Current Events for the Week of 22 March 2010

Current Events for Monday, 22 March 2010

United States (U.S.) Senate Banking Committee to butt-heads over financial regulation bill
Afghan President Hamid Karzai holds talks with anti-government faction Hezb-i-Islami
U.S. House of Representatives (House) passes healthcare reform bill 219-212, backs U.S. President Barack Obama’s (D.) desired student loan overhaul
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) report: Internet infrastructure “major obstacle” to rare species
Tens of thousands of immigrants flood Washington, D.C. to show support for U.S. President Obama’s effort to revamp immigration law
U.S. White House comes to terms with anti-abortion Democrats to secure healthcare bill passage, to reaffirm no federal funds may be used for abortions
French exit polling shows President Nicolas Sarközy’s center-right bloc suffering heavy loses in national elections
U.S. unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV, “drone”) missile attack kills eight
Palestinians warn Israel after four killed by Israeli Defense Forces (IDF)
Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Hoseyni Khamene'i: American actions contrary to expressed will for better ties
Roman Catholic Pope Benedict XVI apologizes to Irish church over recent abuse realizations, some Irish Catholics say it is not enough
United Nations (U.N.) Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in Gaza Strip, calls for Israel to end border closures
Iraqi election commission releases vote numbers with 95% of ballots counted, former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi holds-on to slim lead over current Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki
Thai Red Shirts refuse government peace talks offer
5.6-magnitude earthquake hits near Guantánamo city, Cuba
Russian Federation police break-up anti-government rally in Moscow, one of fifty across nation
The New York Times: Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) on verge of brankruptcy
New York state gubernatorial race heats-up, as key Democratic county leader switches parties
U.S. “pay czar” Kenneth Feinberg trims salaries of top General Motors (GM) executives
Pakistan denies former U.N. envoy to Afghanistan Kai Eide’s suggestion Taliban arrests hurt talks
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit: U.S. Federal Reserve must release records on emergency lending programs
China denounces Google’s “U.S. ties”
Thousands of Kathmandu mourners pay respect to former Nepalese Prime Minister Giri Prasad Koirala
Ten killed in Helmand, Afghanistan suicide blast
Airports, main east-west highway closed in southern Iceland as dormant volcano erupts
Tens of thousands of supporters rally in Rome for Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi
Somali al-Shabab commander Sheikh Daud Ali Hasan killed inside own compound
Beijing, China announces level-five pollution warning as sandstorm shrouds city
Bomb explodes outside home of Pakistani community leader in Athens
Balkan leaders urge European Union (E.U.) to keep faith even though Serbia withdraws from talks
Officials in Sierra Leone deny report 200 killed in mine collapse
India, U.S. form anti-piracy body
YouTube accuses Viacom of secretly uploading content while publicly criticizing website

Current Events for Tuesday, 23 March 2010

Chicago Federal Reserve Bank President Charles Evans: “unacceptably high” unemployment, well-contained inflation to keep U.S. monetary policy stable
Harvard University economist Martin Feldstein: U.S. would get more movement out of Chinese over currency if it remained silent
U.S. Marine Corps Okinawa base “deciding factor” for Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: Jerusalem is no settlement
U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia Judge James Robertson orders 9/11 suspect Mohamedou Ould Slahi of Mauritania released from Guantánamo Bay Naval Base (Gitmo) detention center in classified opinion
Google announces it will reroute all Chinese searches through its Hong Kong proxies
U.S. Senate Banking Committee votes 13-10, along party lines, for financial regulatory reform bill
New York State Police rule “runaway Prius” driver error
U.S. federal judge orders New York State Department of Corrections to pay $33 million over illegal strip searches
Republican attorneys general in twelve states to file suit against H.R. 3590 (Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act)
Russian Federation Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov: arms treaty with U.S. could be signed “within days”
Maoist rebel attack kills two, destroyed railway tracks in four Indian states during two-day strike
Pakistani army Chief of Army Staff Ashfaq Kayani in Washington, D.C. for two-weeks of strategic planning
American, Taiwanese study: volcanism “helped” dinosaurs rise to dominance
Man stabs eight students to death, injures several others in attack at Fujian, China school
Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir threatens to expel international election monitors
German Federal Office for Information Security issues warning over Firefox vulnerability, Mozilla confirms
Greek central bank: economy to worsen in 2010
Hassan Lahouti, grandson of former Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and son of opposition supporter Faezeh Hashemi, arrested as he entered Iran
Indian state of Kerala sues Coca-Cola over alleged water contamination
French President Sarközy shuffles cabinet after heavy election losses
Day three of British Airways’ cabin crews strike sees dozens of flights cancelled
Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong threatens to expel U.N. envoy over political “interference”
Hong Kong school children kept inside after government issues air quality warning
Three new breeding sites of world’s rarest bird, Worthen’s sparrow, found in Mexico
ACORN to shut-down all offices effective 1 April 2010

Current Events for Wednesday, 24 March 2010

U.S. President Obama afixes signature to healthcare bill with twenty-two pens
Israel may replace Mossad agent posing as British diplomat
Chinese Communist Party newspaper The People’s Daily: Google working for U.S. intelligence
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton promises Mexico “new phase” in drug war
U.S. Department of Defense (Pentagon) to seek more “humane” treatment of gays in the military ahead of a full inclusion
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) report: Caesarean births hit record 1.4 million in 2007
U.S. Department of Justic (DOJ): three Gitmo detainees sent to Georgia as part of effort to close detention center
Attorneys-general from fourteen states file federal suit contending healthcare bill violates U.S. Constitution
Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) Secretary-General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu: hasty Western troop withdraw from Afghanistan could have “dire consequences”
Maoist rebel bombing derails high-speed Indian train, injures dozens
Afghan Taliban deny reports they are engaged in secret talks with Karzai government
Amnesty International: migrant workers in Malaysia being mistreated
Suspected U.S. missile attack kills five Pakistani Taliban militants in restive northwest of country
At least twenty-four killed in Kolkata (Calcutta) fire
Afghan President Karzai travels to China for trade talks
Japanese exports to Asia, U.S. rise 45% in February
Two New Jersey men charged with 1978 murder
Duke University study: X-rays miss “one-third” of all hip, pelvic fractures
British armed forces banned from using cluster munitions under new law
U.S. “pay czar” Kenneth Feinberg: five bailed-out firms must reduce payouts by 15%
Acting Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan chooses new cabinet
U.S. home sales fall in sluggish market
E.U. naval force: Somali pirates attacked ship 1,800 kilometers off Somali coast, closer to India than Somalia
Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Omar names two new deputy leaders after the arrest of commander in Pakistan
Special security powers extended in Thailand, as protesters remain in Bangkok
French President Sarközy announces offensive to “eradicate” Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA, Basque Homeland and Freedom) bases
Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi calls for her political party not to register for upcoming elections
Royal Dutch Shell signs agreement with China securing thirty years of natural gas exploratory right
Nintendo to offer three-dimensional (3-D) DS
French public sector workers to call one day national strike
U.S. military intelligence officials: Afghan Taliban training in Iran

Current Events for Thursday, 25 March 2010

E.U. leaders holding divided summit on future assistance for Greek economy
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: talks with U.S. President Obama were “productive”
U.S. citizen to be put on-trial for trespassing in North Korea was on evangelical mission
U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Washington Metropolitan Police investigating death threats against U.S. congressmen who voted for healthcare bill
Package of final changes to healthcare bill return to U.S. House after the Parliamentarian of the U.S. Senate Alan Frumin elimated two minor provisions
U.S. President Obama signs promised executive order on abortion
Florida jury awards widow of former smoker $26.6 million, orders Philip Morris, RJ Reynolds to pay
China joins conference-call between France, Germany, Russia, U.K., U.S. on new Iranian sanctions
U.S. sends to detained Uighur to Switzerland
The Vatican: Roman Catholic Pope Benedict XVI accepted resignation of Bishop Emeritus of Cloyne John Magee
The euro (€) drops to new ten-month low
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS): 6.1-magnitude earthquake hit near Manila, Philippines
Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) halts Texas murderer Henry Skinner’s execution after an appeal for new deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) tests
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) advertisement depicting a breeder dog as Adolf Hitler deemed “inoffensive” by British watchdog group
Egypt bans Skype, reasons unknown
U.N.’s Human Rights Watch (HRW): Ethiopian President Meles Zenawi silencing political opposition
Car bomb explodes in center of Colombian port city of Buenaventura, at least six killed
U.S. Department of Commerce data: U.S. housing sales slumped to record low in February
Gunmen shoot-dead five Iraqi security members at Baghdad checkpoint
Saudi authorities arrest “100” al-Qa`ida members in major sweep
Norwegian train crash kills at least three
Europe-based credit rating agency Fitch lowers Portuguese credit rating
New Moore Island/South Talpatti Island disappears
Civil nuclear power on agenda as high-level American-Pakistani talks set to begin
The Czech Republic agrees to hold signing ceremony for any new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) agreement between Russian Federation, U.S.

Current Events for Friday, 26 March 2010

U.S. White House expected to unveil new housing plan, to require lenders to lower mortgage payments of some unemployed workers and encourage lenders to elimate some principal debt for those mortgages “under water”
Close aide to Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu sees accord with U.S. over Jerusalem “soon”
U.S. House passes healthcare “fix” bill 220-207
European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Triche: financial aid mechanism for Greece “workable,” but unlikely to ever be used
Key U.S. lawmaker, U.S. House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet Chairman Representative Rick Boucher (D., VA), supports U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) plan to broaden Internet spectrum
The Port Authority of New York, New Jersey come to agreement with developer of World Trade Center site
Albert Gonzales, one of the world’ most notorious computer hackers, sentenced to twenty-years in-prison for stealing millions of credit card numbers
E.U. strike new “Open Sky” aviation deal with U.S., congressional approval not likely
Toyota Motor Corporation told dealers in 2007 of crash risks
U.S. Pentagon makes it harder to expel gays in the military
Al Jazeera audio clip claims to be Osama bin Laden, threatens al-Qa`ida will execute any Americans it catches if Khaled Sheikh Mohammed is put to death
Jobless claims continue decline, giving hope for recovery
The Vatican fires-back at media over priest abuse coverage
Five Pakistani soldiers, twenty-one militants die in Orakzai clashes
U.N. welcomes Pakistani decision to permit some 1.7 million Afghan refugees to remain in country for an additional three years
U.N. calls for credible political polls in Burma, which requires the release of held political dissidents
U.S. President Obama asks U.S. Congress for $2.8 billion in emergency aid for Haitian reconstruction
U.N. World Food Programme (WFP) denies report its aid to Somalia is being funneled to militants
Dutch Checkpoint coffee shop fined $13 million for violating nation’ cannabis laws, keeping more than 500 grams (18 ounces) at the shop
Pakistani air strikes kill eleven militants in areas on Afghan border
Chinese soldiers deployed to southwest China as it deals with worst drought in a century
Bangladeshi government forms war crimes tribunal for 1971 war of independence
Harvard University study: half-hour of daily exercise “not enough”
Chinese mobile firm Unicom drops Google search from its phones
Iraqi election results to be released today, Iraqi Election Commission Chief Faraj al-Haydari says recount “unnecessary”
Indonesian Constitutional Court upholds nation’s incredibly strict anti-pornography law
Some Republican congressman refuse to denounce violent actions against Democratic lawmakers who voted for healthcare bill