Current Events for the Week of 8 March 2010

Current Events for Monday, 8 March 2010

U.S. Vice-President Joseph “Joe” Biden (D.) to head to Israel, push for close defensive ties with Israel and agreement on Iran
U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates heads to Kabul, presses commanders for details on upcoming offensive
Bomb attack on Lahore, Pakistan police headquarters kills twelve
The Hurt Locker wins Academy Award for Best Picture, director Kathryn Bigelow wins for Best Director
Duke University study: bonobos choose to share their food
Violence near Jos, Nigeria kills at least 500
Indian parliament to debate bill reserving one-third of parliamentary seats for women
Strong 6.0-magnitude earthquake hits eastern Turkey, at least fifty-one killed
BBC World Service poll: four in five people worldwide see Internet access as a human right
France offers financial support for Greece
Pakistani officials deny arresting American citizen acting as “spokesman” for al-Qa`ida, wanted in U.S. for treason
Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai: Zimbabwe should invite international observers, peacekeeping force for next national election
Government planners, international experts to produce Haiti rebuilding blueprint this week
U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius: Goldman Sachs report showing rising profits, decreasing competition in healthcare insurance field proof of reform need
U.S. Representative Chris Van Hollen (D., MD) casts doubt on numbers for healthcare bill passage
Firefight at Yemeni hospital, clashes in south
Afghan President Hamid Karzai makes unannounced visit to Marjah, vows to rebuild
Iraqi Shi’ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr urges Iraqis to vote for end of American “occupation”
Tokyo Shimbun newspaper: Toyota Motor Corporation to start operating new Mississippi plant in June 2011
Rocket, mortar fire kills thirty-eight as Iraqis head to the polls
The New York Times: over the last ten years, the U.S. government has given some $107 billion to companies dealing with Iran
Icelandic voters reject deal to repay British, Dutch bailouts
Some Chilean areas still awaiting aid
U.S. special envoy to the Middle East George Mitchell urges talks deal
Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik: top Pakistani Taliban commander Qari Zia-ur-Rehman may be dead
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Eroǧan: U.S. Congress vote “great harm” to nations’ ties
U.S. denies consent to U.N. Security Council (UNSECO) statement of concern over Israeli, Palestinian fighting
Disney buys The Los Angeles Times’ front-page for Alice in Wonderland movie premier
U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announces voluntary recall of hydrolyzed vegetable protein flavoring for possible salmonella bacterial infection
Thousands of Spaniards march in opposition to proposed bill making it easier for women to get an abortion
Togolese main opposition party to challenge poll results of President Faure Gnassingbe winning re-election
Filippino troops kill at least seven suspected Abu Sayyaf militants in raid
Russian Federal Security Service kills Islamist rebel in Ingushetia raid
Washington, D.C. to hand-out free female condoms
Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA, International Federation of Association Football) rules-out instant replay
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa rejects plans for U.N.-appointed panel to examine alleged human rights abuses
U.S. Federal Reserve: U.S. consumer borrowing unexpectedly spiked in January 2010
Norwegian tanker hijacked by Somali pirates
U.S. Department of Labor report: job cuts “better than expected”

Current Events for Tuesday, 9 March 2010

U.S. Vice-President Biden assures Israel over U.S. security commitment
British opinion polls indicate 6 May 2010 election may result in “hung” parliament
Human Rights Watch (HRW): Nigeria must prosecute those involved in recent ethnic violence
Portugal joins Greece in announcing nation-wide austerity measures
U.S. President Obama takes heathcare bill ownership, sharply attacks insurance companies
Toyota Motor Corporation investigates, finds “absolutely no flaws” in electronics system
Israeli parliament debating construction of nuclear power plant
U.S. Defense Secretary Gates: dark days ahead for Afghan mission, but “grounds for hope”
U.S. Representative Eric Massa (D., NY) resigns amid sexual harassment investigation, now claims he was “forced out”
Rwandan officials order tomb of nation’s first president Dominique Mbonyumutwa moved for redevelopment
Under newly-enacted election laws, Burmese junta will hand-pick the election commission
Indonesian military continues offensive against Aceh militants
Greece asks U.S. for economic assistance in cracking-down on speculators
U.S. unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV, drone) attack in north-west Pakistan kills three militants
With World Trade Organization (WTO) support, Brazil slaps economic sanctions on U.S. in row over cotton subsidies
American rapper Lil Wayne sentenced to one-year in-prison on gun charges
California State Senator Roy Ashburn, long-time anti-gay legislator, announces he is homosexual
Ugandan government to relocate some 500,000 people due to mudslides
U.S. eases sanctions on Internet-related business with Cuba, Iran, Sudan
Iraqi election officials put voter turn-out at 62%
European Union (E.U.) to consider monetary fund for Eurozone stabilization
American International Group (AIG) sells-off another insurance group to rival MetLife in effort to repay U.S. government loans
Security guard from Ukrainian mission in Istanbul, Turkey shoots dead man carrying bomb
U.S. President Obama nominates former U.S. Army Major General Robert A. Harding (Ret.) to head U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA)
Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) grants cert to case questioning Westboro Baptist Church’s protesting at U.S. soldiers’ funerals

Current Events for Wednesday, 10 March 2010

U.K. to propose tougher rules regarding bankers’ pay, as Prime Minister Gordon Brown warns of “bumpy” economic road ahead
U.S. economists raise 2010 economic forecast, trim 2011
Suspected mastermind of 2002 Bali bombings Dulmatin killed in Indonesian police raid
U.S. White House: U.S. President Obama supports bipartisan effort to stamp-out inefficiencies with Medicare, Medicaid
Toyota, U.S. officials investigating runaway Prius
U.N. human rights investigators: 9/11 suspects should be given civilian trial
Russian Federation, U.S. in final push for new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START)
U.S. Vice-President meets with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas as Israel announces plans for 1,600 more settlers homes in West Bank
Swiss Re estimates Chilean earthquake to cost global insurance industry some $7 billion
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrives in Kabul for security talks with Afghan President Hamid Karzai
Chinese exports surged 46% in February 2010
Unidentified gunmen attack aid agency World Vision in Pakistan, kill five
New Burmese election law formally bans pro-democracy advocate Aung San Suu Kyi from polls
BBC: the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) to close for up to a year in late 2011 to address design flaws
Irish alcohol ban on Good Friday under-attack due to rugby match between Leicester, Munster
Ukrainian parliament moves to change coalition rules, as President Viktor Yanukovych tries to form a governing alliance
Syria joins hunt for nuclear power
Sri Lankan parliament extends state of emergency until after next month’s general elections
Japan confirms existence of Cold War-era pact permitting nuclear-armed U.S. vessels to call in its ports
Thailand's Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva uses emergency security laws to help cope with opposition rallies
$149 billion unemployment benefit bill clears U.S. Senate hurdle, 66-34

Current Events for Thursday, 11 March 2010

U.S. Senate passes $149 billion unemployment bill, 62-36
U.S. Department of Justice formally charges Pennsylvania woman Colleen LaRose, aka Jihad Jane, with plotting to kill Swedish cartoonist
U.S. President Obama: time for talk is over in healthcare debate
California State Controller John Chiang: California revenue jumped in February 8.7%, tax refunds should be delivered on-time
U.S. House of Represenatives (House) Appropriations Committee Democrats take steps to limit earmarks to for-profit companies
League of Arab States Secretary-General Amre Moussa: Palestinian President Abbas won’t enter into direct talks with Israel
Forbes magazine: world’s wealthiest adding wealth, Mexican businessman Carlos Slim passes American entrepreneur Bill Gates as wealthiest man in the world
U.S. Department of State: three U.S. hikers arrested in Iran last year and accused of spying have called their families, although consular contact is still forbidden
U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigators looking at another run-away Prius
Nigerian soldiers enforce curfew in Jos with deadly consequences for at least one
Iranian President Ahmadinejad, U.S. Defense Secretary Gates trade barbs over U.S. presence in Afghanistan
Iraqi, U.N. election officials: poll results likely to be released today, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki “in-lead”
Ukrainian President Yanukovych forms coalition government, nominates former Finance Minister Mykola Azarov as prime minister
Japanese automaker, subsidiary of Toyota Daihatsu recalls some 275,000 vehicles in Japan for a number of issues
Oil giant BP announces $7 billion deal with Brazil for oil exploratory drilling
Chinese economy hits sixteen-month inflation high, calls for cooling economy increase
Indian security forces step-up their offensive against Maoist rebels in eastern states
Russian Federation Prime Minister Vladimir Putin heads to India for energy, security talks
Two missile strikes by U.S. drone kills twelve suspected militants in Pakistan’s north-west region
Sony Corporation debuts Motion
Chilean President-elect Sebastián Piñera to be sworn-in today
Greek public, transit services come to halt in another national strike
U.S. reports February budget deficit hit record $221 billion
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon asks world’s science academies to review work of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
E.U. to support Atlantic blue fin tuna ban until species’ numbers recover
1980’s actor Corey Haim found dead in Los Angeles apartment of apparent overdose
Influencial Egyptian Sunni cleric Sheikh Mohammed Sayed Tantawi dies of heart-attack while on trip to Saudi Arabia
U.S. President Obama criticized by SCOTUS Chief Justice John Roberts in rare public expression
Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) recongized by U.S. Congress, given Congressional Gold Medal

Current Events for Friday, 12 March 2010

China fires-back at U.S. criticism of its human rights record
New York City officials, lawyers announce $657.5 million settlement between city workers who fell ill after 9/11 and a city insurer
U.S. President Obama to choose San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank President Janet Yellen as U.S. Federal Reserve Vice-Chairman
Unprecedented discounts help boost Toyota sales in February, as U.S. regulators mull “black box” solution
Iraqi election results trickle-out, Prime Minister al-Maliki sees mixed results, Iraqiya party led by former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi cries foul
U.S. congressional Democrats edged closer to agreement over healthcare bill, U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., CA) says they are not bound by U.S. White House timetable
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s (D., NV) family seriously injured in highway crash
Guantánamo Bay U.S. Naval Base detention center (Gitmo) detainee known as Hambali picks-up legal defense again
U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS): U.S. financial, tax crime investigations up ten-percent in 2009
U.S. President Obama distributes $1.4 million Nobel Peace Prize money to ten different chairities
New York State Attorney-General Andrew Cuomo chooses former top state judge Judith Kaye to head-up ethics probe of Governor David Patterson
Although an overwhelming number of Americans want financial regulation, in-fighting in the U.S. Senate keeps the bill on-hold
U.S. unemployment numbers nudge downward, U.S. trade gap narrows as oil imports fall
Chile suffers from 6.9-magnitude aftershock, tsunami alert briefly issued and then retracted
Afghan President Karzai: no proxy wars on Afghan soil, pushes for close ties with “brother” Pakistan
Greek police clash with protesters as Greeks fight taxes
Indonesian police shot, killed two more Aceh militants in major anti-terrorism offensive
University of Aberdeen study: women who use the birth control pill may live longer
Two suicide bombers kill at least twenty in busy areas of Lahore, Pakistan
Eleven rare Siberian tigers die at Chinese zoo
“Huffing” re-emerges as major problem in U.S., seventy-seven deaths already in 2010
New Zealander anti-whaling activist Peter Bethune arrested by Japanese Coast Guard for illegally boarding Japanese whaling vessel last month
Thailand mobilizes thousands of troops ahead of planned Bangkok rallies in support of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra
Oxford University archaeologists identify fifty-one decapitated skeletons near Weymouth ridgeway as Scandanavian Vikings
American conservative, Republican political powerhouse Karl Rove “proud” of waterboarding, other interrogation techniques that “kept America safe”
Turkey withdraws its ambassador to Sweden after that nation’s parliament votes to label killing of Armenians in World War I as genocide
Itawamba County Agricultural High School in Fulton, Mississippi cancels senior prom because lesbian student wanted to bring girlfriend
Morocco expels twenty Christians on conversion charges
Defeated Sri Lankan presidential candidate General Sareth Fonseka to go on military trial next week
Hamas releases kidnapped British journalist
Taiwanese Minister of Justice Wang Ching-feng quits days after saying she would not authorize executions
U.S. House votes unanimously to impeach Judge G. Thomas Porteous, Jr. of U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana
U.S. House Republicans agree to year-long earmark ban