Unix Timestamp: 981244800
Sunday, February 4. 2001, 12:00:00 AM UTC

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon announces a commission to investigate the assassination of former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto. //www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gcwnN_27LB3hwsp4Viv3Q6aZE0Pw (AFP via Google News)

Iran launches the Kavoshgar-1 research rocket to inaugurate a newly built space center. //news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/7225699.stm (BBC News) //www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=41636sectionid=351020101 (PressTV)

A suicide bomber kills a woman and injures at least 10 people in Dimona, Israel. //news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7225775.stm (BBC News)

The Wowowee stede at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City, Philippines, kills 74 people and leaves 600 injured.

Same-sex marriage in Massachusetts: The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, the state supreme court of Massachusetts, issues a response to a Massachusetts Senate question about instituting civil unions, such as the civil unions on Vermont, would meet the requirements of the 4–3 decision in "Goodridge v. Department of Public Health" issued in November 2003. The Court responds that such civil unions would not be sufficient to comply with "Goodridge", in which the Court held that not allowing same-sex couples to marry violated the Massachusetts Constitution. White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan states that the Bush administration is reviewing the decision, that the Court's ruling is deeply troubling, and that President Bush is firmly committed to protecting and defending marriage.

German extortionist Klaus-Peter Sabotta is jailed for life for attempted murder and extortion, in connection with the sabotage of German railway lines.

Unarmed Guinean immigrant Amadou Diallo is shot dead by New York City police officers on an unrelated stake-out, inflaming race relations in the city.//www.nytimes.com/2000/02/26/nyregion/diallo-verdict-overview-4-officers-diallo-shooting-are-acquitted-all-charges.html The Diallo Verdict: The Overview 4 Officers in Diallo Shooting Are Acquitted of All Charges The New York Times

An earthquake measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale in northeast Afghanistan kills more than 5,000 people.

An earthquake near Lijiang in southwest China, measuring up to 7 on the Richter scale, kills at least 240 people, injures more than 14,000 and makes hundreds of thousands homeless.

The Federal Open Market Committee raises the Fed Funds target rate for the first time since May 1989. The rate is raised by 25 basis points to 3¼ percent //www.federalreserve.gov/fomc/19940204default.htm.

Members of the right-wing Austrian FPÖ split to form the Liberal Forum in protest against the increasing nationalistic bent of the party.

In Venezuela, Hugo Chávez leads an unsuccessful coup attempt against President of VenezuelaCarlos Andrés Pérez.

Gro Harlem Brundtland becomes Prime Minister of Norway.

Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini names Abolhassan Banisadr as president of Iran.

Fleetwood Mac's Grammy-winning album "Rumours" is released.

In Guatemala and Honduras an earthquake kills more than 22,000.

The Haicheng earthquake, the first successfully predicted earthquake, kills 2,041 and injures 27,538 in Haicheng, Liaoning, China.

U.S. airlines begin mandatory inspection of passengers and baggage.

"Mariner 9" sends pictures as it orbits Mars.

Bob Douglas becomes the first African American elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame.

In Britain, Rolls-Royce goes bankrupt and is nationalised.

In Cairo, Yasser Arafat is elected Palestine Liberation Organization leader at the Palestinian National Congress.

NASA launches "Lunar Orbiter 3".

The Soviet Union protests the demonstrations before its embassy in Beijing.

Italy's first guided missile cruiser, the "Vittorio Veneto (C550)", is launched.

General Anastasio Somoza Debayle becomes president of Nicaragua.

All Nippon Airways Flight 60 plunges into Tokyo Bay 133 are killed.

The Portuguese Colonial War begins in Angola.

Pact of Mutual Cooperation Baghdad Pact signed.

February 8 ndash Surgeons remove an ovarian cyst from Gertrude Levandowski in a 96-hour long operation in Chicago. She loses almost half of her weight and emerges weighing 140 kg.//www.wired.com/thisdayintech/tag/gertrude-levandowski/ This Day in Tech History, "Wired", February 4, 2010.

Ingrid Bergman's illegitimate child arouses ire in the U.S.

Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) becomes an independent kingdom within the British Commonwealth.

February 11 ndash WWII: President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Prime Minister of the United KingdomWinston Churchill and Soviet leader Joseph Stalin hold the Yalta Conference.

WWII: The United Service Organization (USO) is created to entertain American troops.

A mutiny starts on the Dutch pantserschip"De Zeven Provinciën".

The Philippine–American War begins as hostilities break out in Manila.

International Association of Bridge and Structural Iron Workers was established in Pittsburgh

The Interstate Commerce Act of 1887, as passed by the 49th United States Congress, is signed into law by President Grover Cleveland.

American Civil War: In Montgomery, Alabama, the Provisional Confederate Congress is formed by representatives from the first six break-away states.

First known reference to Groundhog Day, in the diary of a James Morris.

Seminoles attack Fort Foster in Florida.

The first Dutch student association, the Groninger Studenten Corps, Vindicat atque Polit is founded in the Netherlands. The first rector of the senate was B.J. Winter.

William Pitt the Younger resigns as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

The French Republic abolishes slavery.

Louis XVI of France declares to the National Assembly that he will maintain the constitutional laws.

George Washington is unanimously elected the first President of the United States by the United States Electoral College.

Shays' Rebellion fails.

Court Jew Joseph Suss Oppenheimer is executed in Württemberg.

Tuscarora War: The Carolina militia under Colonel James Moore leaves Fort Reading to continue the caign against the Tuscarora.

350 rebellious Streltsi are executed in Moscow.

Oliver Cromwell grants residency to Luis Caravajal.

Prince Bethlen Gabor signs a peace treaty with Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor.

The last day of Keichō 慶長 13 (according to the Japanese lunar calendar).

The Longqing Emperor ascends the throne of the Ming Dynasty.

John Rogers, burned at the stake in London, becomes the first Protestantmartyr under Mary I of England.

In the Thirteen Years' War, the Secret Council of the Prussian Confederation sends a formal act of disobedience to the Grand Master.

In the Thirteen Years\' War, the Secret Council of the Prussian Confederation sends a formal act of disobedience to the Grand Master.

Richard I of England is ransomed from Henry VI, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.

May 12 1194 - After settling affairs in England, Richard arrives across the Channel at Barfleur in Normandy to reclaim lands lost to Philip II.

April 1194 - Richard I arrives back in England

the rule of Louis IV the Child upon Western Francia.ref name=FlachJacques Flach //books.google.fr/books?id=Jslot7Tpi9ICpg=PA271 "Les Origines de l'ancienne France. Volume 4" Ayer Publishing ISBN 978-0-8337-1147-2

Caracalla and his brother Geta succeed their father Septimius Severus as joint Roman Emperors.