Portal:Current events/2003 February 13
February 13, 2003 (Thursday)
- Austria bars US military units involved in the attack on Iraq from entering into or flying over its territories without a United Nations mandate to attack Iraq.
- United States military officials anonymously confirm to the Washington Post that two Special Forces units have been operating on the ground inside Iraq for over a month, making preliminary preparations for a large-scale invasion.[1]
- U.S. Senate Democrats continue to threaten to filibuster the candidacy of Miguel Estrada for the D.C. Circuit Court. The Democrats argue that Estrada is too conservative and not answering all of their questions. Estrada was first nominated for the position in May 2001.
- A United Nations panel reports that Iraq's al-Samoud 2 missiles, disclosed by Iraq to weapons inspectors in December, have a range of 180 km (above the 150 km limit allowed by the UN), splitting opinion over whether they breach UNSCR 1441.
- Motorola announces that they will release a cell phone running the Linux operating system.
- At London Gatwick Airport, British police arrest a man carrying a hand grenade under the Terrorism Act 2000. Two men have also been arrested at Heathrow airport under the same legislation.