February 19, 2004

One Dane and five of the nine Britons held without trial as terror suspects at Guantanamo Bay are to be released, probably within the next two weeks, according to British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw . The soon-to-be-released captives have been amongst the 660 detainees at the US base in Cuba , held for the past two years as suspected Al-Qaida or Taliban 'combatants'. (BBC) (BBC)

Former Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling surrenders to the FBI in Houston and is Arraigned on charges of Fraud and Insider Trading . Skilling pleads not guilty and the judge sets bail at $5 million and confiscates Skilling's Passport . (CNN)

Lt. Gurgen Markarian , an Armenia n military officer attending a NATO Partnership For Peace program, is hacked to death with an Axe and a knife by Lt. Ramil Safarov , an Azerbaijan i participant. The officers were attending an English language course at the Hungarian Military University within the framework of the Partnership for Peace program, which is aimed at increasing cooperation between neutral and former Soviet Bloc nations and NATO in peacekeeping and other areas. (NYT)

, Austria , found the increase of anti-Semitic attacks was "committed above all either by right-wing extremists or radical Islamists or young Muslim s mostly of Arab descent." (Haaretz)

Reformist newspapers '' Shargh '' and '' Yas-e-no '' are shut down by the Iran ian judiciary, only one day before the Parliament Elections . (BBC)

The , Ansar Al-Islam , Hezbollah , Hamas , Islamic Jihad . (Haaretz) (Al Bawaba)

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the United Nations nuclear agency, finds undeclared components in Iran compatible with advanced uranium centrifuge designs, increasing Western concerns that it may be developing Nuclear Weapons . (Haaretz)

The United Kingdom decides to award an honorary Knight hood to Nazi -hunter Simon Wiesenthal in recognition of a "lifetime of service to humanity". The knighthood also recognized the work of the Los Angeles-based Simon Wiesenthal Center , which was founded in 1977 to promote remembrance of the Holocaust and the defense of Human Rights . (Haaretz)

in opinion polls, President Chen Shui-bian promises not to declare Taiwan Independence if he is re-elected. (BBC)

--- The White House reserves judgement on the Federal Marriage Amendment , a proposed Constitutional Amendment to define Marriage as a "union of a man and a woman," until Massachusetts legislature and San Francisco courts take further action. Media reports speculate that the White House will probably also keep their opinion quiet until Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry takes a stand on the issue. (Washington Times)

--- San Francisco sues California to force the state to accept Marriage License s it altered to remove reference to Bride and Groom and recognize Same-sex Marriage . (Kansas City Star)

--- Laura Bush states that homosexual marriage is "''a very, very shocking issue''" for some people. She hopes the subject can be debated by Americans together, rather than it be settled by a Massachusetts Court or the Mayor of San Francisco . (AP)

States of emergency are declared in Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island , Canada , after a prolonged Blizzard dumps 90 centimetres of snow on the provinces. This doubles the previous record, set in the 1950s. Roads are completely impassable, blocked with drifts of up to 3 to 4 metres. (CBC)

It's reported that billionaire Philip Anschutz is purchasing the San Francisco Examiner for an estimated $20 million.

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