Iraq disarmament crisis: The Turkish speaker of Parliament voids the vote accepting U.S. troops involved in the planned invasion of Iraq into Turkey on constitutional grounds. Due to 19 abstentions, 264 votes for and 250 against accepting 62,000 U.S. military personnel do not constitute the necessary majority under the Turkish constitution.[1]
Iraq disarmament crisis: Iraq destroys six more Al-Samoud 2 missiles, bringing the total destroyed to 10 out of an estimated 100 missiles ordered eliminated by the U.N. The U.S. continues to dismiss Iraq's actions as "part of its game of deception." Iraq indicates that it may halt destruction of the missiles if the U.S. indicates it will go to war anyway.
The British newspaper Observer publishes what it claims to be a leaked memo[2] from a high-ranking NSA official dated January 31, 2003. In it are orders to spy on the domestic and official communications of the United Nations Security Council members other than the U.S. and the United Kingdom. The memo names "... members Angola, Cameroon, Chile, Bulgaria and Guinea, ..." as candidates for special attention.[3]
French president Jacques Chirac starts a three-day visit to the former French colony Algeria. It is the first visit of a French president to Algeria at the highest ceremonial level.
Under intense American pressure, Turkey indicates that its Parliament will consider a second vote on whether to allow U.S. troops to use Turkish bases for a military attack on Iraq.
Reports of a new security vulnerability in sendmail have been circulating, together with proof-of-concept exploit code. This raises fears of an imminent new Internet worm problem, unless existing vulnerable implementations are patched in time.
An appeals court in Norway ruled that Jon Johansen, the teenager who developed the DeCSS software that allows DVDs to be copied, will have to be retried on charges that he violated copyright and anti-hacking laws.
Iraq disarmament crisis: UK newspaper The Times reports that the United Nations secretly drawn up a plan to establish a post-war government in Iraq. Although no consensus have reached among UN Security Council members in regard to military action, the document indicates that UN leaders may now consider war all but inevitable.[5]
Crossgates Mall in Guilderland, New York, dropped charges of trespassing against a man who had been arrested for refusing to remove his "Give Peace a Chance" T-shirt. The change of heart occurred after over 100 anti-war demonstraters marched through the mall and threatened to stay until the mall backed down.
Cuban President Fidel Castro is elected unopposed to a sixth term. He has served as the head of Cuba's government for 44 years—longer than any other living head of government.
New Scientist magazine reports a paper by Robert R. Caldwell, Marc Kamionkowski and Nevin N. Weinberg which puts forward the hypothesis that the end of the Universe may possibly occur as a "Big Rip", which will shred the physical structure of the Universe.[7]
The SCO Group, formerly Caldera, the current owner of the rights to the Unix operating system, sues IBM for $1 billion for "devaluing" Unix, claiming that IBM employees who signed Non-disclosure agreements worked on the Linux operating system.
The United States declared a national emergency and joined the European Union in imposing economic sanctions on Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and members of his government for "systematically undermin[ing] democratic institutions" in Zimbabwe.[9]
Revising the draft resolution put forth by the United States, United Kingdom and Spain a week ago, Britain proposes setting March 17 as the date for Iraq to voluntarily disarm or face the prospect of war.
The Nikkei benchmark hit a 20-year low record as war in Iraq appears closer, alleged stock manipulation by Nikko Salomon Smith Barney came to light, North Korea is preparing to test fire a mid-range missile, and a new political scandal in the party of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi came to light.[12]
Broadway musicians union members went on strike in protest over producers' proposals to cut the number of musicians at live performances, and the possibility of using taped or computer based music. All but one of Broadway's musicals (Cabaret) closed as a result.
An oil refinery and an oil pipeline are attacked in the northeastern Indian province of Assam. The United Liberation Front of Asom separatist group claims responsibility and according to regional newspapers threatens more such attacks.[13]
Iraq disarmament crisis: Kuwaiti workers have been instructed to make 35 holes in the fence between Iraq and Kuwait, and that the Kuwaiti army is positioning tanks at these openings.[14] The Pakistan Daily Times reported that UNIKOM had found armed US Marines in the demilitarized zone along the fence last month.[15]CBC reported that 230 UN support workers have been ordered out of the demilitarized zone.[16]
The Japanese government expressed support for a revised draft resolution submitted jointly by the United States, United Kingdom and Spain to the United Nations Security Council that sets March 17 as the deadline for Iraq. Japanese media opinion polls taken last week indicate that 84% of Japanese people oppose an Iraq war.[17]
Albania says it will send troops to join any war against Iraq, largely a symbolic measure thanking the United States and NATO for intervening in Kosovo in the 1999 Kosovo War.
Iraq disarmament crisis: The White House press secretary, paraphrasing the President, stated "If the United Nations fails to act, that means the United Nations will not be the international body that disarms Saddam Hussein. Another international body will disarm Saddam Hussein."[19]
Iraq disarmament crisis: *Kofi Annan, Secretary General of the United Nations, stated "If the US and others were to go outside the [Security] Council and take military action it would not be in conformity with the [UN] Charter".
French president Jacques Chirac declares that France will veto a UN resolution sponsored by Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The resolution would authorise use of force against Iraq unless that country proves it disarmament by March 17.
North Korea test-fires a short-range missile into the Sea of Japan. This is North Korea's second recent such launch.[20]
Dixie Chicks lead singer Natalie Maines said to a crowd in London: "We do not want this war, we do not want this violence, and we are ashamed that the President of the United States is from Texas.
Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov announced that Russia would veto a UN resolution by the US and the UK authorising the use of force against Iraq.[21]
Recep Tayyip Erdogan is elected to the Turkish parliament and is expected to become prime minister shortly. Erdogan supports deployment of US troops in Turkey and is expected to call for a new vote on the issue as one of his first official acts.[22]
U.S. diplomat John Brown, who joined the State Department in 1981, resigned. He said that the Bush administration's Iraq policy was fomenting a massive rise in anti-US sentiment around the world and he could not support it.
Kofi Annan, Secretary General of the United Nations, announces that UN-sponsored talks on the reunification of Cyprus have failed. Cyprus remains a candidate for EU membership and the Greek Cypriot government intends to sign on behalf of the whole island. Analysts suggested that Turkish opposition to unification may hurt Turkey's chances of joining the EU.
An Indonesian court convicts Brig.-Gen. Noer Moeis of crimes against humanity and sentences him to five years in prison for failing to prevent massacres in East Timor.[23]
U.S. RepresentativeJames P. Moran, Democrat from Virginia, is forced out of a party leadership post after furor over his remarks that were interpreted as saying that American Jews are responsible for a possible war with Iraq.
Iraq disarmament crisis: Key documents presented as evidence that the US should invade Iraq are revealed as forgeries. The documents stated that Niger was selling 500 tons of uranium to Iraq. One, dated 2000, was on stationery from the military government of the 1980s and referred to a foreign minister who had not been in power for 14 years; another bore a signature of the president of Niger that was an obvious fake. Iraq's supposed acquisition of African uranium was a feature in Colin Powell's speech to the UN Security Council in February and in George W. Bush's State of the Union Address.[24] Senator John Rockefeller asked the FBI to investigate the origin of the documents. Rockefeller expressed concern that the forgeries "may be part of a larger deception campaign aimed at manipulating public opinion and foreign policy regarding Iraq."
Hu Jintao is elected President of the People's Republic of China by the National People's Congress by a vote of 2,937 to 4 with three abstentions. His predecessor, Jiang Zemin, steps down after serving the maximum of two five-year terms.
U.S. President George W. Bush, U.K. Prime MinisterTony Blair, and Spanish Prime MinisterJosé María Aznar meet in the Azores, Portugal for a summit on the Iraq disarmament crisis. One British official describes the meeting as the "last chance for diplomacy." In a press conference at the end of the meeting, President Bush states that "We concluded that tomorrow is a moment of truth for the world".
64% of voters in Liechtenstein approved a measure to give Prince Hans-Adam II the power to dismiss governments, approve judicial nominees and veto laws. It is the most power of any monarch in Europe. Hans-Adam had threatened to leave the country if the measure was not approved.
US invasion of Iraq: President George W. Bush announces in a televised speech that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and his sons have 48 hours to leave Iraq, or the United States will initiate preemptive military action against Iraq.
U.S. begins military strikes in Iraq, which many consider the beginning of the Iraq War.
Jørn Siljeholm, a weapons inspector recently in Iraq, accused the U.S. of lying about evidence for weapons of mass destruction. English, Norwegian
Telephone tapping of EU headquarters uncovered. According to EU officials the taps targeted six EU states including Austria, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain. The taps appear to have been installed when the building was constructed in 1994.[39]
European Union Health and Consumer Protection Commissioner, David Byrne, said "cases like SARS demonstrate only too clearly that contagious diseases require a high level of preparedness across borders. Imagine if it had been an influenza pandemic which, in the past, had a devastating impact on humans. In order to meet the contemporary public health threat of communicable diseases, we must strengthen coordination and surveillance at Community level. The most effective way to do so is by setting up a European Union Centre for Disease Control."
Dwight Watson, who had driven a tractor into the Constitution Gardens pond on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., surrendered to federal authorities. The 48 hour standoff severely disrupted the business and traffic of downtown D.C., as a large section of streets were blocked due to Watson's claim that he had explosives.[42]
18 Afghan prisoners of Guantanamo base were liberated by the United States. These 18 persons were released in Kabul, Afghanistan without compensation or any assistance to return to their homes.[45]
Estimates of between 125,000 and 250,000 people march for peace in New York City. The march was organized by the group United for Peace and Justice.
Two Russian fighter jets tracked a U.S. U-2 spy plane flying near the Russian border. The U-2 was partaking in reconnaissance over Georgia and Azerbaijan.
UN Secretary GeneralKofi Annan says that American and allied troops in Iraq must be used to provide humanitarian aid to Iraqis whilst the security situation is so unstable (BBC)
At least 14 people are killed in Baghdad after a missile hits a marketplace (BBC).
SARS: The Hong Kong government imposes a quarantine on a group of over 1000 people, and closes schools for nine days in an attempt to stop the spread of SARS.
