Portal:Current events/2004 February 12
February 12, 2004 (Thursday)
- South Korean scientists announce the world's first successfully cloned human embryo.
- South Korea's parliament on Friday approves sending 3,000 troops to Iraq, responding to a call from the United States for military help in restoring stability to Iraq.
- Part of the source code for Microsoft's Windows NT 4 and Windows 2000 products has been leaked to the internet. It is thought that the leak constitutes only a part of the source, and may have originated from Mainsoft. Copies of something purporting to be the Windows source have been reported to be available on various file sharing networks.
- Occupation of Iraq: General John Abizaid, commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East, escapes injury when his convoy is attacked in Fallujah.
- Same-sex marriage in the United States:
- City officials in San Francisco, California, start issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, performing the first known civil marriage of a same-sex couple in the U.S. by marrying a lesbian couple, gay rights activists Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon. Over 80 couples whisked through quick ceremonies.
- Various conservative and other family groups, including the Campaign for California Families, plan to sue the mayor of San Francisco for violating California's marriage laws. The Family Research Council (FRC) states that "It could not be clearer that the institution of marriage is under a direct assault by homosexual activists".
- Virginia House of Delegates give preliminary approval to legislation that would ban the recognition of same-sex civil unions and domestic partnerships.
- Controversy erupts in Canada over a segment of Conan O'Brien's NBC television talk show, filmed in Quebec City and shown to a studio audience in Toronto, featuring his character Triumph the Insult Dog making ethnic insults against French-Canadians, including telling them to speak English. The Canadian government condemns the comments. The Government of Ontario, which had paid $1 million to sponsor the taping of four episodes of the show in Toronto to promote the city, also distances itself from the comments.
- A major blizzard hits Athens, stranding thousands of drivers in main avenues of the city and forcing the cancellation of hundreds of flights in Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport.