A review of events and their interpretation.
Sunday, 28 FebruaryMalaysia's former police chief, Abdul Rahim Noor, admits beating sacked finance minister Anwar Ibrahim on the night of his arrest. Rahim, who resigned as inspector general of police last month over speculation that he was the assailant, punched and slapped Anwar September 20 after Anwar was driven blindfolded and handcuffed into police headquarters. Arsenal are held 1-1 by Newcastle, giving MUN a good lead in the league race. |
Saturday, 27 FebruaryIt's polling stations in Nigeria for presidential elections that wrap up 15 years of military rule. 40 million Nigerians choose between former military ruler General Olusegun Obasanjo, who relinquished power two decades ago, and former Finance Minister Olu Falae. The winner will be announced in a day or two, and take over in late May. Wins for both Chelsea and Manchester United keep them ahead of the chasing pack, and add pressure to Arsenal who play tomorrow. Aston Villa are just about out of it, after losing 4-1 to Coventry, the first time Coventry have ever won at Villa. Lower down, Gillingham take a 5-0 win at Burnley. All five come off the boot of Robert Taylor, who becomes the eighth player to score five in the third division. |
Friday, 26 FebruaryRussian President Boris Yeltsin says that both he and Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov are committed to remaining in their posts until the presidential elections in summer 2000. Yeltsin also denied rumours that Primakov intended to compete in the presidential poll, saying that if he did, he would be sacked. Primakov said he was "sick of the speculation" to this effect in the media. Reports that Yeltsin's alcohol levels were six times the legal drink-drive limit could not be confirmed. Blurry definitions of sexual consent and stereotypical myths about sexual assault victims have no place in Canadian law, the Supreme Court rules in a case that sharply re-focuses the no-means-no debate. The high court unanimously rejects the notion that implied consent is a defense in sexual assault cases and convicts an Alberta man previously acquitted of sexual assault. The judge in the original trial, John McClung, says Supreme Court Justice Claire L’Heureux-Dube engaged in "personal invective" in the decision. In a letter to a national newspaper, "The personal convictions of the judge, delivered again from her judicial chair, could provide a plausible explanation for the disparate (and growing) number of male suicides being reported in the province of Quebec." More sensible commentators suggest that McClung will revise the definition of "dropping a Clunger." The NBA's best defensive team keep up offensively with one of the best of the West. Allan Houston makes a 3-point shot with 4.6 seconds left in extra time as the New York Knicks recover from a 16-point deficit for a thrilling 115-113 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves. |
Thursday, 25 FebruarySenator Eric Berntson, the big cheese in Saskatchewan’s Tory corruption scandal, is guilty of fraud. He's acquitted of breach of trust charges. "I am satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that the accused devised an illicit scheme whereby he could obtain $41,735," Justice Frank Gerein of Court of Queen’s Bench said Thursday in passing judgment. The scheme involved claiming that members of his family were employed on his staff, when they were acting as little more than volunteers. At times tearful, Jane Doe 5 appears on an NBC current affairs show describing a sexual assault by Bill Clinton 21 years ago. "I was a little bit uneasy, but I felt a real friendship toward this man and I really didn’t feel any danger" in letting him come up to her Little Rock, hotel room during a nursing administrators’ conference in 1978, she told NBC’s Dateline. The White House issued their identikit denial, with the President's staff insisting that he did not have sexual relations with That Woman, Wotzername. Ed's note: Although the womin concerned is named across the media, she's not named here. It's policy. Live with it Lauryn Hill takes home five Grammys - a record for a womin - as the Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences celebrates the best in the American music business. "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill," her debut solo effort, won Grammys for album of the year (the first time a hip-hop artist has won this gong), best new artist, and the R&B awards for best female vocal, best song, and best album. Colombo (day 2): India 518/7d (Azharuddin 87, Arnold 2/94) Sri Lanka 121/2 (Jayawardene 59*) SL trail by 397 runs |
Wednesday, 24 FebruaryThe top news event of the 20th century is the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, where the terrifying power of America's new atomic bomb brought World War II to an end in 1945. That's #1 among US journalists and scholars who select the top 100 news events of the last 100 years for the Newseum, a museum about newsgathering. Their #2 choice is another scientific achievement, one as peaceful as it was wondrous: Neil Armstrong's walk on the moon in 1969. A popular wrestling show is packed with obscene gestures, crotch grabbing, satanic rituals - and a bit of actual wrestling. An Indiana University investigation of 50 "WWF Raw" episodes last year show "a staggering amount" of profane or risque incidents and less than 36 minutes of wrestling in a two-hour show. The show's UK syndicate, WOKtv, says that's more action than in the other 22 hours per day. Colombo (Asian Champs, day 1): India 351/3 (Ramesh 143, Dravid 107) |
Tuesday, 23 FebruaryA Turkish judge formally charges jailed Kurdish guerrilla leader Abdullah Ocalan with treason over his rebels’ 14-year-old armed campaign for Kurd self-rule. Ocalan appears before the judge on the Imrali prison island in the Sea of Marmara where he's been held since Turkish commandos captured him last week and brought him to face trial. Tony Blair sets out his stall to bounce Britain into the Euro. The plot involves spending millions on getting Government departments ready to change to the unstable European currency, and spend oodles on adverts, before launching a referendum after the next election. This announcement does away with all the sound economic conditions Gordon Brown set out in October 1997, none of which look set to be met for at least an economic cycle. Dennis Rodman, the seven-time rebounding champion, expects to be in a Los Angeles Lakers uniform Thursday or Friday. Three weeks ago the Lakers made it clear they wanted to sign the 37-year-old larger-than-life forward, a member of five championship teams, including the last three with the Chicago Bulls. Details of any deal remain incomplete and there was no representative of the Lakers at the news conference. |
Monday, 22 February - ConcordiaIrish police arrest five men in connection with a car bombing last August in Omagh that killed 29 people and wounded 370. In a co-ordinated operation, authorities in Northern Ireland made simultaneous arrests but decline to say how many people they nicked. More than 60 suspects on both sides of the border have been detained for questioning in connection with the bombing, but no one has yet been charged. Belgian police fire tear gas and use water cannon to break up a demonstration by European farmers. The clashes come as members of the EU's ruling Commission meet in Brussels to discuss a reduction in subsidies paid to agricultural owners. The existing subsidy regime adds 15% to the average annual food bill. |
Sunday, 21 FebruaryThe British Government fails to supress a thinly-veiled attack on the London police force. A report into a racist killing in 1993, due to be published next week, was leaked to a respectable broadsheet. After the first editions went to press, the Government gets an order stopping any further reporting of the contents; that order's overturned later in the day. The actual report accuses the Met, London's police force, of "institutionalised racism" - without ever caring to define the term - and suggests that police leaders should make compromises to gain trust in the community or step down. That's an attack on the Met's head, who has refused to blunt his speech or actions. The White House denies allegations that Clinton sexually assaulted a woman more than 20 years ago, back when he was attorney general of Arkansas. The woman, now 55, lives in Van Buren, Arkansas. She claims in interviews with the Wall Street Journal and Washington Post that Clinton assaulted her in 1978. Her story simmered in Arkansas for years but remained underground until she was subpoenaed in Paula Jones' sexual harassment case against Clinton. The White House dismisses the claims with a bored wave of the hand. Goaltender Ron Tugnutt continues his strong play and Radek Bonk nets his sixth winning goal of the season as the Ottawa Senators beat Philadelphia 4-1 and move over the Flyers into first place in the NHL's Eastern Conference. |
Saturday, 20 FebruarySix hours after time expires on the Kosovo peace talks, it looks like there's some form of settlement. Representatives of Albanians and Serbs spend the afternoon talking about NATO's role as defenders of the peace. Gennifer Flowers, who had a fling with President Clintern some years ago, has a word of advice for anyone following in her footsteps: Don’t. "An affair with a married man, or a married woman, is certainly not a relationship that I advocate," she said at the Oxford Union. Calcutta (day 5): India 232 (Shoab 4/47) Pakistan win by 46 runs. |
Friday, 19 FebruaryIn a frantic attempt to prove that it's not an irrelevance on the world stage, the Vatican sticks its nose in the extradition row over General Pinochet, asking the British government to send the former Chilean dictator home. The Vatican's appeal came about a month ago after a request from the Chilean government, which opposes a foreign trial for the 83-year-old general. Attorney General Janet Reno is considering bringing in an independent counsel to investigate the Independent Counsel. Options being discussed include appointing someone from a US attorney's office outside the Justice Department headquarters to lead the investigation. A former or retired judge is also a possibility. What would happen if the Indpendent Counsel to the Independent Counsel were to be investigated really doesn't bear thinking about. Calcutta (day 4): India 214/6 (Laxman 67, Ramesh 40, Saqlain Mushtak 3/69) Crowd stopped play for about 1 hour; India are 65 runs away from victory. Tense, innit! Too-big-for-their-boots Toronto station Q107 stops playing Alanis Morissette - until she deigns to appear on the Howard Stern Show, the too-big-for-its-boots United Statesite morning show carried by the channel. "This decision has nothing to do with our opinion of Alanis Morissette’s music and everything to do with trying to attract media attention to us. Er, her decision not to appear on our morning show, that is," said program director Pat Cardinal-Synne. |
Thursday, 18 FebruaryStaff start pulling out of Yugoslavia in preparation for the end of talks for peace in Kosovo. NATO has promised to bomb Yugoslavia if they don't agree to terms with the Albanian majority in the province. This is the second strike threatened against the Serbs in six months; last time, the UN assuaged war fever with a peace deal. Rookie Jason Williams hits a 3-pointer to start a 9-0 run in overtime as the Sacramento Kings defeat the previously unbeaten Seattle SuperSonics 109-106. Sacramento played its third game in three nights, but the strain doesn't show. |
Wednesday, 17 FebruaryThree Kurdish protesters are shot and killed while trying to occupy the Israeli consulate, a day after the arrest of a Kurdish rebel leader sparked riots and demonstrations throughout Europe. The Israeli Foreign Ministry said the three were shot by consulate security guards at about 1:50 pm. At least 15 are injured in the shooting. Intelligence agencies believe Israel was not involved in the arrest at all, but a hyperbolic report in a New York newspaper by William Safire gave credence to this illusion. A strike by CBC technical workers knocks the Newsworld cable channel off the air for 10 minutes and forces the news channel to re-run taped programming overnight and for most of the morning. CBC management intends to keep the main television and radio networks operating. The main broadcast network’s Morning News at 6:30 EST is replaced by test card G. Derek Jeter becomes the first player this year to beat a club in salary arbitration when he's awarded $5 million. A day after hearing arguments at Tampa, the three-man panel rejects the New York Yankees' offer of $3.2 million to the All-Star shortstop. |
Tuesday, 16 FebruaryKurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan is arrested in Kenya and flown to Turkey to face trial. "We had promised that the state would catch him, we have kept our promise," according to Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit said. "He will pay the price of his accounts to the independent Turkish courts." These independent courts are expected to find him guilty regardless of the evidence. The government will pay for lawyers to represent demonstrators who faced off with police at the 1997 APEC summit. Solicitor General Lawrence MacAulay sends a letter to Ted Hughes, head of an inquiry into the affair, saying Ottawa will pick up the tab for legal counsel for "those complainants who were directly involved in confrontations with officers." It's the latest attempt to show the government are being even handed, after a number of demonstrators were hit with pepper spray during the Pacific summit. Tri-series Test, Calcutta: India -v- Pakistan Pakistan 185 (Srinate 5/46, Moin Khan 70) India 26/1 India trail by 159. |
Monday, 15 February - Heritage DayPresident Clinton flees the US to visit Mexico for a short summit to bolster It's election day in Nunavut, the new region to be created out of the eastern half of the Northwest Territories. Nineteen members will be elected to the assembly, in preparation for Nunavut's formal creation on April 1. It will be one day and fifty years since the Confederation, when the rest of Canada joined Newfoundland. Steve Rucchin scores two and Guy Hebert 37 saves as the Anaheim Mighty Ducks baffle the Phoenix Coyotes with a 5-1 victory. Teemu Selanne, Ted Drury and Jim McKenzie also scored for Anaheim, 2-0-2 against the Coyotes. Cape Breton singer-songwriter Bruce Guthro beats out newcomer Melanie Doane and The Rankins to emerge the big winner at the 11th East Coast Music Awards, held at Memorial Stadium, St John's. Great Big Sea are voted Entertainers of the Year for the second straight year. |
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