SENTIDO > DAILY INTERCEPT > NEWS BRIEF ARCHIVE > JUNE 2004

30 June: Police in Baku, Azerbaijan, reportedly storm 1,000 year old mosque to expel worshippers; government seeks to make carpet museum of site... UPI says Caspian Sea may become environmental dead zone; Russian industrial pollution, undisciplined petroleum development blamed... Powell visits Darfur refugees, calls on world to prevent genocide, warns Khartoum may be masking gravity of suffering when outsiders visit...

29 June: Amnesty International says Argentina needs to investigate threats of violence against journalists during period of economic collapse; AI report cites ongoing examples of constraints to freedom of expression... AllAfrica calls on Nigerians to reject systematic vote-buying in elections... Indian bank reportedly bypassing middlemen to provide access to loans, purchasing power to rural farmers...

28 June: Surprise announcement early this morning that transfer of sovereignty in Iraq has occurred two days early, no reported incidents of violence to obstructr surprise transfer... Supreme Court upholds due process rights for all detainees, Constitutional role of Judiciary, ruling the Bush administration can hold American citizens as enemy combatants without charge, indefinitely, but detainees must have access to attorneys and be allowed to challenge their detention... Kerry will not address Conference of Mayors, refusing to cross picket-line of striking workers... $23.9 million opening weekend box-office makes Fahrenheit 9/11 the biggest-grossing documentary of all time, top film of weekend... Bush-Cheney campaign posts new official campaign ad comparing prominent Dems to Adolf Hitler...

27 June: Sudan government accused to lying to cover-up death and violence in Darfur... New initiative to promote "innovative ideas" to fuel Indian economy... CIA bars further use of extreme interrogation methods approved by White House; aides had characterized Justice memo as approving extreme measures... Portuguese Prime Minister poised to assume European Commission presidency... Environmental Defense blames unregulated marine emissions for disproportionate air pollution...

26 June: US offers roadmap for N. Korea disarmament; N. Korea says it will eliminate nuclear program altogether for right energy, security guarantees, no agreement... Female election workers bombed by antigovernment rebels in Afghanistan... Interim Iraqi government again said to be planning martial law...

25 June: Pentagon has paid over 5,500 claims for wrongful death, injury or property damage in Afghanistan... TIME reporter says Fallujah now in "unfettered control" of insurgents, Taliban-like radical Islamists... New EPA campaign promotes home appliance efficiency, mocks potential for fuel efficiency; transport division not consulted; EPA reported earlier that New cars have become less efficient even than 1980s... N. Korea reportedly asked US for 2,000 megawatts per year to abandon nuclear program... Singh plans "new deal" to combat rural poverty in India; WSJ reports rural poverty in India keeps millions from access to existing foodstocks...

24 June: Supreme Ct. rules 7-2 VP Cheney can keep energy policy meetings sealed, for now... 2 bombs explode in Turkey, one in Istanbul, one in Ankara... Pres. Bush interviewed for 70 min. today by prosecutors in CIA name-leak probe, not under oath, not necessarily implicated... Federal appeals court overrules FCC media ownership changes that permitted increased consolidation, uniformity... 5 coordinated bomb attacks killed 90 in Iraq...

23 June: Class action suit alleges Walmart systematically discriminated against 1.5 million women... Unsafe levels of perchlorate (dangerous to thyroid gland) from rocket fuel found in CA drinking water... 13-year-old peace-activist, poet, Mattie Stepanek died of Muscular Dystrophy... Pentagon seeks to modify admission of Rumsfeld interrogation policy, saying he approved "non-injurious" force but not immersion in water... US Senate approves Pentagon ban on press coverage of returning war dead; House attaches debt-ceiling increase to defense bill, with no option for debate, no vote... AP sues for full disclosure of Bush military records, citing gaps in records disclosed earlier this year...

22 June: Judge orders Abu Ghraib preserved as crime scene, top officials to testify about involvement in torture; CNN says Rumsfeld specifically approved water-boarding (dunking, fake-drowning) as interrogation technique in at least 1 case, later rescinded approval at behest of lawyers... Commission says supposed Prague meeting never happened, Atta in FL at time... Facing federal corruption probe, impeachment, CT Gov. Rowland resigns... Pres. Bush reportedly billed taxpayers for "dual-purpose" fundraising trip to Ohio (NYT)...

21 June: Rwanda fears mass deployment of Congolese troops near Rwanda-Congo border will spur new conflict... Nader selects Green Peter Camejo for running mate on Independent ticket; Camejo says truth can only arise from "conflict of ideas", reduced debate undermines democracy... Burkina Faso holds conference to debate use of genetically modified crops...

20 June: Video shows South Korean hostage pleading for his life; militants threaten to kill him if S. Korea doesn't withdraw from Iraq, Seoul vows to send more troops as planned... US threatens to follow EU in cutting aid to Uzbek regime; Tashkent says any decline in western funds will aid terrorists, which human rights observers call extortion... Japanese scientist invents "invisibility" cape...

19 June: New Indian government opens talks with Pakistan on reduction of nuclear threat between them, seek solution to Kashmir tension... Saudi government says it has killed 3 militants linked to claim of responsibility for Johnson murder... WTO rules US cotton subsidies anticompetitive, upholding Brazil complaint... EU approves wording for long-awaited Constitution...

18 June: Private contractor working for CIA charged in connection with torture, homicide in Afghan prisoner death... CBS reports hostage Johnson beheaded by captors; Saudi colleague had urged mercy, said killing him would be against Islam... Bush defends Iraq-Qaeda claims; Cheney claims long-standing evidence, offers no proof... Kerry calls for minimum wage hike from $5.15 to $7/hr by 2007... Study shows US labor policy lags in family protections... US House passes bill ending tax breaks for big exporters, but laced with new tax giveaways, including $10B for tobacco...

17 June: SMH reports Australian government received constant reports on abuse in Iraqi prisons; Defence Minister explains misleading statements by self and PM to Parliament; memo alleged to tell Red Cross detainees not protected by Geneva... ABC's Nightline reports use of dogs for intimidation was approved by Gen. Sánchez in Iraq, used at Guantánamo under Miller; Pentagon admits holding detainee incommunicado, denying Red Cross access, under direct order from Sec. Rumsfeld... Shell Oil boss says planet threatened by excess CO2 emissions...

16 June: Insurgents hit Basra pipeline, 2nd time in 2 days, shut down Iraq oil exports; attacks on northern Iraqi pipeline, killing of oil security chief in Kirkuk halt flow from north... Darfur refugee tells BBC government-backed militia plan to exterminate all black Darfurians... 9/11 Commission finds Al Qaeda may have sought funding from Iraq, but no evidence of any cooperation in terrorism (1 day after VP made latest claim of link); KSM said to have planned 10-plane attack, targetting FBI, CIA, West Coast... New study says bilingual minds are more resilient in old age...

15 June: Annan urges all UN member nations to act now to prevent humanitarian disaster in Darfur, Sudan... Gen. Karpinski alleges torture at Abu Ghraib was organized from the top... Rep. Chris Bell has filed multiple ethics complaints against House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, calling him "the most corrupt politician" in the Congress... Pres. Karzai addresses US Congress, calls for security, free trade, international investment... Washington Post reports White House beset by new torture allegations and Halliburton dealings...

14 June: Pres. Bush reportedly asked Vatican to pressure US bishops to side with his campaign on "cultural issues"... Car bomb kills 13 in Baghdad, including 3 GE workers, 1 American; CBS says 17th such attack in 2 weeks... 11 Chinese aid workers killed by Taliban-linked militants in Afghanistan...

13 June: Karzai warns of narco-state threat to Afghan stability, democracy... State Dept. to revise terror incidence reports thought to have misreported 2003, some portions possibly 90% in error... CIA stalls declassification for Pre-Iraq intel report; Sen. Intelligence Committee may preempt CIA, vote to publish critical report... Pres. GMA laments alleged partisan plotting to derail democratic process in Philippines...

12 June: NYT reports non-Gulf petroleum deposits may be severely depleted; Guardian had reported depletion earlier this week... Moqtada al Sadr gives conditional approval to Iraq interim government; violence continues: deputy interim foreign minister shot dead in Baghdad...

11 June: USAID chief says with aid expect to lose 1/3 million in Darfur, without aid the number soars... Italian PM Berlusconi raises privacy concerns by sending mass text message reminding Italians to vote in EU elections... Philippine election (by independent tally) goes to incumbent Gloria Macapagal Arroyo...

10 June: Class action suit charges 2 contractors conspired to use torture in Iraq to obtain information to promote their effectiveness as defense contractors... US House to consider bill barring Accenture from airport security contract, because it is based offshore... Bush campaign complains that polls showing Pres. trailing Kerry by 7% nationally (6% counting Nader) is "a mess"; separate Gallup poll supports finding with 6% Kerry lead...

9 June: Turkey releases 4 Kurdish activists from prison; Turkish state TV begins broadcasts in Kurdish, after pressure from EU to recognize minorities; Turkey seeks to join EU incoming decade... Massive fire erupts after Iraq oil pipeline from Kirkuk to Turkey is bombed, 4th such attack in 3 days... Another NYC union takes contract concerns to strike: daycare workers are walking out to protest lack of city action on new contracts, higher pay... ClearChannel radio reportedly plans to pay record $1.7 million fine to FCC for "indecent remarks" on Howard Stern radio program...

8 June: AG Ashcroft refuses to submit interrogation-policy memos to Senate; senators believe memos contemplate unconstitutionality of anti-torture treaties; Sen. Biden reminds AG he may be in Contempt of Congress, as no privilege applies; WSJ, AP report administration determined torture was legal... Coalition frees hostages (3 Italian, 1 Polish); new video shows 3 of 7 Turks taken hostage, only 2 freed to date... Arrests in Italy and Belgium reportedly net mastermind of March Madrid bombings; alleged mastermind will face 191 counts of murder, 1,400 counts of attempted murder... UN Security Council unanimously approves resolution returning full sovereignty to Iraq... G8 Summit underway off Georgia coast, location selected to dissuade demonstrators, tighten security; UNICEF calls for action on poverty, Millennium Development Goals...

7 June: France and others object to unclear intent on management of Iraqi resources in 3rd US draft of UN resolution for handover of power... Bush wants fmr. MO Sen. Danforth to replace Negroponte as UN Ambassador; served as Special Envoy to Sudan since 2001...

6 June: 60th anniversary of Allied D-Day invasion of Normandy beaches, beginning liberation of continent from Nazi rule (estimated 1,000 WWII vets now die each day)... 2 BBC reporters attacked by gunmen in Saudi Arabia, 1 killed... SEIU prepares for walkout over low pay, no benefits for NY home health aids... Tens of thousands march in Caracas in support of Hugo Chávez, who faces recall vote...

5 June: Fmr. Pres. Ronald Reagan succumbed to pneumonia in Bel Air, CA home, after 10-year struggle with Alzheimers; 40th president was remembered by allies and opponents around the world... Israel's PM Sharon removed 2 arch-conservative ministers from his cabinet, in anticipation of new vote on Gaza withdrawal...

4 June: BBC reports 1/3 of Darfur refugees expected to die from hunger, disease, even with massive infusion of aid; UN charges ethnic cleansing by Khartoum-backed militia... FBI released suspected Bin Laden agent before 9/11 attacks... Argentina's Pres. Kirchner has placed regional governor under house arrest in connection with brutal killing to two young women last year, in Santiago del Estero... 60th anniversary of Allied liberation of Rome from Nazi Axis; Italy braces for massive antiwar demonstrations expected to greet Bush visit... 15th anniversary of bloody suppression of student democracy movement at Tiananmen Square; Chinese authorities deploy heavy show of force to prohibit commemorations; thousands demonstrate in Hong Kong to commemorate democracy movement and massacre...

3 June: UN calls donor countries, Sudan government to Geneva to plan massive aid initiative for Darfur refugees... Doctors Without Borders suspends service in Afghanistan, after 5 staff were killed in ambush in NW Afghanistan; Taliban claims responsibility... CIA Director Tenet has resigned, after months of pressure to do so... FBI asks who in government provided Chalabi with classified security information he is accused to passing to Iran... CA judge reopens antitrust suit accusing Shell Oil and Texaco of price-fixing in 1990s... Spitzer files suit against GlaxoSmithKline for allegedly concealing negative evidence of Paxil's effects on children...

2 June: 7 million may face starvation in Zimbabwe, if harvest fails, with 1/3 population HIV positive, life expectancy thought to slip to 33 years by 2005... French judge implicates Halliburton in Nigerian corruption investigation... CA judge strikes down late-term abortion ban as unconstitutional, potential threat to women's health...

1 June: At least 91 Army investigations into torture of detainees now underway in Iraq and Afghanistan... Iraqi Governing Council agrees on President, rejects Bremer choice; 20 of 22 vote to disband, Dawa party accuses Bremer of interfering, postponing vote, making demands... Interim Iraqi President Al-Yawar sworn in, new Cabinet set to replace governing Council on 30 June; two major explosions strike Baghdad, sign that interim government is not enough to pacify insurgents... TIME Magazine "has obtained an internal Pentagon e-mail" indicating VP Cheney coordinated Halliburton contract (RIO) in Iraq... Norway bans smoking in enclosed public places to protect workers from dangers of 2nd-hand smoke... Price of crude oil in US reaches record $42/barrel, in wake of terrorist incidents in Saudi Arabia... Nelson Mandela officially retires from public life, ahead of 86th birthday, says "I'll call, myself" if needed...