I don't know how this has stayed under the radar for so long, but sometimes you have to hablar español to get things done. According to several Spanish-language newspapers, including this report in the major Argentine daily La Nación, the Kasparov-Ponomariov match has been postponed to November. This was apparently announced four days ago!
My translation: "The semifinal [sic] match for the world championship, scheduled to be played in Buenos Aires from June 19 to July 7 between the current monarch Ruslan Ponomariov and Garry Kasparov has been postponed to next November. The dates will be confirmed by the players. This according to the announcement of Miguel Angel Quinteros, member of the organizing committee, and the head of FIDE, Kirsan Ilyumzhinov." Thanks to Christian Sánchez from the home of Fito Paez, Rosario, Argentina.
The bad news is obvious. The match is at risk, there may not be any KO or qualifier in December, and FIDE is a mess (shock, surprise). The good news is that 1) now we won't have both WC matches at the same time (assuming Kramnik-Leko is announced next week for Budapest in June-July) and 2) the weather is much nicer in mi Buenos Aires querido in November. Unification was already in the toilet for 2003. Let's hope they can get their acts together for May 2004.
