrich introduced rubber galoshes to public.
(MC, 2/4/02)1846Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, The first Mormons left Nauvoo, Ill., and crossed the Mississippi River heading toward Utah. Brigham Young, Joseph Smith’s successor, led the Mormons overland from Nauvoo, Ill., to the Great Salt Lake Valley. Mormon pioneer Sam Brannon gathered some 250 Mormons aboard the ship, Brooklyn, and sailed from New York to San Francisco. [see 1847]
(SFC, 4/9/96, A-7) (SFEC, 7/21/96, DB p.29) (AH, 2/06, p.14)1861Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Delegates from six southern states met in Montgomery, Ala., to form the Confederate States of America. They included Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Texas. They elected Jefferson Davis as president of Confederacy.
(AP, 2/4/97) (ON, 11/00, p.1)
1861Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Winfield Scott, US general-in-chief, decided to relieve Lt. Col. Robert E. Lee as commander of federal forces in Texas and bring him to Washington DC where Lee could take command of forces guarding DC.
(ON, 12/05, p.11)
1861Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, The Apache Wars began.
(HFA, ’96, p.22)1865Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Robert E. Lee was named commander-in-chief of Confederate Army.
(MC, 2/4/02)1866      Feb 4, Mary Baker Eddy “cured” her injuries by opening a bible.
(MC, 2/4/02)1875Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Ludwig Prandtl, physicist (father of aerodynamics), was born in Germany.
(MC, 2/4/02)1881Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Fernand Leger (d.1955), French painter, was born.
(HN, 2/4/01)
1881Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Kliment J. Woroshilov, marshal, president USSR (1953-60), was born.
(MC, 2/4/02)1887Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, The US federal Interstate Commerce Commission Act was passed. It was enacted to restrict monopolies but did not have much power of enforcement. It regulated railroads and protected farmers from fees that it judged excessive. The US Congress designated rail a common-carrier service.
(www.classbrain.com/artteenst/publish/article_85.shtml) (SFC, 7/8/96, p.D2) (WSJ, 1/11/99, p.R48) (Econ, 5/15/10, p.86)1889Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Harry Longabaugh was released from Sundance Prison in Wyoming, thereby acquiring the famous nickname, “the Sundance Kid.”
(HN, 2/4/99)
1889Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, The Panama Canal project under Ferdinand de Lesseps (d.1894) went bankrupt. Over 5,000 French people died working on the project. In all over 25,000 people died during 8 years of work, mostly from malaria and yellow fever.
(Econ, 2/24/07, p.97) (www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/185.html)1894Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Antoine J “Adolphe” Sax (b.1814), Belgium-born instrument maker (saxophone), died in Paris. In 2005 Michael Segell authored “The Devil’s Horn: The Story of the Saxophone, From Noisy Novelty to King of Cool.”
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolphe_Sax) (SSFC, 10/16/05, p.M3)1895Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, The 1st rolling lift bridge opened in Chicago.
(MC, 2/4/02)1899Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, After an exchange of gunfire, fighting broke out between American troops and Filipinos near Manila, sparking the Philippine-American War (also referred to as the Philippine Insurrection of 1899). American soldiers patrolling in Santa Mesa opened fire on Filipino soldiers near a bridge over the San Juan River.
(SFEC, 1/31/99, Z1p.1) (HN, 2/4/00)1900Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Jacques Prevert, French poet, screenwriter, was born. His work included “The Visitors of the Evening” and “The Children of Paradise.”
(HN, 2/4/01)1902Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Charles Lindbergh (d.1974), the first man to fly solo across the Atlantic (1927), was born in Detroit and grew up in Minnesota.
(HN, 2/4/99) (www.charleslindbergh.com/history/index.asp)1904Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, MacKinlay Kantor, novelist (Andersonville), was born in Webster City, Iowa.
(MC, 2/4/02)
1904Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Russia offered Korea to Japan and defended its right to occupy Manchuria.
(HN, 2/4/99)1906Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Clyde Tombaugh, astronomer who discovered Pluto, was born.
(HN, 2/4/01)
1906Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Dietrich Bonhoeffer (d.1945), German Protestant theologian, was born. “If you board the wrong train, it is no use running along the corridor in the other direction.”
(AP, 8/27/00) (HN, 2/4/01)
1906Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, The New York Police Department began finger print identification.
(HN, 2/4/99)1909Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, California law segregated Japanese and Caucasian schoolchildren.
(HN, 2/4/01)1912Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Erich Leinsdorf (d.1993), conductor, was born in Vienna, Austria. Leinsdorf earned a reputation for exacting standards. He published books and essays on musical matters and became a naturalized American citizen in 1942.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erich_Leinsdorf)
1912Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In San Francisco two horses were killed when a huge truck loaded with 45 tons of copper cable broke free on the steep grade of Steiner Street hill. 50 horses were pulling against the truck with 4 horses guiding when the cable broke.
(SSFC, 2/5/12, DB p.42)1913Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Rosa Lee Parks, civil rights activist, was born. Her refusal to give up her seat on a segregated bus in Alabama started the Civil Rights Movement.
(HN, 2/4/99)1915Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Germans decreed British waters part of war zone; all ships were to be sunk without warning.
(HN, 2/4/99)1919Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, City of Bremen’s Soviet Republic was overthrown.
(MC, 2/4/02)1920Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, The 1st flight from London to South Africa took off and lasted 1 month.
(MC, 2/4/02)1921Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Betty Friedan, writer, feminist, was born. She founded the National Organization of Women in 1966.
(HN, 2/4/01)1923Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, French troops took Offenburg, Appenweier and Buhl in the Ruhr as a part of the agreement ending World War I.
(HN, 2/4/99)1924Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, The 1st Winter Olympic games closed at Chamonix, France.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1924_Winter_Olympics)1925Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Russell Hoban, artist and writer, was born. His work included “Bedtime for Frances” and “The Mouse and His Child.”
(HN, 2/4/01)1931Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Isabel Peron, [Maria Martinez], dancer, president of Argentina, was born.
(MC, 2/4/02)1932Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Robert Coover, novelist & short story writer, was born.
(HN, 2/4/01)
1932Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, New York Gov. Franklin D. Roosevelt opened the Winter Olympic Games at Lake Placid, N.Y.
(AP, 2/4/97) (HN, 2/4/99)1933Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, German Pres. Von Hindenburg limited freedom of the press.
(MC, 2/4/02)1935Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Martti Talvela, operatic basso, was born in Hiitola, Karelia, Finland.
(MC, 2/4/02)1936Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, 1st radioactive substance, radium E, was produced synthetically.
(MC, 2/4/02)1938Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, The Thornton Wilder play “Our Town” opened on Broadway. [see Jan 22]
(AP, 2/4/97)
1938Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Hitler seized control of German army and put Nazis in key posts.
(MC, 2/4/02)1941Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, The United Service Organization (USO) was chartered, in order to provide recreation for on-leave members of the US armed forces and their families.
(http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/feb04.html)1944Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Jean Anouilh’s “Antigone,” premiered in Paris.
(MC, 2/4/02)
1944Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, The Japanese attacked the Indian Seventh Army in Burma.
(HN, 2/4/99)1945Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4-1945 Feb 12, President Roosevelt, British PM Winston Churchill and Soviet leader Josef Stalin held a wartime conference in the Livadia Palace at Yalta, in the southern Ukraine. Roosevelt joked to Stalin that the only concession he might give to Ibn Saud in Saudi Arabia was “the 6 million Jews in the US.” In 2012 Michael Dobbs authored “Six Months in 1945: FDR, Stalin, Churchill, and Truman ”“ From World War to Cold War.”
(AP, 2/4/97) (WSJ, 3/8/99, p.A16) (SSFC, 11/25/12, p.F4) (Econ, 10/5/13, p.58)1946Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Garson Kanin’s “Born Yesterday,” premiered in NYC.
(MC, 2/4/02)
1946Â Â Â Â Â Â May 2-1946 May 4, A 3-day siege at Alcatraz prison in San Francisco Bay ended after five people were killed. Six led by bank robber Bernard Paul Coy (46) inmates took 9 guards hostage. Inmate Joe Cretzer shot the 9 hostages but killed only one. He and 2 compeers were later shot and killed. 2 inmates were executed for their part and one served out a life sentence.
(AP, 5/4/97) (SFC, 8/11/97, p.A12) (SFC, 4/12/14, p.C1)1947      Feb 4, Dan Quayle was born in Indianapolis. He later became vice-president under George H.W. Bush (1988-1992).
(DFP, 7/28/96, p.J5) (HN, 2/4/01)1948Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Colonial rule ended and the island nation of Ceylon — now Sri Lanka — became an independent dominion within the British Commonwealth.
(SFE, 9/16/96, p.A9) (SFC, 6/20/96, p.A8) (AP, 2/4/97)1961Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In the Portuguese colony of Angola fighting erupted as 3 anti-colonial guerrilla movements battled for independence. Rebels butchered Portuguese settlers, including women and children, on remote Angolan plantations. In revenge, Portuguese militias and troops carried out a vicious campaign of repression, despite pressure from the US and UN to pull out of Africa.
(SFC, 4/5/02, p.A11) (AP, 12/9/07) (Econ, 9/3/11, p.46)1962Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Russian newspaper Izvestia reported baseball is an old Russian game.
(MC, 2/4/02)1966Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Senate Foreign Relations Committee began televised hearings on the Vietnam War.
(HN, 2/4/99)
1966Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Gilbert H. Grosvenor (90), president National Geographic Society, died.
(MC, 2/4/02)1969Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, John Madden (b.1936), a graduate of Daly City’s Jefferson High School, was named head coach of the NFL’s Oakland Raiders.
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Madden)
1969Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Al-Fatah-leader Yasser Arafat officially took over as chairman of PLO.
(SFC, 11/11/04, p.A18)1971Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Rolls-Royce collapsed due to rising development costs on the RB.211, the sole powerplant selected for the Lockheed TriStar. The Conservative nationalized the company to save it from collapse.
(http://widebodyaircraft.nl/chro1971.htm) (Econ, 1/10/09, p.11)1972Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In California the Santa Rosa Hitchhiker Murders when Yvonne Weber (13) and Maureen Sterling (13) were seen thumbing a lift on Guerneville Road. Their bones were found 10 months later six miles into the hills north of Santa Rosa. By December 1973 five more young women had disappeared in the area. They included Kim Allen (19), Jeannette Kamahele (20), Lori Kursa (13), Carolyn Davis (15) and Theresa Walsh (23).
(SFC, 7/7/11, p.A9)1974      Feb 4, Newspaper heiress Patty Hearst (b.1954) was kidnapped in Berkeley, Ca., by a left-wing urban guerrilla group called the Symbionese Liberation Army. Her boyfriend Steven Weed was beaten and she was held for 4½ weeks at 37 Northridge Drive in Daly City. Patty was then taken to 1827 Golden Gate Ave, apt. #6, in San Francisco and held for another four weeks. Hearst then joined the underground revolutionary group.
(http://tinyurl.com/mtthp28) (SFC, 2/8/97, p.A7) (AP, 2/4/97) (AP, 2/4/97) (SFEC, 3/1/98, p.W22)
1974Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Mao Tse-tung proclaimed a new “cultural revolution” in China.
(HN, 2/4/99)1976Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, A 7.5-7.9 earthquake hit Guatemala and Honduras. Some 23,000 Guatemalans, mostly Mayan Indians, were killed. It destroyed 58,000 houses in the capital and 300 villages.
(NG, 6/1988, p.785,797) (SFEM, 6/13/99, p.8) (AP, 2/4/01) (AP, 6/22/02)1977Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In Illinois 11 people were killed when two cars of a Chicago Transit Authority train fell off elevated tracks after a collision with another train.
(AP, 2/4/02)1979Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In San Mateo, Ca., a robbery at the Pay Less Super Drug Store at 666 Concar Drive left 3 young employees dead. Michael Olson (23), Billy Baumgarnter (17) and Tracy Anderson (16) were all shot in the back of the head. An estimated $20,000 was stolen. By 2007 the case was still open with no arrests.
(SFC, 10/23/07, p.A12) (SSFC, 6/8/08, p.B2)
1979Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In Peru police stormed the union held Cromotex factory in Lima. Union leader Nestor Cerpa was jailed for a year.
(SFC, 12/25/96, p.A10)1980Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Abolhassan Bani-Sadr was installed as president of Iran by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
(AP, 2/4/00)
1980Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Syria withdrew its peacekeeping force in Beirut.
(HN, 2/4/99)1982Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Musical “Pump Boys & Dinettes,” premiered in NYC for 573 performances.
(www.ibdb.com/production.asp?ID=4161)
1982Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, President Reagan announced a plan to eliminate all medium-range nuclear missiles in Europe.
(AP, 2/4/02)1983Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Singer-musician Karen Carpenter (32) died in Downey, Ca.
(AP, 2/4/08)
1983Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In Texas Wanda Lopez was murdered in Corpus Christi. In 1989 Carlos DeLuna (27) was executed for her murder. In 2012 a report, entitled “Los Tocayos Carlos: Anatomy of a Wrongful Execution,” said DeLuna was not guilty of the murder.
(AFP, 5/15/12) (http://www3.law.columbia.edu/hrlr/ltc/)1986Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, The U.S. Post Office issued a commemorative stamp featuring Sojourner Truth.
(HN, 2/4/99)1987Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Congress overrode Pres Reagan’s veto of Clean Water Act. Changes in the 1972 Act phased out the construction grants program, replacing it with the State Water Pollution Control Revolving Fund, more commonly known as the Clean Water State Revolving Fund.
(www.epa.gov/r5water/cwa.htm)(www.agiweb.org/legis105/cwupdate.html)
1987Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Pianist Liberace (67) died of AIDS at his home in Palm Springs, Calif.
(AP, 2/4/97)1988Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Senate Republican Leader Bob Dole twice confronted Vice President George Bush on the floor of the Senate, accusing his GOP presidential rival of condoning a campaign attack that amounted to “groveling in the mud.”
(AP, 2/4/97)1989Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze wrapped up four days of high-level talks in China, the first visit by a Soviet foreign minister in three decades.
(AP, 2/4/99)1990Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Nine people were killed as guerrillas attacked a bus carrying Israeli tourists near Cairo, Egypt.
(AP, 2/4/00)
1990Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Cheering protesters thronged Moscow streets to demand that the Communists surrender their stranglehold on power.
(AP, 2/4/00)1991Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, President Bush sent Congress a $1.45 trillion budget for fiscal 1992 containing a deficit of $280.9 billion.
(AP, 2/4/01)
1991Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Iranian President Hashemi Rafsanjani offered to hold talks with Iraq and the United States in an attempt to mediate an end to the Gulf War.
(AP, 2/4/01)
1991Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In Cumuto, Trinidad, Indravani Pamela Ramjattan (28), a victim of repeated beatings, was again beaten unconscious by her husband, Alexander Jordan (47). A week later she got 2 men, one of them her lover, to murder Jordan. Ramjattan was convicted of murder in a 1995 trial and sentenced to death.
(SFC, 1/29/99, p.A14)1992Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, President George H.W. Bush defended his economic recovery plan before a National Grocers Association meeting in Orlando, Fla. During his visit, Bush appeared intrigued by an electronic checkout machine, leaving reporters wondering if he’d ever seen such a device before.
(AP, 2/4/02)
1992Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In Caracas, Venezuela, there was a coup attempt but Lt. Col. Chavez failed to capture the presidential Palace and was forced to surrender. He served 2 years in prison.
(WSJ, 6/12/03, p.A10)1993Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, A jury in Atlanta found General Motors negligent in the fuel-tank design of a pickup truck and awarded $105.2 million to the parents of a teen-ager killed in a fiery 1989 crash. The negligence verdict was later overturned, and the parents of Shannon Moseley reached an out-of-court settlement with GM.
(AP, 2/4/03)1994Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, The Federal Reserve increased interest rates for the first time in five years in a surprise announcement that triggered a huge sell-off on Wall Street; the Fed said the move was designed to head off any recurrence of high inflation. Alan Greenspan later admitted that the Fed acted to “prick the bubble in the equity markets.”
(AP, 2/4/99) (WSJ, 3/2/00, p.B20)
1994Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In Khartoum, Sudan, five armed men attacked the mosque of Ansar al-Sunna during Friday prayers, killing 19 and injuring 26 of the worshippers.
(www.africa.upenn.edu/Newsletters/SNV_2.html)1995Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, A standoff between the United States and China escalated into a trade war, with each country ordering stiff tariffs against the other.
(AP, 2/4/00)
1995Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Patricia Highsmith (b.1921), American born novelist, died in Switzerland. Her first novel, “Strangers on a Train” (1950) was made into a 1951 film by Alfred Hitchcock. In 2009 Joan Schenkar authored “The Talented Miss Highsmith: The Secret Life and Serious Art of Patricia Highsmith.”
(SSFC, 12/13/09, p.E3) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patricia_Highsmith)1996Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Pres. Clinton and Monica had their 6th sexual encounter at the White House.
(SFC, 9/12/98, p.A13)
1996Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Secretary of State Warren Christopher concluded a three-nation visit to the Balkans as he met in Belgrade with Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic.
(AP, 2/4/01)
1996Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Twenty-four people were killed when a Colombian cargo plane in Paraguay caught fire shortly after takeoff and crashed into a suburban neighborhood.
(AP, 2/4/01)1997Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Pres. Clinton in his State of the Union speech that education was his No. 1 priority for his 2nd term.
(SFC, 2/5/97, p.A1) (AP, 2/4/97)
1997Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, A civil jury in Santa Monica, Calif., found O.J. Simpson liable for the deaths of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ronald Goldman, awarding $8.5 million in compensatory damages to Goldman’s parents. Six days later, the jury added $25 million in punitive damages to go to Nicole Brown Simpson’s estate and Goldman’s father.
(SFC, 2/5/97, p.A1) (AP, 2/4/97)
1997Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, It was reported that $68 million in gold bars, looted by the Nazis from European central banks and stored in the vaults of the Federal Reserve Bank in New York and the Bank of England, would be frozen. Switzerland, Sweden and other nations turned them over to the allies after WW II. The disbursement of the gold was to be administered by the Tripartite Commission but claims have been made that part of the gold came from private citizens who died in the Holocaust.
(SFC, 2/4/97, p.A12)
1997Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Investment bank Morgan Stanley and Dean Witter announced a plan to merge for a combined capitalization of over $20 billion. Phillip J. Purcell, chairman and CEO of Dean Witter, became chairman and CEO of the new company. In 2005 Purcell, faced with employee defections, announced his retirement.
(WSJ, 2/5/97, p.A1)
1997Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In Australia the parliament voted to begin the process of becoming a republic. A constitutional convention was planned for the fall and delegates would decide on how to put the issue to the electorate.
(WSJ, 2/5/97, p.A1)
1997Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In Bulgaria the ex-Communists backed down and agreed to new elections in April.
(WSJ, 2/5/97, p.A1)
1997Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, From China it was reported that the government was cracking down on the arts while attempting to promote Pres. Jiang Zemin’s “spiritual civilization.” Writer Mo Yan, author of “Ample Breasts, Fat Buttocks” was singled out for criticism.
(SFC, 2/4/97, p.A10)
1997Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In Columbia the U’wa tribe blocked Occidental Petroleum from developing an oil field on their land worth billions.
(SFC, 2/5/97, p.A9)
1997Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In northeastern Iran 2 earthquakes with aftershocks killed at least 72 people. Some 43 villages were damaged. Another quake followed the next day.
(SFC, 2/5/97, p.A9)(SFC, 2/6/97, p.A1)
1997Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Two Israeli helicopters collided at the Shaar Yeshuv kibbutz and 73 soldiers were killed.
(WSJ, 2/5/97, p.A1) (AP, 2/4/97)
1997Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In Pakistan the Muslim League won elections with 140 of 217 parliament seats. Nawaz Sharif was re-elected as prime minister.
(SFC, 2/5/97, p.A9) (WSJ, 9/5/07, p.A4)
1997Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In Rwanda gunmen killed 2 human-rights monitors 180 miles southeast of Kigali. Five UN employees were killed.
(WSJ, 2/5/97, p.A1) (SFC, 2/5/97, p.A9)
1997Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In Serbia Milosevic said that he would recognized the opposition victories in 14 towns.
(WSJ, 2/5/97, p.A1)1998Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Congress voted to name Washington National Airport after Ronald Reagan, just in time for his 87th birthday on Feb 6.
(SFC, 2/5/98, p.A3)
1998Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, It was reported that Berkshire Hathaway, the investment vehicle of Warren Buffet, had accumulated 129.7 million ounces of sliver, some 20% of the world’s supply, valued at $858.6 million.
(WSJ, 2/4/98, p.A1)
1998Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Alfred Mann (72), the originator of 7 medical device and electronics companies, announced $100 million donations to both the Univ. of Southern Cal. and the Univ. of Cal. at Los Angeles to set up biomedical research institutes.
(SFC, 2/5/98, p.A3)
1998Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In Afghanistan a 5.9 earthquake hit the province of Takhar in the northeast at the junction of the Hindu Kush and Pamir mountain ranges where hills collapsed into each other making a huge crater. The number dead was later reported to be 2,300 with 8,000 left homeless.
(SFC, 2/7/98, p.A10)Â (SFC, 6/1/98, p.A1) (AP, 2/4/99) (SFC, 3/27/02, p.A14)
1998Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In Morocco King Hassan II appointed Abderrahmane El Toussoufi, opposition leader of the Socialist Union of People’s Forces, as prime minister.
(SFC, 2/5/98, p.A13)
1998      Feb 4, A North Korean diplomat with a UN agency in Rome defected to South Korea. He reported that North Korea executed its agricultural chief in 1997 and dozens of Communist youth league members in a purge by Kim Jong Il.
(WSJ, 2/19/98, p.A1)
1998Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In Rwanda Hutu rebels slaughtered 33 people in the Ruhemgeri region.
(SFC, 2/9/98, p.A12)1999Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Senators at President Clinton’s impeachment trial voted to permit the showing of portions of Monica Lewinsky’s videotaped deposition.
(AP, 2/4/00)
1999Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In NYC plainclothes police officers fired 41 shots at Amadou Daillo (22), a Bronx street peddler and immigrant from Guinea, who was unarmed in front of his Bronx home. Police were searching for a rapist and Daillo was killed with 19 gunshot wounds. Officers Kenneth Boss, Sean Carroll, Edward McMellon and Richard Murphy were later indicted for 2nd degree murder.
(SFC, 2/5/99, p.A3) (SFC, 2/6/99, p.A3) (SFC, 3/26/99, p.A3)
1999Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, The 693-foot cargo ship New Carissa ran aground in Coos Bay and began leaking oil.
(SFC, 2/10/99, p.A3)
1999Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In China dissidents set up 5 new branches of the banned China Democratic opposition political party.
(SFC, 2/5/99, p.A13)
1999Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Gravely ill with lymphatic cancer, Jordan’s King Hussein left the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., and was flown home.
(AP, 2/4/00)
1999Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, The Mexican government revealed a new high-tech strategy against drug trafficking.
(SFC, 2/5/99, p.A12)
1999Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Pres. Estrada signed a document as “Jose Velarde” to withdraw $10 million from an undeclared account. In 2000 Clarissa Ocampo, vice president of Equitable Bank, testified to the false papers before an impeachment court.
(SFC, 12/23/00, p.A12)
1999Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In the Philippines Leo Echegaray, a house painter convicted of raping his 10-year stepdaughter, was executed by lethal injection. It was the first execution there in 23 years.
(SFC, 2/5/99, p.A15)
1999Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Russian astronauts on Mir attempted to deploy a fan-like mirror made of plastic and coated with aluminum for an 18 hour test. The test failed and another attempt was planned. They failed again and abandoned the test.
(SFEC, 1/31/99, p.A23) (SFC, 2/5/99, p.A7) (WSJ, 2/8/99, p.A1)
1999Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, From South Africa it was reported that a $650 flame-thrower, invented by Charl Flourie, was available for installation on cars to protect against carjackers.
(SFC, 2/4/99, p.A11)2000Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Lynette Cole, Miss Tennessee, won the Miss USA pageant.
(SFEC, 2/6/00, p.A4)
2000Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Delta Air Lines said it would provide new PCs and Internet access to its 72,000 employees at $12 per month over 3 years.
(SFC, 2/5/00, p.A1)
2000Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Former House Speaker Carl Albert died in McAlester, Oklahoma, at age 91.
(AP, 2/4/01)
2000Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Singer Doris Kenner-Jackson of the Shirelles died in Goldsboro, North Carolina, at age 58.
(AP, 2/4/01)
2000Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In Austria the new governing coalition took power and triggered diplomatic sanctions and protests. President Thomas Klestil swore in a coalition government that included Joerg Haider’s far-right Freedom Party, a development which triggered European Union sanctions.
(SFC, 2/5/00, p.A10) (AP, 2/4/01)
2000Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Russians forces began bombing Katyr Yurt after Chechen rebels arrived from Grozny. The bombing lasted for 2 days, well after the rebels fled, and at least 170 civilians were killed. Later reports said 343 refugees were killed.
(SFC, 2/15/00, p.A13) (WSJ, 3/6/00, p.A1)
2000Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In southern Lebanon Israeli forces attacked targets for the 7th straight day. A guerrilla commander and 7 civilians were killed.
(SFC, 2/5/00, p.A11)
2000Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In Russia former Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov dropped out of the presidential race.
(SFC, 2/5/00, p.A10)2001Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In the NHL All-Star game, the North America team beat the World squad 14-to-12. In the Pro Bowl, the AFC defeated the NFC, 38-to-17.
(AP, 2/4/02)
2001Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Phillips Petroleum and Tosco boards approved a Phillips acquisition valued at $7 billion.
(SFC, 2/5/01, p.A1)
2001Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In France Iannis Xenakis, composer and mathematician, died at age 78. He is credited with having invented “stochastic music” based on mathematical probability systems. His work included the percussion ensemble piece: “The Pleiades.”
(SFC, 2/5/01, p.A21)
2001Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In Russia Dr. Kenneth Gluck, a member of Doctors Without Borders, turned up in good health after being kidnapped in Chechnya 27 days earlier.
(SFC, 2/5/01, p.A9)
2001Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In Spain a crowd of 10-40 thousand marched in Barcelona to protest a tough new against illegal immigrants.
(SFC, 2/5/01, p.A8)2002Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Pres. Bush released his $2.13 trillion budget plan for the coming federal year. It included a 12% increase in military spending and cuts in highway and job training.
(SSFC, 2/3/02, p.A1)(SFC, 2/5/02, p.A1)
2002Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, The World Economic Forum concluded five days of meetings in New York.
(AP, 2/4/03)
2002Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Former Enron chairman and chief executive Kenneth Lay resigned from the board, cutting his last tie to the company beyond stock ownership.
(AP, 2/4/03)
2002Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, A New Jersey teenager (16) began a 2-day shooting spree on the outskirts of Philadelphia that left 6 people dead. He was arrested Feb 22.
(SSFC, 2/24/02, p.A1)
2002Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, The CIA believed that it killed a top al Qaeda official with a Hellfire missile, Predator aerial drone, near Zawar Kili, Afghanistan. 7 al Qaeda members were killed. At least some of those killed were innocent villagers. At Zhawara 3 local villagers were killed while looking for scrap metal.
(WSJ, 2/7/02, p.A1) (SFC, 2/8/02, p.A18) (SFC, 2/11/02, p.A10) (SFC, 2/12/02, p.A16) (SSFC, 2/17/02, p.A18) (SSFC, 7/21/02, p.A14)
2002Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In Afghanistan northern militia factions agreed to withdraw from Mazar-e-Sharif and create a new joint security force.
(SFC, 2/5/02, p.A8)
2002Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In Havana, Cuba, Pres. Fox of Mexico met with 7 prominent dissidents.
(SFC, 2/5/02, p.A7)
2002Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, An 8-year corruption investigation of Elf Aquitaine, a French oil firm privatized in 1994, ended with 40 people implicated.
(SFC, 2/5/02, p.A6)
2002Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Israeli PM Peres said Iran had put elite forces into Lebanon and had supplied Hezbollah with 10,000 rockets with ranges of 13-44 miles.
(SFC, 2/5/02, p.A10)
2002Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In the Gaza Strip 5 Palestinians were killed when their car exploded. Israeli military said the men were carrying an explosive device that went off early. 5 Palestinians died in a Gaza helicopter attack.
(SFC, 2/5/02, p.A5) (WSJ, 2/5/02, p.A1)2003Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Pres. Bush visited the Johnson Space Center in Houston, where he led a tribute to the lost crew of the shuttle Columbia and rededicated the nation to space travel.
(AP, 2/4/04)
2003Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Jerome Hines (81), opera singer died in New York.
(AP, 2/4/04)
2003Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Beauty pageant organizers stripped Miss Brazil of her title after they discovered she was married. Joseane Oliveira (21) was replaced by first runner-up Taiza Thomsen (21).
(AP, 2/5/03)
2003Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, A rare television interview with Saddam Hussein aired in which the Iraqi leader charged that US claims of chemical, biological and nuclear weapons in his country were a pretext to seize Iraq’s oil fields.
(AP, 2/4/04)
2003Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In central Pakistan fireworks being loaded into shipping containers caught fire, setting off a series of powerful explosions that killed at least 17 people, including two children, and injured dozens.
(AP, 2/4/03)
2003Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, The United Nations indicted 32 people, including 15 Indonesian soldiers, on allegations they tortured and killed East Timorese during the country’s bloody split from Indonesia in 1999.
(AP, 2/4/03)
2003Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Venezuela’s government suggested a referendum on his rule later this year as a way out of the country’s political crisis.
(AP, 2/4/03)
2003Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Yugoslavia’s parliament transformed the federation into a loose union between Montenegro and Serbia and retired the name “Yugoslavia.”
(WSJ, 2/5/03, p.A1)2004Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, The US Senate, rattled by a ricin attack, began returning to regular business with no illnesses reported.
(AP, 2/4/05)
2004Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, John Ashcroft joined security chiefs from 32 nations at a Bali anti-terrorism conference.
(WSJ, 2/4/04, p.A1)
2004Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, A Massachusetts advisory opinion of the state Supreme Court said gay couples had the right to marry.
(WSJ, 2/5/04, p.A4)
2004Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Hilda Hilst (73), who provoked Brazilian readers with fiction and poetry depicting insanity, the supernatural and erotica, died.
(AP, 2/4/04)
2004Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In Sierra Leone Pres. Ahmed Tejah Kabbah and international sponsors declared a successful end to disarmament, closing a final chapter in an 11-year war that was one of the modern world’s most vicious.
(AP, 2/4/04)2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Kevin Shelley resigned as California’s secretary of state amidst allegations of questionable fund raising and misuse of federal voting funds.
(SFC, 2/4/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, John and Linda Dollar, a Florida couple accused of torturing and starving five adopted children, were captured in southeastern Utah.
(AP, 2/5/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Boeing said Ethiopian Airlines plans to acquire up to 10 of Boeing Co.’s new 787s at an overall cost of about $1.3 billion.
(AP, 2/4/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, It was reported that California’s mysterious explosion of autism cases increased by 13% in 2004. State services for autism had increased from some 5,000 in 1993 to 26,000 in 2004. The US federal Dept. of Education reported that autism in schoolchildren increased 1,700% nationally from 1992 to 2002.
(SFC, 2/4/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Ossie Davis (87), an actor distinguished for roles dealing with racial injustice on stage, screen and in real life, was found dead in his hotel room in Miami. He was best known as the husband and partner of actress Ruby Dee.
(AP, 2/4/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Brazil’s annual pre-Lenten Carnival got under way. It’s long been an open secret that Rio’s annual samba parade is largely funded by the kingpins of an illegal numbers game known here as the “jogo do bicho,” Portuguese for animal game.
(AP, 2/5/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Guatemala’s highest court said it cannot try soldiers charged with participating in a wartime massacre of more than 300 civilians until a separate court determines if the country’s postwar reconciliation law bars such prosecution.
(AP, 2/4/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Diplomats said Iran has agreed to give the UN nuclear watchdog agency a fresh look at a military complex linked by the US to possible atomic arms research.
(AP, 2/4/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Gunmen seized Giuliana Sgrena, an Italian journalist in central Baghdad, in a hail of gunfire after she had been interviewing people who fled the US assault last year on the Sunni insurgent stronghold of Fallujah. Sgrena was freed a month later; however, an Italian agent who’d secured her release was killed by U.S. gunfire at a checkpoint.
(AP, 2/4/05) (AP, 2/4/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Japan confirmed its 1st human death from mad-cow disease. It was suspected that the man died as a result of beef he consumed in England around 1989.
(WSJ, 2/7/05, p.A16)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In Nepal dozens of paramilitary police raided an underground political meeting and rounded up a group of party officials, days after the king seized power and banned public gatherings.
(AP, 2/4/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, The Nigerian army quelled a demonstration at one of Nigeria’s main oil export terminals, while activists accused the soldiers of killing four protesters.
(AP, 2/4/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Russia lashed out at Britain after an independent TV channel there aired an interview with Chechen rebel warlord Shamil Basayev, saying the broadcast amounted to terrorist propaganda and calling for an investigation.
(AP, 2/4/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, A Swiss-based group said Arab tribes in northern Sudan have freed 880 slaves during the past two weeks and allowed them to return to southern Sudan.
(AP, 2/4/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, The Ukraine Parliament unanimously approved fiery opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko as PM, along with her government’s new program to raise living standards, tackle corruption and set Ukraine on a westward course.
(AP, 2/4/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, A Ukraine intelligence official said secret indictments and arrests have taken place against at least 6 arms dealers accused of selling nuclear capable missiles to China and Iran.
(SFC, 2/4/05, p.A5)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, The UN vowed to discipline two officials implicated in a report that detailed conflicts of interest and flawed management in the U.N. oil-for-food program. Secretary-General Kofi Annan will discipline Benon Sevan and another UN official, Joseph Stephanides, who may have “tainted” bidding for an oil-for-food contract,
(AP, 2/4/05)2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In Arkansas Jacob D. Robida (18) shot himself after he killed a Gassville police officer and a woman in his car. Robida died the next day. 2 days earlier Robida had used a hatchet and a gun to attack 3 patrons at a gay bar in Mass.
(AP, 2/3/06) (AP, 2/5/06) (SFC, 2/8/06, p.A3)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In Southern California nearly 2,000 inmates rioted at the Castaic North County Correctional Facility, throwing mattresses and banging heads against bunk beds, in an uproar that officials said stemmed from racial tensions. One inmate was killed.
(AP, 2/5/06)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Betty Friedan (85), feminist crusader and author of “The Feminine Mystique” (1963), died at her home in Washington. In 1966 she co-founded the National organization for Women (NOW).
(SSFC, 2/5/06, p.A6) (Econ, 2/11/06, p.82)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, About 250 Afghan forces fought more than 200 rebels in the area’s fiercest fighting in months. At least 19 people were killed in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
(AP, 2/4/06)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In Afghanistan a land mine ripped through a police vehicle, killing six officers and wounding four in Kandahar.
(AP, 2/5/06)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In Sao Paulo, Brazil, thousands of fans surged through security barriers at an autograph session for a wildly popular Mexican band, leaving three people crushed to death and 38 injured.
(AP, 2/5/06)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Dumarsais Simeus (65), a presidential candidate whose name was dropped from the ballot despite two Haitian Supreme Court rulings, said the interim president, the prime minister and the electoral council should be jailed.
(AP, 2/4/06)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Indian airport workers called off a four-day anti-privatization strike that had created chaos at the nation’s airports after the government promised them job security.
(AP, 2/4/06)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, The ISNA news agency reported that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has ordered the cancellation of economic contracts with countries where the media have carried cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed.
(AFP, 2/4/06)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, The UN nuclear watchdog reported Iran to the UN Security Council in a resolution expressing concern that Tehran’s nuclear program may not be “exclusively for peaceful purposes.” Iran retaliated immediately, saying it would resume uranium enrichment at its main plant instead of in Russia.
(AP, 2/4/06)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, A three-day energy meeting in Mexico City wrapped up after moving to a Mexican-owned hotel. It was the first private-sector oil summit between Cuba and the US. The meeting between Cuban officials and US energy executives was moved to another hotel after the Hotel Maria Isabel Sheraton asked the Cubans to leave. On Feb 6 Mexico launched an investigation into whether the US government pressured the American-owned hotel into expelling Cuban guests.
(AP, 2/6/06)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, A Palestinian man stabbed five people on a minibus in central Israel, killing one woman before passengers subdued him.
(AP, 2/5/06)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Jihad Momani, a Jordanian tabloid editor, was arrested after his newspaper published controversial cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed, while an investigation was launched into a second weekly newspaper that also printed the cartoons. Momani, editor-in-chief of the weekly gossip newspaper Shihane, was fired from his job the previous day.
(AFP, 2/4/06)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In the Philippines thousands of people lined up outside a stadium near Manila to watch a TV game show surged toward the gates in the mistaken belief they were open, and at least 88 people were trampled to death. Over 300 people were injured.
(AFP, 2/4/06)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Rage against caricatures of Islam’s revered prophet poured out across the Muslim world. Aggrieved believers in Syria called for executions, stormed, European buildings and torched the Danish and Norwegian embassies in Damascus. In Gaza Palestinians marched through the streets, storming European buildings and burning German and Danish flags.
(AP, 2/4/06) (AP, 2/4/07)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In South Africa Zoliswa Nkonyana (19), a lesbian, was stoned, kicked and stabbed to death just meters (yards) from her Cape Town home. In 2011 four men were convicted of her murder. On Feb 1, 2012, the 4 men were sentenced to 18 years in prison.
(www.tac.org.za/userfiles/Zoliswa%20Nkonyana%20Joint%20Statement.pdf) (AFP, 2/1/12)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Tens of thousands of people filled a plaza near the Thai parliament, chanting slogans demanding that PM Thaksin Shinawatra step down amid allegations of official corruption. Thaksin said he would step down if the king asked.
(AP, 2/4/06)2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Peyton Manning added the missing ingredient to his Hall of Fame credentials by leading the Indianapolis Colts to a 29-17 victory over the Chicago Bears in Super Bowl XLI.
(Reuters, 2/5/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Barbara McNair, black singer and actress, died in Los Angeles. Her films included “Change of Habit” (1969). She hosted the TV Barbara McNair Show from 1969-1972.
(SFC, 2/5/07, p.B5)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Gen. Dan McNeill, the highest-ranking US general to lead troops in Afghanistan, took command of 35,500 strong NATO-led force, putting an American face on the international mission after nine months of British command under Gen. David Richards. A NATO airstrike killed a senior Taliban leader riding in a car near Musa Qala.
(AP, 2/4/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Bangladeshi security forces used emergency powers to detain 13 senior politicians and former government ministers. Some 3 million Muslim devotees raised their hands in prayer for global peace, putting aside their country’s sometimes violent struggle with political corruption and Islamic extremists, at one of the world’s largest religious gatherings. The annual World Congregation of Muslims, or “Bishwa Ijtema,” has been held each year since 1966 on the banks of the River Turag in Tongi, just north of the capital, Dhaka.
(AP, 2/4/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In eastern China a fire swept through a two-story building of shops and apartments, killing at least 17 people in Zhejiang province’s Taizhou city.
(AP, 2/4/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Armed kidnappers seized an American missionary as he left his church near Haiti’s capital and have demanded a ransom for his release.
(AP, 2/5/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In Iraq at least 103 people were killed or found dead, mostly in Baghdad. A roadside bomb struck a police patrol in a predominantly Sunni area in Baghdad, killing 4 policemen and wounding 3. The US command said it has ordered changes in helicopter flight operations. 4 had been shot down in the last 2 weeks. Gunmen wearing Iraqi army uniforms seized Jalal Sharafi, the second secretary at the Iranian Embassy, as he drove through central Baghdad. Iran said it held the United States responsible for the diplomat’s “safety and life.”
(AP, 2/4/07) (SFC, 2/5/07, p.A8) (AP, 2/6/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In Kenya a top Kenyan AIDS researcher was killed and an American woman traveling with him was shot in the face.
(SSFC, 2/11/07, p.G2)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In Nigeria officials said 9 Chinese oil workers, abducted last month by militants in an armed attack in the southern delta, were released.
(Reuters, 2/4/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In eastern Pakistan a passenger train crushed to death a group of six young boys as they played on a railway track.
(AP, 2/4/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Hamas gunmen attacked bases of Fatah-allied troops with mortars and rocket-propelled grenades, part of a four-day campaign by the Islamic militants to weaken the security forces loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
(AP, 2/4/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In Nepal police opened fire on protesters in two towns, killing at least three people and wounding several more.
(AP, 2/4/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, A Philippine marine general and 19 others were released from a Muslim rebel camp where they were held for two days by guerrillas demanding more benefits under a 1996 peace accord.
(AP, 2/4/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, A Saudi newspaper reported that a Saudi Arabian judge sentenced 20 foreigners to receive lashes and spend several months in prison after convicting them of attending a party where alcohol was served and men and women danced.
(AP, 2/4/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In Turkmenistan an eight-story building collapsed in the southeastern city of Diyarbakir killing 5 people. A 15-year-old boy was rescued 36 hours later.
(AP, 2/6/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In Zambia China’s President Hu Jintao pledged $800 million in investments, debt write-offs and a “showcase” free trade zone as he ended a tour there. Beijing’s economic juggernaut has sparked tensions in Zambia.
(AFP, 2/4/07)2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, President Bush unveiled a $3.1 trillion budget that supports sizable increases in military spending to fight the war on terrorism and protects his signature tax cuts. Bush says the plan will keep the US economy growing and protect the US militarily.
(AP, 2/4/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In Utah Thomas S. Monson (80) was introduced as the 16th president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He had become known for his folksy storytelling as he ascended through church ranks.
(AP, 2/4/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Platinum soared above $1,800 an ounce for the first time as investors bet that a power shortage in South Africa will tighten global supply for the metal used in jewelry and automobiles.
(AP, 2/4/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Intel said it has built a new chip with a record 2 billion transistors. Its new quad-core Itanium processor will operate at frequencies up to 2 gigahertz.
(SFC, 2/5/08, p.C2)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Afghan and foreign troops conducted two raids on the homes of suspected Taliban militants, leaving 10 people dead, including women and children. A separate clash in southern Uruzgan province left nine suspected militants dead.
(AP, 2/4/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, The chief Aruban prosecutor said a hidden-camera interview with a Dutch student saying missing teenager Natalee Holloway was dead and that he had a friend dump her body at sea is admissible in court. The tape, which was first broadcast the previous evening on Dutch television, appeared to spur the investigation.
(AP, 2/5/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In Chad government forces and rebels clashed for a third day in the capital of N’Djamena with gunfire and shelling heard throughout the city.
(AP, 2/4/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In Chile Gen. Gonzalo Santelices, head of the Santiago army garrison, resigned amid accusations that he was involved in a case dating back to the nation’s military dictatorship. Santelices had acknowledged that as a young lieutenant in October, 1973, he followed orders and transferred 14 prisoners from a jail in northern Chile to a desert area where they were executed by firing squad.
(AP, 2/4/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Hundreds of thousands of Colombians wearing white T-shirts marched in their homeland and abroad to demand that FARC, the country’s largest rebel group, stop kidnapping people and release those it holds.
(AP, 2/4/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Tata Guines (b.1930), Cuban conga drummer, died. His six decade career helped popularize Afro-Cuban rhythms worldwide.
(AP, 2/5/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Dominican merchants closed a popular border market that caters to Haitians, punishing their impoverished neighbor for banning Dominican poultry and egg imports following an outbreak of avian flu.
(AP, 2/4/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, EU nations gave preliminary approval to plans to send a 1,800-strong policing and administration mission to Kosovo to replace the current UN mission.
(AP, 2/5/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Egyptian forces and Palestinian gunmen exchanged fire at the Gaza-Egypt border, killing one person and wounding 59 others a day after Cairo closed the breached frontier with the Hamas-run enclave.
(Reuters, 2/4/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, The UN Security Council sent a “firm and unwavering demand” that Eritrea immediately lift fuel restrictions hampering the efforts of peacekeepers monitoring a tense buffer zone between Ethiopia and Eritrea.
(AP, 2/4/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, India and Pakistan signed an agreement to exchange security information, opening up a new channel of communication between the two nuclear-armed rivals.
(AFP, 2/4/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Iran said it launched a research rocket and unveiled its first major space center, which will be used to launch research satellites.
(AP, 2/4/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, At least 3 Iraqis were killed and one child was injured after American soldiers stormed a tiny one-room house in the village of Adwar, 10 miles south of Tikrit, and opened fire. Iraqi police, relatives and neighbors said a couple and their son (19) were shot to death in their beds. Iraqi police said two young girls were wounded and one died the next day at a hospital.
(AP, 2/5/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In Israel a suicide bomber blew himself up in Dimona, the southern town that houses Israel’s secretive nuclear reactor. An Israeli woman (73) was killed and 7 other people wounded. Police killed a 2nd attacker before he had a chance to detonate his explosives belt. An Israeli response killed 9 armed Hamas men.
(AP, 2/4/08)(Econ, 2/9/08, p.54)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Kenya said violence over disputed elections had eased enough to lift a monthlong ban on live television broadcasts. The fighting has killed over 1,000 people and made 300,000 homeless since the Dec. 27 presidential election. Violence continued as former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan said the government and governing party have rejected his choice to lead mediation efforts. At least 7 people were killed overnight in battles between Kisii and Kalenjin communities 155 miles west of the capital.
(AP, 2/4/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In Pakistan a suicide bomber on a motorbike rammed into a minibus carrying security personnel, detonating a blast that killed at least six people and wounded more than 30 in the latest attack in the Pakistani garrison city of Rawalpindi.
(AP, 2/4/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In the Philippines at least 7 civilians, including four children, were killed during a military operation against al-Qaida-linked militants on southern Jolo island.
(AP, 2/5/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In Serbia Boris Tadic celebrated his re-election as president by pledging to stay on a pro-Western course despite nationalist anger over a looming declaration of independence by Kosovo province.
(AP, 2/4/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In northeastern Sri Lanka a roadside bomb attack blamed on Tamil Tiger rebels tore through a civilian bus. 14 people were killed and 15 injured in the Freedom day attack. According to the defense ministry, the rebels have lost at least 913 fighters since the beginning of the year, compared with just 37 government soldiers killed.
(AP, 2/4/08) (AFP, 2/5/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In southern Thailand a bomb exploded outside an Islamic boarding school, killing one person and wounding 12. A separate bombing wounded six people, in the latest violence attributed to an Islamic separatist rebellion that has entered its fifth year.
(AP, 2/4/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Turkey’s warplanes bombed some 70 Kurdish rebel targets in northern Iraq.
(AP, 2/4/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Ugandan rebels from the Lord’s Resistance Army killed 136 people and looted property during an attack in and around Kajo-Keji in southern Sudan. In March officials said Sudanese renegades frustrated with not being absorbed into the military — and not Ugandan rebels initially suspected — were behind the attacks in south Sudan.
(AFP, 2/8/08) (AFP, 3/15/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the UN has transferred $161 million from the defunct oil-for-food program to a development program for Iraq.
(AP, 2/4/08)2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, President Barack Obama imposed $500,000 caps on senior executive pay for the most distressed financial institutions receiving federal bailout money, saying Americans are upset with “executives being rewarded for failure.”
(AP, 2/4/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe signed into law new animal-cruelty restrictions that make aggravated cruelty to cats, dogs and horses a felony on the first offense. According to the US Humane Society Arkansas became the 46th state to make cruelty to animals a felony.
(AP, 2/5/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, A document was released that listed thousands of people identified as customers and victims of Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi scheme.
(WSJ, 2/6/09, p.A1)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Dr. Randeep Mann allegedly bombed the car of Dr. Trent Pierce, the chairman of the Tennessee state medical board, in revenge for punishment after 10 of Mann’s patients fatally overdosed on drugs he had prescribed. Pierce lost an eye and was severely burned.
(http://a11news.com/1760/dr-randeep-mann-is-car-bomb-suspect/)(SFC, 1/7/10, p.A4)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In Afghanistan a roadside bomb killed six bodyguards working for a controversial Afghan district governor in southern Helmand province.
(AP, 2/5/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In northeastern Australia rain-battered residents were on alert for snakes in their bathrooms and crocodiles in the road following repeated storms that have sent local wildlife in search of dry land or a safe haven.
(AP, 2/4/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Brazilian police killed at least 10 suspects, including two teenage boys, during operations against drug traffickers in Rio de Janeiro.
(AP, 2/4/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, The British military said an army officer has been arrested in Afghanistan on suspicion of leaking official secrets. Britain’s Sun newspaper said Lt. Col. Owen McNally had leaked figures about civilian deaths in coalition operations to a worker from a human rights group.
(AP, 2/4/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Gao Zhisheng, one of China’s most daring lawyers, was arrested. In Jan, 2010, the Beijing police officer who took Gao away said he “went missing” in September, leading to fears for the lawyer’s safety. On Jan 21, 2010, a Foreign Ministry official said Zhisheng has been judged by legal authorities and “is where he should be.” This was China’s first public comment on the case. Zhisheng resurfaced in northern China on March 28, 2010, saying he wants spend time with family and away from media attention. Gao described his ordeal to The Associated Press in April and disappeared again 2 weeks later.
(AP, 1/22/10) (SFC, 3/29/10, p.A3) (AP, 1/10/11)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, French-US telecom equipment group Alcatel-Lucent said its net loss widened 48.5 percent to 5.215 billion euros (6.5 billion dollars) in 2008, blaming asset write-downs in a crumbling world economy.
(AFP, 2/4/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, French group Areva signed a draft accord for the sale of two to six nuclear reactors to India, a huge new market now open with the end of a nuclear trade embargo on New Delhi.
(AFP, 2/4/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In Germany countries leading the drive to resolve concerns about Iran’s nuclear program welcomed the new US administration’s readiness to engage with Tehran. Foreign Ministry officials from Germany and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council: Britain, China, France, Russia and the US, met in Wiesbaden.
(AP, 2/4/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, A Greek police officer (38) shot and seriously wounded a Greek private security guard (31) outside the US Embassy in central Athens.
(AP, 2/4/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, An Iraqi lawmaker said the prime minister’s coalition will talk to other parties about sharing power in mostly southern areas after initial projections showed the Shiite leader’s allies were the big winners in last weekend’s provincial elections. Early results showed that PM al-Maliki’s allies, the Coalition of the State of Law, finished first in 10 of the 14 provinces.
(AP, 2/4/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Kazakhstan allowed its currency to devalue 25% in an effort to protect its foreign exchange and gold reserves amidst falling oil prices.
(WSJ, 2/5/09, p.A6)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In Pakistan assailants overnight torched 10 returning trucks stranded by the bombing of a key bridge on the main supply route for US forces in Afghanistan.
(AP, 2/4/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Poland’s defense minister stated plans to end military missions in Lebanon, the Golan Heights and Chad in an effort to cut spending due to the global economic crisis.
(AP, 2/4/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In Puerto Rico Sara Kuszak (35) made a desperate call for help from the trunk of her kidnapper’s car, about an hour before she was found dead with her throat slashed. Eliezer Marquez Navedo (36) confessed to kidnapping the pregnant tourist as she was jogging and killing her. The FBI used a signal from the victim’s cell phone to help locate the suspect. Navedo was later convicted of kidnapping, rape and murder and sentenced to 105 years in prison.
(AP, 2/5/09) (AP, 6/2/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Romania’s central bank cut interest rates by a quarter point to 10%, still the highest in the EU.
(WSJ, 2/5/09, p.A8)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Russia sought to bolster its security alliance with six other ex-Soviet nations (Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan) by forming a joint rapid reaction force in a continuing effort to curb US influence in energy-rich Central Asia.
(AP, 2/4/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In Somalia gunmen killed Said Tahlil Ahmed, the director of the country’s largest media company, HornAfrik, at a market in Mogadishu. Three Somali Canadians had established HornAfrik in 1999.
(AP, 2/4/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, South Korea implemented its Capital Markets Consolidation Plan (CMCA).
(www.iii.co.uk/news/?type=afxnews&articleid=7150292&action=article)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Sri Lanka’s president said that the Tamil Tiger rebels are on the verge of defeat, but dozens of civilians were reported killed as fierce fighting continued in Asia’s longest-running civil war. The last hospital in Sri Lanka’s shrinking war zone was evacuated as Red Cross staff and wounded civilians fled attacks that apparently included cluster munitions. At least 52 civilians were killed by shelling in the war zone.
(AFP, 2/4/09) (AP, 2/4/09) (WSJ, 2/5/09, p.A1)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, The Vatican demanded that Bishop Richard Williamson recant his positions on the Holocaust before being admitted as a bishop into the Roman Catholic Church.
(WSJ, 2/5/09, p.A8)2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, A US federal judge declared a mistrial in the case of Gerardo Castillo Chavez, an alleged drug cartel hit man, after a jury in the Texas-Mexico border town of Laredo acquitted him on a gun charge and deadlocked on other charges. Chavez, also known as “Cachetes” or “Cheeks” in Spanish, was accused of being a member of the Mexican Gulf Cartel’s hit squads that killed and kidnapped people in Laredo in 2005 and 2006.
(AP, 2/4/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In Denver Miguel Angel Caro Quintero (46) was sentenced to 17 years in federal prison for racketeering in Colorado and conspiracy to distribute marijuana in Arizona. His Sonora cartel was tied to the 1985 torture and killing of an undercover Drug Enforcement Administration agent, Enrique “Kiki” Camarena Salazar.
(AP, 2/5/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, The New York Attorney General’s filed civil charges against Bank of America and former CEO Ken Lewis for misleading investors about Merrill Lynch before it acquired the Wall Street firm in early 2009.
(SFC, 2/5/10, p.D4)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, The US “Tea Party Nation,” a decentralized grassroots movement, began its first national convention in Nashville, Tenn. The event’s grand finale was a tirade against Pres. Obama by former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.
(Econ, 2/13/10, p.31)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Joseph McStay (40), his wife, Summer (43), and their two children disappeared from their San Diego County home. Their white, 1996 Isuzu Trooper was found four days later in a strip mall in San Ysidro, about 70 miles from their home. In 2013 The bodies of the family were found in a shallow graves near Victorville.
(AP, 2/25/10) (http://tinyurl.com/lllfc82) (SFC, 11/16/13, p.A6)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Australia said it used an anti-weapons of mass destruction law to block three shipments to Iran but calls for new sanctions against the Islamic state opened up a new international divide.
(AFP, 2/4/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Britain’s Treasury said it will rush through new legislation after a court ruled the way it freezes the bank accounts of suspected terrorists was unlawful. Britain’s Supreme Court ruled last week that the asset-freezing system was unlawful.
(AP, 2/4/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In China two courts in the southern province of Guangdong sentenced 25 people to death for their roles in nine kidnapping cases.
(AP, 2/4/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, China told other world powers that discussing broader sanctions against Iran was counterproductive, striking a blow to a Western push to rein in Tehran’s nuclear program.
(AP, 2/4/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, A Chinese ministry statement ordered schools to sever all ties and cooperation with Oxfam saying school administrators must ban all campus volunteer recruitment efforts run by the group’s Hong Kong office. It accused the Hong Kong branch of having a hidden political agenda. Oxfam has operated in mainland China for 20 years and worked in cooperation with the government’s poverty alleviation department. Oxfam, a confederation of 14 national organizations that works in about 100 countries, was founded in Britain in 1942.
(AP, 2/23/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Dubai’s government, under pressure to repay billions of dollars in debt, said it has discovered a new offshore oil field, the first such find by the city-state in decades.
(AP, 2/4/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, The Irish Catholic party Sinn Fein halted marathon negotiations to save Northern Ireland’s power-sharing government and said it’s now up to the Protestant side to accept a compromise deal.
(AP, 2/4/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In Pakistan protests erupted across the country after a US court convicted a Pakistani scientist of trying to kill US servicemen in Afghanistan. A jury in New York found Aafia Siddiqui (37), a mother and neuroscientist trained, guilty on all charges.
(AP, 2/4/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, A South Korean news report said the director of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il’s secret moneymaking “Room 39” bureau has been fired. Analysts said the move may be a way to get around international sanctions. Room 39 is described as the lynchpin of the North’s so-called “court economy” centered on the dynastic Kim family. The department is believed to finance his family and top party officials with business ventures, some legitimate and some not, that include counterfeiting and drug-smuggling.
(AP, 2/4/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, A leading Russian lawmaker said Russia and Western powers have moved closer to agreement on the need for new sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program.
(AP, 2/4/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Romania’s Pres. Traian Basescu says the country’s top defense body has approved a US proposal to place anti-ballistic interceptors in Romania as part of a revamped US missile shield. The measure passed the Supreme Defense Council and must be approved by Parliament.
(AP, 2/4/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Russia hailed a new agreement with the United States intended to boost joint anti-drug efforts, but urged the US and NATO to do more to stem a flow of drugs from Afghanistan that has sickened millions of Russians.
(AP, 2/4/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In Sudan 16 people were killed in clashes between south Sudan troops and cattle herders from the northern Messeria tribe in the southern Unity state.
(AFP, 2/6/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Turkey’s government scrapped its controversial security and public order “Emsya”) protocol, which allowed the army to take charge in the provinces when law and order breaks down.
(Econ, 2/13/10, p.56)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Venezuelan police used tear gas, plastic bullets and water cannons to scatter hundreds of students protesting against the government, as Pres. Chavez’s supporters celebrated the 18th anniversary of his failed coup as an army officer.
(AP, 2/4/10)2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, President Barack Obama and Canadian PM Stephen Harper agreed to a new approach to US and Canadian security that they said would help boost trade by reducing logjams at the border.
(Reuters, 2/4/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, US federal authorities said they are charging 23 people with moving drugs and illicit money through the Caribbean on behalf of a major Colombian drug cartel. 21 of the suspects have been arrested so far in Colombia, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, New York, Miami and the US Virgin Islands.
(AP, 2/4/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, The US Transportation Security Administration gave more than 40,000 airport screeners the right to vote on limited collective bargaining.
(SFC, 2/5/11, p.A4)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, The US X-47B jet, which looks like a smaller version of the B-2 stealth bomber, stayed in the air for 29 minutes and climbed to 5,000 feet in a test flight at Edwards Air Force Base, Ca. The robotic, bat-winged bomber was designed to take off from an aircraft carrier. Northrop was building the navy bomber under a $636 million contract awarded in 2007.
(AFP, 2/6/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, It was reported that Bank of America has agreed to pay $410 million to settle a suit on overdraft charges.
(SFC, 2/5/11, p.D1)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In California a Stockton real estate executive pleaded guilty to conspiring to rig bids and commit mail fraud. Richard W. Northcutt (56) became the 4th person to plead guilty in a federal investigation of anti-competitive practices in real estate foreclosure auctions across northern California.
(SFC, 2/5/11, p.C1)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, The New York Times reported that US and Egyptian officials were discussing a plan for Mubarak to turn power over now to a transitional government headed by Vice President Omar Suleiman.
(AFP, 2/4/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, US Sens. John McCain and Joseph Liberman visited Lithuania. McCain and Lieberman slammed the Belarusian regime, labeling President Alexander Lukashenko a ruthless tyrant and called on Washington to take the lead on imposing sanctions on the country.
(AP, 2/4/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, The US and the UN sharply criticized a vote by Somali parliamentarians to extend their term by 3 years. The 500-member body voted on the extension despite failing to pass any laws in the past 6 years.
(SFC, 2/5/11, p.A2)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In southern Afghanistan a suicide car bomb struck outside the house of Kandahar city police chief Khan Mohammad Mujahid, wounding at least 2 people. It was the 2nd attack on him this week.
(AP, 2/4/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Algerian forces killed Kamel Bourihane (aka Abou Hafs), a senior Islamic militant. He was linked with two attacks in 2007 in the capital Algiers that left dozens dead.
(AFP, 2/6/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Police in Brazil said they had freed a 45-year-old woman who had been locked in a house for 20 years with no communication with the outside world. Parana state police said the woman was locked in the home by her partner, a man (60), in the city of Mariluz.
(AFP, 2/5/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Cambodian and Thai soldiers exchanged heavy fire on the two countries’ shared border near the 11th century Preah Vihear temple killing one soldier and a civilian, as tensions between the neighbors boiled over.
(AFP, 2/4/11) (Econ, 2/12/11, p.50)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Cuba freed Guido Sigler, a prominent political prisoner, and the Roman Catholic Church said another, Angel Moya, would be released soon and allowed to stay in the country.
(AP, 2/4/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In Egypt protesters demanding President Hosni Mubarak’s ouster packed Cairo’s central square by the tens of thousands, waving flags, singing the national anthem and cheering, appearing undaunted and determined after their camp withstood two days of street battles with regime supporters trying to dislodge them. At least 8 people have been killed in the fighting and more than 800 injured. , Finance Minister Samir Radwan said Egypt has created a 5 billion Egyptian pound ($854 million) fund to compensate people for property damaged during the political protests that have rocked the country. An Egyptian reporter who was shot during clashes a week ago died of his wounds.
(AP, 2/4/11) (Reuters, 2/4/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, European leaders launched a trillion-euro bid to slash dependency on Middle East oil and Russian gas, clearing the way to place nuclear power at the center of 21st century needs.
(AFP, 2/4/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In Honduras gunmen ambushed the director of the nation’s main prison and shot up the car he was driving, wounding the official in the head and also hitting a prison employee who was a passenger.
(AP, 2/4/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called for an Islamic regime to be installed in Egypt, saying the wave of Arab revolts is an “earthquake” triggered by the 1979 Iranian revolution.
(AFP, 2/4/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Iraq’s PM al-Maliki said that he’ll return half of his annual salary to the government’s treasury in a symbolic effort to narrow the gaps between the nation’s rich and poor. Iraqis seized on Egypt’s unrest to protest what they call corruption in their own security forces, rampant unemployment and scant electricity and water supply.
(SFC, 2/5/11, p.A2) (AP, 2/4/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Italian President Giorgio Napolitano refused to sign a key government decree to increase the taxation powers of local authorities, dealing a blow to embattled PM Silvio Berlusconi.
(Reuters, 2/4/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Kazakhstan Pres. Nazarbayev called early presidential elections for April 3, an accelerated timetable that gives the country’s weak opposition forces little time to prepare.
(AP, 2/4/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Myanmar’s newly elected parliament named Thein Sein (65), a key figure in the long-ruling military junta, as president, ensuring that the first civilian government in decades will be dominated by the army that has brutally suppressed dissent.
(AP, 2/4/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In New Zealand rescuers struggled to save scores of pilot whales after 80 beached themselves. 14 died and others were not expected to last the night. 66 survivors of the pod freed themselves and swam back to sea during a late night high tide.
(AP, 2/4/11) (AP, 2/5/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Pakistan’s ruling party said it plans trim the bloated 50-plus-member Cabinet to help cut spending at a time of severe financial crisis.
(AP, 2/4/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov inspected military facilities on the disputed southern Kuril islands also claimed by Japan, prompting a sharp protest from Tokyo.
(AP, 2/4/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In Rwanda journalists Agnes Nkusi Uwimana and Saidaiti Mukakibibi, were sentenced to 17 and 7 years respectively for publicly criticizing the government in published articles. On April 5, 2012, the supreme court cleared Nkusi of genocide denial and promoting ethnic divisions, but upheld her convictions for defamation for insulting President Kagame and inciting public disorder. Her total sentence was reduced to four years from 17. The court upheld Mukabibibi’s conviction for inciting civil disobedience but reduced her sentence from seven years to three years.
(AP, 2/12/11) (http://rwandinfo.com/eng/) (AFP, 4/5/12)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In Sri Lanka a mob armed with clubs attacked opposition protesters who were marching toward a prison in Colombo to demand the release of former army commander Sarath Fonseka, the defeated presidential candidate from jail.
(AP, 2/4/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In Sudan two days of fighting in Malakal, a flashpoint town near the north-south border, has killed nine people, including a UN staff member.
(AP, 2/4/11)2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Mitt Romney won Nevada’s Republican caucuses, grabbing the largest chunk of the state’s 28 delegates in the race for the Republican presidential nomination. Romney won 48% of the vote; Gingrich won 23%, Ron Paul 19% and Rick Santorum 11%.
(SSFC, 2/5/12, p.A1)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, An Indiana jury convicted Charlie White, the Republican Sec. of State, of multiple voter-fraud-related charges.
(SSFC, 2/5/12, p.A9)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In Australia celebrated filmmakers Andrew Wight (52) and Mike deGruy (60)Â died in a helicopter crash at Jasper’s Brush. They were working on a documentary with Oscar-winning director James Cameron and National Geographic.
(AFP, 2/5/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Bosnia’s government declared a state of emergency in its capital after Sarajevo was paralyzed by snow, and hundreds of people remained trapped in their homes and vehicles throughout the country.
(AP, 2/4/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In Brazil the Bahia state’s Public Safety Department said on its website that 51 people have been murdered in and near the capital city of Salvador since a police strike began on Feb 1. State officials have said that about 10,000 of the state’s 30,000 police are on strike demanding better pay and bonuses.
(AP, 2/4/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In eastern China a group of tourists visiting the Jinan Wildlife World had a narrow escape after up to 8 Bengal tigers attacked their bus, puncturing its tires and destroying the windscreen in Shandong province.
(AFP, 2/7/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, An overloaded boat carrying 70 migrants from the Dominican Republic to Puerto Rico overturned in the pre-dawn darkness off the coast of the Caribbean country. 13 people survived. 51 bodies were recovered by Feb 9 and the rest remained missing.
(AP, 2/4/12) (AP, 2/5/12) (AP, 2/7/12) (AP, 2/9/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In Egypt protesters faced off with police in Cairo for a third day in deadly clashes sparked by anger at the failure of military rulers to prevent football-linked violence that left scores dead.
(AFP, 2/4/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, German Chancellor Angela Merkel wrapped up a 3-day visit to China where she tried to reassure her hosts on the strength of the euro and Europe’s ability to overcome its debt crisis. She expressed regret that Chinese police blocked a human rights lawyer from meeting her and said the Communist government should have the confidence to allow dissent.
(AFP, 2/4/12) (AP, 2/4/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, An Indian judge out a petition to prosecute powerful home minister Chidambaram over a huge telecom corruption scandal, bringing some relief to the embattled government.
(AFP, 2/4/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Iran’s state television’s website said has the government begun mass production of an anti-ship cruise missile.
(AFP, 2/4/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, The Mali army said it had killed some 20 Tuareg rebels over the last 2 days in the northern city of Timbuktu and taken a dozen prisoners.
(AFP, 2/4/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In Mexico a masked man opened fire on a band playing popular norteno music in a Chihuahua city dance hall, killing five musicians, four customers and injuring 10 others. Federal police announced the capture in Leon of Jose Antonio Torres Marrufo (33), leader of an armed gang hired by the world’s most powerful drug lord Joaquin Guzman, also known as El Chapo. Torres is the suspected leader of Gente Nueva, an armed wing of the Sinaloa Cartel mainly based in the border city of Ciudad Juarez.
(AP, 2/5/12) (SFC, 2/8/12, p.A2)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Morocco freed a former world kickboxing champion, Zakaria Moumni, jailed 17 months ago on charges of racketeering, after he was pardoned by King Mohamed VI.
(AFP, 2/4/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Some 1,000 Palestinians, some calling on premier Salam Fayyad to quit, marched in the West Bank city of Hebron in protest at his austerity plans.
(AFP, 2/4/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In Russia tens of thousands of protesters marched through downtown Moscow to keep up the pressure on PM Vladimir Putin one month before a presidential election that could extend his rule for six more years.
(AP, 2/4/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, South Africa’s ruling ANC threw out an appeal by its fiery youth league leader, Julius Malema (30), to overturn his suspension, but said he could argue for a lighter sentence.
(AFP, 2/4/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Syrian forces hammered restive neighborhoods in the city of Homs for hours with mortars and artillery, sending terrified residents fleeing into basements and killing more than 200 people in what appeared to be the bloodiest episode of the nearly 11-month-old uprising, Syrian security forces opened fire on funeral processions near Damascus, killing 12 people in Daraya.
(AP, 2/4/12)(AFP, 2/4/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Taiwan authorities arrested three people and seized nearly half a ton of narcotics in their biggest drugs bust in 10 years. Alleged smuggling ring leader Chiang Pai-li (53) and a married couple operating a customs brokerage firm were arrested.
(AFP, 2/5/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Tunisia decided to expel Syria’s ambassador in response to the “bloody massacre” in Homs. Dozens of Syrian protesters were arrested after storming their country’s embassies in cities in Europe and the Middle East.
(AP, 2/4/12) (AFP, 2/4/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, The Ukrainian Security Service detained a man sought by Russian authorities on charges of terrorism and two of his accomplices in Odessa. On Feb 27 the detainees were reported to be linked to an anti-Putin plot.
(AP, 2/27/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Western diplomats at the United Nations said they are determined to vote on a resolution condemning bloodshed in Syria, despite strong Russian objections.
(AFP, 2/4/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez hosted a meeting of allies, the eight-nation Bolivarian Alliance bloc, or ALBA. The leaders of Cuba, Nicaragua, Ecuador, Bolivia, Haiti and Antigua and Barbuda participated. Suriname’s president, Desi Bouterse, arrived the next day to join the talks. ALBA approved an agreement barring any boats flying Falkland Islands flags from docking in their ports.
(AP, 2/4/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In Venezuela the Colombian far-tight paramilitary warlord known as “Martin Llanos” (aka Hector Buitrago) was captured along with his brother, Nelson Buitrago (aka Caballo), in the eastern town of El Tigre.
(AP, 2/7/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In Venezuela a pipe transporting crude oil to a processing plant ruptured and blackened Guarapiche River in Monagas state. The spill forced officials to halt normal water distribution to parts of the city of Maturin.
(AP, 2/11/12)2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Pres. Obama singed legislation raising the government’s borrowing limit.
(SFC, 2/5/13, p.A5)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, News emerged that Los Angeles had charged Standard & Poor’s (S&P) with fraud in evaluating mortgage-backed securities. The shares of McGraw-Hill, the parent of S&P dropped 16% on the news.
(Econ, 2/9/13, p.71)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In Alabama police officers stormed the underground bunker where Jimmy Lee Dykes held a 5-year-old boy hostage. The boy, taken hostage on Jan 30, was rescued and Dykes was left dead.
(SFC, 2/5/13, p.A5)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Donald Byrd, US jazz trumpeter, died in Delaware. He had joined Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers in 1955 after moving to NYC from Detroit. He and Pepper Adams made their Blue Note label debut with their “Off to the Races” album in 1959.
(SFC, 2/12/13, p.C4)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Argentina announced a two-month price freeze on supermarket products in an effort to stop spiraling inflation.
(AP, 2/4/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Britain’s Guardian newspaper said that London’s Metropolitan Police Service had stolen the identities of dozens of dead children to use as aliases for undercover officers, mining those children’s personal histories to build covers and even issuing fake passports in their names.
(AP, 2/4/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Former British energy secretary Chris Huhne (58) faced time behind bars after pleading guilty to perverting the course of justice by asking his then wife in 2003 to accept a penalty for a speeding offence he had committed.
(AP, 2/4/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Reg Presley (71), the lead singer of 1960s British rock band The Troggs, died at his home after a battle with cancer. He had scored a hit with the love anthem “Wild Thing” (1966).
(Reuters, 2/4/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, The Royal Canadian Mint officially ended its distribution of pennies to financial institutions.
(SFC, 2/5/13, p.A2)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, An Egyptian opposition party claimed police tortured one of its members to death, electrocuting him and beating him repeatedly on the head. Activist Mohammed el-Gindy (28) died of his wounds early today at a Cairo hospital. He had disappeared after a protest and turned up in a hospital in a coma with bruises and internal bleeding. Security officials denied responsibility.
(AP, 2/4/13) (AP, 2/14/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, The EU police organization Europol said a wide-ranging match-fixing investigation has uncovered more than 380 suspicious matches, including World Cup and European Championship qualifiers and two Champions League games, and found evidence that a Singapore-based crime group is closely involved in match-fixing.
(AP, 2/4/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, A senior Iranian government official, Saeed Mortazavi, was arrested two years after a parliamentary probe found him responsible for deaths by torture of at least three jailed anti-government protesters. Mortazavi was released on Feb 6, a day after Pres. Ahmadinejad denounced the arrest and pledged to pursue the case.
(AP, 2/5/13) (AP, 2/6/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In Iraq a suicide bomber struck a group of anti-al-Qaida fighters in Taji, killing 21 people and wounding 44.
(AP, 2/4/13) (AP, 2/5/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Israeli forces arrested 20 members of the Palestinian militant group Hamas, including three lawmakers, in a raid in the West Bank.
(AP, 2/4/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, A Lebanese judge issued arrest warrants for a top Syrian intelligence official and his aide for their alleged involvement in a bombing plot in Lebanon. Brig. Gen. Ali Mamlouk was accused of being involved with Lebanon’s former information minister, Michel Samaha, who allegedly plotted a wave of attacks in Lebanon at the behest of Syria.
(AP, 2/4/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In Lithuania it was reported that the retail cost of natural gas pumped from Siberia has spiked 450 percent in the past seven years, from $169 to $769 per 1,000 cubic meters.
(AP, 2/4/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In northern Mali French airstrikes targeted the fuel depots and desert hideouts of Islamic extremists. French forces planned to hand control of Timbuktu to the Malian army this week.
(AP, 2/4/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In Mexico a gang of armed, masked men raped six Spanish tourists in the Mexican resort of Acapulco. On Feb 13 officials said they had arrested 6 men on suspicion of the rapes.
(AP, 2/6/13) (SFC, 2/14/13, p.A2)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Pirates attacked an oil tanker anchored off Nigeria’s largest city, Lagos, shooting one of the crew members. The Nigerian navy shot back at the attackers, driving them away. The wounded sailor died in transit to a hospital.
(AP, 2/4/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In Somalia a roadside bomb killed an African Union soldier from Burundi.
(AP, 2/4/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, South Africa’s Minister Mildred Oliphant said in a prepared speech that a new daily wage for manual laborers on the nation’s farms would be 105 rand (about $12) up from 69 rand ($7.80).
(AP, 2/4/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In Tanzania the appeals chamber of the Arusha-based tribunal overturned 30-year sentences handed down to Justin Mugenzi and Prosper Mugiraneza, who were both Cabinet ministers at the time of Rwanda’s 1994 genocide. The duo had been convicted to 30 years in September 2011 after being found guilty of conspiracy to commit genocide and inciting the public to commit genocide.
(AP, 2/5/13)2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In NYC four people were arrested in lower Manhattan with more than 350 bags of heroin as part of an investigation into the overdose death of actor Philip Seymour Hoffman.
(SFC, 2/5/14, p.A8)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Microsoft announced that Satya Nadella will replace Steve Ballmer as CEO. John Thompson (64) will replace Bill Gates as chairman.
(AP, 2/4/14) (SFC, 2/5/14, p.C3)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, The head of Bangladesh’s largest opposition party, the BNP, accused the government of being involved in the killing or disappearance of more than 300 activists around the time of the country’s election.
(Reuters, 2/4/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In Bosnia workers from five privatized companies began protesting in Tuzla after their companies were stripped of assets.
(Econ, 2/15/14, p.48)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In Brazil at least 6 people were killed during shootouts between officers and suspected drug gang members in Rio de Janeiro.
(AP, 2/4/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, A Cuban doctor working in Brazil has sought political asylum in the office of a conservative party complaining that Cuba’s government takes too big a slice of her pay. Under an agreement signed last year with Cuba through the Pan-American Health Organization, or PAHO, the Cubans get only one fifth of the 10,000 reais ($4,100) a month that Brazil pays each physician in the program. The rest goes to the Cuban state.
(Reuters, 2/5/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Egypt’s Health Ministry said swine flu has killed 24 people across the country over the past two months.
(AP, 2/4/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In Iraq attacks in and around Baghdad killed 18 people as government forces made steady progress against militants in Anbar province.
(AFP, 2/4/14) (SFC, 2/5/14, p.A4)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Kuwait said its coastguard has arrested six suspected Iranian drug smugglers and seized their boat when it entered the Gulf state’s territorial waters.
(AFP, 2/4/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Libya’s armed forces said they have not received orders from PM Ali Zeidan to move against eastern oil ports and use force to end a six-month blockade there by protesters.
(Reuters, 2/4/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Libyan officials said they have destroyed the last stockpile of chemical weapons from the end of the Khadafy era.
(SFC, 2/5/14, p.A3)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Saudi authorities beheaded two citizens after convicting them of two separate murders.
(AFP, 2/4/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Saudi officials signed an agreement with SunEdison Inc. of Belmont, Ca., to explore building a $6.4 billion solar panel factory in Saudi Arabia. SunEdison moved from Maryland to Belmont in 2011.
(SFC, 2/5/14, p.C4)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In South Africa a fire broke out about 1.7 km beneath the surface at the Doornkop mine, triggered by 2.4 earthquake. Emergency workers raced to rescue nine miners missing deep underground in the burning gold mine west of Johannesburg. Eight of the miners were found dead the next day.
(AFP, 2/5/14) (AFP, 2/6/14) (SFC, 2/7/14, p.A2)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Spanish police said drug traffickers used a sophisticated system of floating backpacks with a tracking system to try to smuggle 900 kg (2,000 pounds) of cocaine into the country.
(AP, 2/4/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Syrian forces dropped a barrel bomb on the Uthman Bin Affan mosque that was being used as a school in a rebel-held neighborhood of Aleppo, killing at least 5 people, including children. Barrel bombs were also dropped over other rebel-held neighborhoods in Aleppo.
(AP, 2/4/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Pressure on Thailand’s embattled government mounted, when a flagship rice-buying scheme vital to its support stumbled closer to collapse. The commerce minister said China had canceled an order for 1.2 million tons of rice due to a corruption probe, while state-run Krung Thai Bank (KTB) joined other lenders in saying it would not provide loans urgently needed to rescue it. The opposition filed legal challenges that could void a disrupted weekend election.
(Reuters, 2/4/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In Ukraine 12 people were killed and five others injured when a train and minibus collided at a railway crossing point in the north-eastern Sumy region.
(Reuters, 2/4/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, The UN issued an urgent appeal for $1.27 billion for aid for South Sudan, hit by a seven-week-old conflict that has forced close to a million people from their homes.
(AFP, 2/4/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In northern Yemen Shi’ite Muslim rebels and Sunni tribesmen agreed a local ceasefire after clashes between the rivals killed about 60 people there last week.
(Reuters, 2/4/14)Â http://www.timelinesdb.com
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