Time: 16:39 UTC   |   Date: February 13   |   See also: Current sports events

• Armed attackers seize a school in Beslan, North Ossetia, a Russian city close to Chechnya; as many as 400 adults and children are held hostage. 50 students manage to escape the building. Several people are killed in a gunfight. Some of the attackers are wearing explosive belts. (BBC) (AP)(Reuters) (ITAR-TASS)
• A group of 29 people thought to be North Korean defectors storm a Japanese school in Beijing, China. It is thought they are seeking asylum. (BBC)
• The Nepalese police impose an indefinite curfew on the nation's capital, Kathmandu. It follows a series of violent protests that have targeted random Muslims and a mosque in retaliation for the killing of 12 Nepali hostages in Iraq. (BBC) (Reuters)
• California Governor, and former Hollywood Star, Arnold Schwarzenegger extolls the United States as a greater source of good in the world than the UN: "If you believe this country, not the United Nations, is the best hope of democracy in the world, then you are a Republican," he shouts, at the Republican National Convention. (Washington Times) (BBC)
• Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher has posted a 2 million rand (USD 300,000) bond for her son, Sir Mark Thatcher, who was under house arrest in Cape Town, South Africa for allegedly funding a coup plot in Equatorial Guinea. (CNN.com)

• A female suicide bomber kills nine and injures 51 others near a subway station in Moscow. (CNN) (Reuters).
• Despite demands from Iraqi resistance Islamist militant elements threatening to kill two French hostages, France upholds its law on secularity and conspicuous religious symbols in schools, specifically its ban on Muslim hijabs. (ABC News)(Reuters)
• In Iraq, the radical Islamist group, Army of Ansar al-Sunna, kill 12 Nepali civilians employed as cooks and cleaners, stating "We have carried out the sentence of God against 12 Nepalis who came from their country to fight the Muslims and to serve the Jews and the Christians ... believing in Buddha as their God" (Reuters)
• Repeated attacks on pipelines linked to southern oil fields have significantly hampered oil exports from Iraq. (Washington Post)(Moscow Times)
• Former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, a Belgrade Law School graduate, opens his defence at the trial which accuses him of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes for his alleged role in the conflicts in which tens of thousands were killed. He maintains the charges are 'unscrupulous lies'. (BBC News) (Reuters)
• Palestinian suicide bombers kill at least 16 Israelis and wound more than 91 others aboard two city buses in Beer Sheva, Israel in the first successful Palestinian suicide bombings since March 14, 2004, with Hamas claiming responsibility. (BBC) (Haaretz)
• Afghan police say a United States bombing raid killed at least six civilians in the eastern province of Kunar. (Reuters) (BBC)
• 2004 Atlantic hurricane season: Hurricane Frances affects the British Virgin Islands, the United States Virgin Islands and the northern-east part of Puerto Rico. (AP/The Star Tribune)
• Following a dramatic intra-party campaign, Betty Castor and Mel Martinez win primary elections in Florida for the U.S. Senate election, 2004. The seat is the most heavily contested in the U.S. Congress, with over $30 million budgeted among twelve candidates' campaigns. (AP/Bradenton Herald)
• The two smallest extrasolar planets ever discovered are announced: one orbiting 55 Cancri in the constellation Cancer, and another orbiting Gliese 436 in the constellation Leo. They are both around the size of Neptune. (Globe and Mail)

• Election dispute in Chechnya: After leading rival Malik Saidullayev was disqualified on a technicality. Putin-supported Alu Alkhanov wins in a landslide. US and EU dispute results. (Reuters) (Reuters) (NYT)
• U.S. presidential campaign: The Republican National Convention begins in New York City. Massive protests are expected. (CNN)
• Two amateur French Egyptologists claim to have discovered, using radar, a previously unknown corridor inside the Great Pyramid of Khufu. They believe the corridor would lead directly to Khufu's burial chamber, a room which – if it exists – is unlikely to have been accessed since the burial and may still contain the king's remains. (The Guardian) (AustBC)
• The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) confirms that two Russian "airplanes were blown up as a result of a terrorist attack" that killed 90 people on August 24, 2004. (Reuters)
• 2004 Atlantic hurricane season:
  • Tropical Storm Gaston douses Richmond, Virginia with up to 14 inches of rain, causing widespread flooding. Governer Mark Warner declares a state of emergency in Central Virginia. (ABCNEWS)
  • Category 3 Hurricane Frances looms over Puerto Rico. (USA Today)
• President Chen Shui-bian cancels the annual Han Kuang live-fire exercises previously schedule for September 9 as a goodwill gesture to the mainland after the People's Republic of China reportedly halted its military drills at Dongshan island on the Taiwan Strait. (VOA) (CNN)

• 2004 Atlantic hurricane season: Tropical Storm Gaston makes landfall at Bulls Bay, South Carolina with near hurricane strength 70 mph winds. (CNN)
• An explosion at a school in southern Afghanistan has killed at least 10 people, many of them children, the US military has said. (BBC)
• Australian Prime Minister John Howard announces that the 2004 Australian federal election will take place on October 9, 2004. (ABC Au)
• The 2004 Summer Olympics are closed by IOC President Jacques Rogge. (Reuters)
• More than 400,000 demonstrators march in New York City, protesting U.S. President George W. Bush and the policies of the Republican Party on the eve of the 2004 Republican National Convention. Republican delegates and politicians, including Vice President Dick Cheney, also begin to arrive in the city. (The Scotsman) (Houston Chronicle) (Reuters) (BBC)
• The Lebanese Cabinet, under Syrian pressure and despite widespread opposition, votes to modify the constitution to allow President Émile Lahoud a second term in office. Patriarch Sfeir states "we have completely lost sovereignty of our territory and our independence and freedom in choosing our rulers and deciding our own affairs." (NYT)
• The British Royal Society, with 68 other organizations, urges the UN to ban reproductive but not therapeutic use of the technology in response to a US bid to ban human cloning altogether. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3609992.stm

(BBC)]

• In a video circulating on the Internet, former Texas lieutenant governor Ben F. Barnes apologizes for his role in getting current United States President George W. Bush into the Texas Air National Guard in 1968. (Chicago Sun-Times)
• Free and Open Source Software advocacy: TheOpenCD, the Free Software Foundation and the Open Source Initiative celebrate the first annual Software Freedom Day.
• A precious icon is returned to the Kremlin's Cathedral of the Assumption by a Roman Catholic Cardinal as a goodwill gesture from the Pope to the Russian Orthodox Church. The image is an 18th century copy of the Virgin of Kazan, one of Russia's most sacred images. (BBC)

• Between 5,000 and 6,000 participants take part in the Critical Mass bicyclist ride as part of the 2004 Republican National Convention protest activity. The monthly NYC Critical Mass ride usually attracts about 1500 riders. Police eventually arrested 264 people for deliberately blockading roads during the event. This is the first time the NYPD made any significant arrests of Critical Mass participants. (NYC-IMC)
• Interbrew completes its merger with Ambev. Both were among the top five largest breweries in the world, and together they will become the largest, when measured by volume. The merged company will be called InBev (Bloomberg)
• The FBI has launched a full espionage investigation into Larry Franklin after obtaining evidence pointing to a high-ranking spy in the Pentagon. According to CBS News, the spy has been giving classified secrets to Israel which could compromise U.S. national security. Israel denies the charges.
• Following the intervention of Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, an agreement is found to end the standoff in Najaf. Although the terms are not clear, the deal requires both the al-Sadr militia and U.S. troops to leave the city, to be replaced by the police interim government. Responsibility for the Imam Ali Mosque goes to Sistani. (BBC) This resolution occurs two days before the one year anniversary of the assassination of Sayed Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim, a prominent Shi'ite cleric from Najaf.
• The Russian Federal Security Service announces that traces of the explosive hexogen have been found in the wreckage of the two Russia airliners which crashed on August 24, 2004. The Islamic group "the Islambouli Brigades" claims responsibility. (AP)
• Enzo Baldoni, an Italian journalist kidnapped by Islamic militants in Iraq, is killed by his kidnappers. (Reuters)
• The Interior Minister of France announces that the number of anti-Semitic attacks in France this year is more than double that of the same period last year. (Reuters)

• Chile's Supreme Court strips former military ruler Augusto Pinochet of his immunity from prosecution, allowing him to be prosecuted for alleged crimes including involvement in murder and torture. (BBC)
• Najaf standoff
  • Twenty-five people are killed and 100 wounded during a mortar attack on the main mosque in the Iraqi city of Kufa. 20 Shiite marchers in Kufa are killed and 70 wounded by gunfire. The identity of the attackers is unknown, reportedly though a source of gunfire was near an Iraqi National Guard base. (BBC) (Reuters) (CNN)(Albawaba)
  • Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani begins negotiations with Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr in a bid to end the fighting in Najaf for three weeks. Sistani tells thousands of Iraqis heading to the holy city to wait on the outskirts of Najaf. (khaleejtimes) Ayatollah Sistani calls a pause in fighting, telling protesters to stay home, and urging all forces to withdraw. US and Iraqi troops suspend attacks for 24 hours. (CSMonitor) (Reuters)
• Abu Hamza al-Masri, a well known Muslim cleric currently residing in the United Kingdom, is arrested under the Terrorism Act 2000 which covers the "commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism". (Reuters)

• Astronomers announce the discovery of a third extrasolar planet orbiting Mu Arae. The planet may be the first rocky world detected orbiting a star other than the Sun.
• The Bank of Canada rolls out a new $20 bill, the latest piece of paper money to be given new anti-counterfeiting technology and a facelift. (CBC)
• Sir Mark Thatcher, son of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, is arrested at his home in Cape Town, South Africa, on charges related to his alleged involvement in an attempted coup in Equatorial Guinea. He is later released on bail, and is to return to court on November 25. (BBC) Meanwhile, his "distressed" mother returns from holiday in the US. (Guardian/Reuters) (AP)
• Welsh nationalist MP Adam Price announces his intention to impeach Prime Minister Tony Blair, with the support of other Welsh and Scottish nationalist MPs. (BBC) (icWales)
• Police in Toronto shoot and kill a man holding a woman hostage outside Union Station. (CBC) Timeline (Toronto Star)
• Machine guns and explosives are found in a van in Montreal. Police look for links to organized crime. (Toronto Star)

• The Trans-Atlantic Exoplanet Survey (TrES) announces its first discovery of an extrasolar planet using an array of small amateur-astronomy-sized telescopes. (ArXiv paper) (Press release)
• Two Russian jets, Volga-AviaExpress Flight 1303 and Siberia Airlines Flight 1047, crash south of Moscow within minutes of each other. Eyewitnesses report the flight 1303 exploded in mid-air. Both airliners took off from Domodedovo International Airport. The planes were carrying 78 passengers and 16 crew in total. (CNN) (Reuters)(AOL NEWS)
• Japan issues a deportation order against former world chess champion Bobby Fischer. (Reuters)
• Iran has reiterated that it will retaliate if Israel carries out a preemptive strike against its nuclear program. (Radio Free Europe)
• The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issues a warning to physicians regarding dangerous adverse reactions to the drug Remicade, which is used to treat rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn's Disease. Doctors are warned to screen patients for blood irregularities and to closely monitor blood cell counts. (The Guardian)
• High-level American military leaders are said to be at least partly responsible for abuses of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison in a report written by an investigative panel headed by James Schlesinger. (Toronto Star)
• French police launch a manhunt as Cesare Battisti, a wanted left-wing extremist who was facing extradition from France to Italy, goes missing. (BBC)
• Two Iraqi interim government ministers escape suicide attacks in Baghdad. At least four bodyguards are killed. (BBC)
• Two new justices of the Supreme Court of Canada are named by Justice Minister Irwin Cotler: Louise Charron and Rosalie Abella. They will undergo a new parliamentary screening process, though their appointment cannot be blocked. (CBC)

2004: January February March April May June July August
2003: January February March April May June July August September October November December
2002: January February March April May June July August September October November December

Logarithmic timeline of current events - most important events of the last ten years on one page.

See: Wikipedia:News collections and sources.