Current Events for the Week of 22 February 2010

Current Events for Monday, 22 February 2010

2009 internal document shows Toyota’s Washington, D.C. staff trumpeted saving more than $100 million by convincing U.S. regulators to end 2007 accelerator investigation
Afghan government: North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) airstike kills twenty-one civilians in Kandahar
North Korea seeking military talks with South
Israel to include at least two West Bank Jewish shrines in heritage plans, Palestinians protest
U.S. White House “strongly considering” to name former Vice-Chairman of U.S. Federal Reserve Alice Rivlin, current Honeywell International Chief Executive Officer (CEO) David Cote, Service Employees International Union President Andrew Stern to new deficit panel
Republican California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger defends U.S. President Barack Obama stimulus move, claims it created jobs
Polska Agencja Prasowa (PAP): U.S. Patriot missile batteries may be in Poland by early April
United Arab Emirates (UAE) summons European Union (E.U.) envoys, vows justice for Dubai
Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende: Dutch troops likely to leave Afghan mission this year, “as planned”
Ukrainian President-elect Viktor Yanukovich names three possible candidates for premier post, Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko drops legal challenge to election claiming the courts “could not be trusted”
U.S. Senate to begin final push on climate bill this week
Violent flooding, mudslides kill forty-two on resort island of Madeira, Portuguese rescuers giving aid
American Olympian Apolo Ohno breaks Bonnie Blair’s record for most decorated U.S. winter Olympian
Afghan Taliban reject Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s most recent calls for peace
Two U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reviewers find GlaxoSmithKline’s diabetes drug Avandia should be pulled from pharmacies due to cardiac issues
Xinhua: Shanghai Jiaotong University, Lanxiang Vocational School deny The New York Times article citing their involvement in Google attack
National Governors Association: bad economies in states to worsen
Cuban government angrily reacts to U.S. meeting with Cuban dissidents
French Prime Minister François Fillon: new Iran measures needed if there is no progress
Former U.S. White House Chief of Staff, former U.S. Secretary of State Alexander Haig dies, 85
Nigerien military spokesman Colonel Djibrilla Hima Hamidou promises elections, “return to constitutional order”; Nigerien main opposition group praises coup, urges immediate elections
U.S. White House to publish latest healthcare reform proposals Monday
More than twenty injured on United Airlines flight from Washington to Tokyo after plane hits turbulence
Uzbek President Islam Karimov to increase his nation’s presence in Afghan mission
Pakistani jet fighters kill thirty militants in airstrike
U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) closes anthrax inquiry
State Farm claims to have informed U.S. government of concerns with Toyota vehicles in 2004
U.S. Department of Justice Office of Professional Responsibility report: U.S. President George W. Bush administration lawyers Jay Bybee, John Yoo used “poor judgement” authorizing harsh interrogation techniques, will not face punishment
Conservative Political Action Committee (CPAC) Conference draws big names, advances “populist” agenda
Consumer prices edge higher in January, prices excluding food and fuel fell for first time in twenty-seven years support U.S. Federal Reserve commitment to keep prime interest rate low for “extended period”
Russian Federation “very alarmed” at Iranian nuclear stance
Nepalese man measuring only twenty-two inches (fifty-six centimeters) tall heads to Europe for official recognition as shortest man alive
Saudi government plans new law to permit female lawyers to argue cases in court
California peak formerly known as Negrohead Mountain officially renamed after 19^th Century black pioneer John Ballard
University of California, Berkeley researchers: afternoon nap not only beats tiredness, improves ability to learn
Senior Filippino Islamic militant killed in latest government offensive
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School study: singing “rewires” the brain, may help stroke sufferers recover speech
Major Darfur rebel groups signs framework peace deal with Khartoum
International Monetary Fund (IMF) gives-back Zimbabwean vote after seven-year suspension for unpaid debts
American swimmer Michael Phelps: 2012 Olympics to be last
Roman Catholic Pope Benedict XVI to canonize first Australian, Mother Mary MacKillop
CNN/Opinion Research Corporation (ORC) poll: 86% of Americans think U.S. government is “broken”
U.S. national team defeats Canada in prelimary match at Vancouver Winter Olympics

Current Events for Tuesday, 23 February 2010

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad vows to “cut off the hands” of anyone who attacks the country
Gallup poll: nearly 20% of American workers underemployed
U.S. Department of State issues travel warning about two more Mexican states over rising violence
Former U.S. Vice-President Richard “Dick” Cheney rushed to hospital with chest pains
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urges NATO, Russian security cooperation
U.S. President Obama proposes $950 billion heathcare bill
Toyota faces U.S. criminal probe
U.S. soldier deaths in Afghanistan reach 1,000
Afghan immigrant Najibullah Zazi pleads guilty in court to New York City (NYC) subway bomb plot
Freshly elected Republican Massachusetts U.S. Senator Scott Brown bucks party, votes with Democrats on $15 billion jobs bill
Lufthansa pilots agree to two-week strike suspension, claim problems still exist
E.U. officially condemns Dubai killing
Senior Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Abdul Kabir seized in Pakistan
Western diplomats express concern of Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s decree allowing him to control election watchdog
Facing upcoming elections, British Labour Party caters to parents by giving them a vote in how failing schools should be run
Guinness World Records recognizes Great Dane from Arizona as tallest dog on-record at 43-inches tall, 245-pounds
Ivoirian Prime Minister Guillaume Soro to announce new government after “breakthrough” talks with opposition
University of California, Irvine researchers breeding flightless mosquitos to help fight dengue fever
Rare copy of first comic book to feature Superman sold on online auction for $1 million
Moscow covered by record-setting 63-centimeters (around 25-inches) of snow
Taiwan speeds out of recession on huge Chinese exports, growth pegged at 18%
Guinean Prime Minister Jean-Marie Doré: country needs money to hold elections by end of June

Current Events for Wednesday, 24 February 2010

Another U.S. unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV, “drone”) attack in Pakistan kills three militants
Unclassified documents reveal U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) briefed some sixty-eight lawmakers on interrogation techniques between 2001 and 2007
Yahoo announces plans to include Twitter feeds, “Tweets,” into its search
South Korean Hyundai Motor halts sales of 2011 Sonata due to door-lock issue, shares drop 4%
World Health Organization (WHO) warns H1N1, “swine influenza,” pandemic “not yet peaked”
U.S. Department of Defense (Pentagon) approves lifting ban on women serving on U.S. Navy (USN) submarines
Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) hears arguments in Humanitarian Law Project v. Holder, No. 09-89
Haitian judge: U.S. missionaries still held in-prison “to be freed”
Military brass raises doubt over permitting openly gay soldier from serving
New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli: Wall Street bonuses increased 17% in 2009 from 2008
U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates: European has demilitarized too much since the end of the Cold War
Iranian police seize Jundollah leader Abdolmalek Rigi, claim he last visited U.S. base
USS Farragut saves Tazmanian ship from Somali pirates, captured eight pirates
Top Yemeni al-Qa`ida “leader” Qasim al-Raymi posts threats against U.S. on terrorist-friendly blog
European Commission investigating anti-competition accusations against Google
European Parliament debating bill extending paid maternity leave to twenty weeks
Four Peshawar civilians killed by Taliban rocket
Hundreds of thousands of Greeks go on strike to protest deficit
As many as seventy feared dead in Indonesian mudslide
Nigerian President Umaru Yar’Adua returns home from Saudi medical treatment, condition unknown
Cuban political prisoner Orlando Zapata Tamayo dies after eighty-five-day hunger strike
Former U.S. Vice-President Cheney had “small heart attack”
Methane explosion at Turkish coal mine kills seventeen
U.S. consumer confidence index makes surprisingly large decline in February
Nigerien junta names civilian Mahamadou Danda as interim prime minister until elections can be held
China tightens Internet censorship, requires webmasters to meet with government, produce identification
Mauritania recalls ambassador to Mali after that nation’s decision to release four al-Qa`ida militants
Main Darfur rebel group Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) signs framework peace deal with Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir
The Washington Post: Wall Street, banks moved political donations from Democratic Party to Republican
U.S. White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs: U.S. President Obama supports repeal of health insurance companies anti-trust exemption

Current Events for Thursday, 25 February 2010

North Korea threatens to attack South, U.S. over military drill
Climate scientists: world warm-up unbowed by record low temperatures this year
U.S. President Obama hosts bipartisan summit to push foward healthcare agenda
India, Pakistan hold security talks, see to repair ties
Chinese military warns U.S. to “speak and act cautiously”
Orca kills trainer at Sea World amusement park in Florida
Sixteen Republicans cross the aisle to pass $15 billion jobs bill, 70-28
U.S. sends four Guantánamo Bay Naval Base Detention Center (Gitmo) detainees to Albania, Spain
U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Executive Director Antonio Maria Costa: international criminal gangs, traffickers exploiting large justice “blind spots”
Chrysler Group LLC to replace front airbag sensor in some 355,000 minivans
World Congress Against the Death Penalty sees world-wide numbers of execution at lowest ever
U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke tells U.S. Congress key interest rates will stay low for the foreseeable future
Russian Federation warns West against “crippling” economic sanctions against Iran
U.S. mortgage applications fell for third straight week
Three Google executives in Italy found guilty of letting YouTube.com post video of an autistic child being bullied in 2006
International Monetary Fund (IMF) gives Iraq $3.6 billion loan for infrastructure improvements
French President Nicolas Sarközy visits former French colony of Rwanda, first diplomatic visit since 1994 Rwandan genocide
Viktor Yanukovich sworn-in as new Ukrainian president
Masked gunmen storm ranch, kill thirteen in Oaxaca, Mexico
Deer Trail Middle School in Littleton, Colorado gunman injures two students before teacher wrestles him to ground
Cuban President Raoul Castro “laments” Tamayo death
Danish woman who received innovative ovarian transplant gives birth
E.U. opens tax case against Greece
Sudan frees 57 Darfur rebels as part of pre-peace deal
Former International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Mohammed ElBaradei to from group promoting political change in Egypt
U.N. International Narcotics Control Board report: use of “rape drugs” on the rise
Argentine Republic asks U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to bring-in U.K. over Falkland Islands row
European Commission calls for E.U. membership bid for Iceland
U.S. House of Representatives (House) overwhelmingly votes to kill health insurance companies’ exemption from anti-trust laws, 406-19
Government study: contractors outnumber full-time workers at U.S. Department of Homeland Security

Current Events for Friday, 26 February 2010

Cynicism on both sides after day one of talks between India, Pakistan
U.S. Senator John McCain (R., AZ), U.S. President Obama have heated exchange at first bipartisan healthcare meeting
Petra Diamonds sells Cullinan Hertiage for $53.5 million, highest ever paid for rough diamond
Taliban attacks in central Kabul kill fourteen
Luxembourg-size iceberg breaks-off Antarctic Mertz Glacier
Toyota Motor Corporation Akio Toyodo meets with U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood
U.S. President Obama urges U.S. Congress not to weigh-in on where terrorism trials should take place
U.S. Pentagon now urges U.S. Congress to wait on legislation on gays in the military
U.S. building case against U.S.-born Yemeni radical imam Anwar al-Awlaki
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton: “outrageous” advice from former U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan led to record budget deficits, which hurt national security
Anonymous sources: assassinated Hamas commander Mahmoud al-Mabhouh “used same process” of procuring false passports as assassins
Russian Federation President Dmitry Medvedev objects to “endless” NATO expansion
Pakistan has agreed to hand-over Afghan Taliban “Number Two” Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar to Afghanistan, Lahore High Court rules against extradition
1939 comic thought to be first depiction of Batman sells at auction for just over $1 million
Sixteen people crushed to death during Mouloud festival at the famous Timbuktu Djinguereber mosque
North Korea claims to have detained four South Korean “trespassers”
Burmese court rejects pro-democracy advocate Aung San Suu Kyi’s appeal against extended detention
At least twenty-one killed, more than fifty injured at Bangladesh clothing factory
Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi urges “jihad” against Switzerland
U.K. Home Office report: children are being exposed to sexual imagery on a “regular basis,” tighter controls needed
Talks between Iceland, debtor-nations the Netherlands, U.K collapse
Microsoft wins court approval to shut-down network of computers it says runs the Waledac botnet
Iranian Sunni rebel group Jundullah’s leader Abdolmalek Rigi claims on Iranian television to have had U.S. support
Nigerian Vice-President Jonathan continues to have full presidential powers despite return of President Umaru
Algerian national police force chief Ali Tounsi killed in-office by senior police official
General Motors (GM) announces end to Hummer brand after talks with Chinese company fall apart
Daihatsu, Nissan, Suzuki all announce recalls, mainly in Japan
South Korean Constitutional Court rules death penalty constitutional
Nigerien junta bars itself from upcoming elections
iTunes sells its ten-billionth track
Former Gitmo detainee Mamdouh Habib wins right to sue Australia over alleged complicity in torture
U.S. House Ways and Means Committee Chairman, U.S. Representative Charles Rangel (D., NY) to be admonished by U.S. House Ethics Committee for non-disclosure of Caribbean trip
CNN/Opinion Research Corporation (ORC) poll: nearly six in ten Americans are dissatisfied with how democracy works in the U.S.