Current Events for the Week of 12 December 2011
Current Events for Monday, 12 December 2011
- Pakistani Taliban commander Maulvi Faqir Mohammad admits group is in peace talks with Pakistani government
- Pakistani Director-General of Military Operations Major General Ashfaq Nadeem: North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) raid last month was planned
- Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani tells BBC blockage of NATO convoys may last for weeks
- The Financial Times: U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has told at least 12 U.S.-listed companies to disclose business activity in, with state-sponsors of terrorism
- At least five U.N. peacekeepers, one Lebanese soldier injured by bomb attack in southern Lebanon
- French Foreign Minister Alain Juppé accuses Syria of orchestrating Lebanon attack
- U.S. Senator Charles Schumer (D., NY), New York State Senator Michael Gianaris (D.) call for on-site advocates after U.S. Transportation and Safety Administration (TSA) agents “heavily frisk” four elderly women
- U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., KY) expects bipartisan tax cut deal
- Syria holds local elections despite opposition party boycott
- Indian factory output fell by a more-than-expected 5.1% in October
- South Korea cuts growth forecasts due to projected slump in exports
- Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki visits Washington, D.C. for talks with U.S. President Barack Obama (D.)
- U.S. Army names Captain Pratima Dharm as first Hindu chaplain
- China vows to boost imports to mark the 10th anniversary of the World Trade Organization (WTO)
- Greece braces for “troika” scrutiny, creditor talks
- Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin faces uphill battle after mass protests against his proposed presidency
- Russian President Dimitry Medvedev’s Facebook status draws ire
- Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe wins Zimbabwe African National Union—Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) party endorsement for reelections, faces doubts about age, health
- Argentine President Cristine Fernández de Kirchner begins second term vowing to fine-tune model of government
- Mexican drug cartels up ante with high-tech cross-border tunnels
- Iranian Minister of Petroleum Rostam Qasemi: E.U. will “definitely” not impose oil sanctions
- Former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega arrives in home country to begin 20-year prison sentence for murders committed during his reign
- Filippino gunmen free American citizen after being held hostage for nearly five months
- Former Massachuetts Governor Mitt Romney (R.) caught in “$10,000“ gaffe at political debate
- U.N.-sponsored climate talks in Durban, South Africa lead to pact to force all big polluters to take action to slow growth of climate change
- Peruvian President Ollanta Humala replaces Prime Minister Salomon Lerner with former military instructor, current Minister of the Interior Oscar Valdés after surprise resignation
- Powerful 6.5-magnitude earthquake strikes Mexico, knocks-out power in parts of capital
- Libyan Central Bank Governor Saddeq Omar Elkaber sends new request for U.N. to unfreeze funds
- Western powers warn Syria against storming Homs
- Forty-seven arrested after police clear #OccupyBoston encampment
- Senior Palestinian officials: former U.S. House of Representatives (House) Speaker Newt Gingrich (R., GA) fuels more Mideast conflict
- U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Darrell Issa (R., CA) releases documents detailing in-fighting at U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)
- Thompson Reuters/University of Michigan prelimary reading on December consumer sentiment shows highest growth in six months, trade deficit narrowed slightly in October
- Virginia State Police confirm identity of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) shooter as 22-year-old Radford University student Ross Ashley
- Alabama Governor Robert Bentley (R.) promises revisions to controversial new immigration law
- U.S. National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) dismisses case against The Boeing Company
- U.S. judge approves $2.2 billion tranfer from MF Global Holdings Ltd. to U.S. commodities customers
- Ford Motor Co. recalls 129,000 Focus and Mercury Milan vehicles due to wheel issues
- Family of former U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agent Robert Levinson releases video showing him alive, needing help
- Former French Prime Minister, conservative politician Dominique de Villepin to stand for president in 2012 election
- North Korea warns of “unexpected consquences” if South Korean government goes-through with border Christmas tree lighting
- Low turnout expected in Ivorian parliamentary voting after violence marred last year’s presidential elections
- Carter Center international observers declare Democratic Republic of the Congo’s (DRC) recent presidential vote that reelected Joseph Kabila lacked “credibility”
- Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) General Martin Dempsey warns of “the potential for civil unrest” cause by eurozone problems
- Hewlett-Packard Co. donates WebOS to the open source community, will continue to fund some of it
- Parcel bomb hurts head of local Italian tax agency
- South Sudan Foreign Minister Nhial Deng Nhial warns of impending war with Sudan after days of border clashes
- Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) stays Texas redistricting plan
- Quinnipiac University poll shows Pennsylvania State University (PSU, Penn State) sexual abuse scandal has not hurt Pennyslvania Governor Tom Corbett’s (R.) approval rating
- Gallup poll: 76% of Americans feel most members of U.S. Congress do not deserve reelection
Current Events for Tuesday, 13 December 2011
- Two U.S. Army helicopters crash in Washington state during training exercise, four dead
- Japan “likely” to pick-up Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II
- Washington Mutual Inc. reaches agreement with shareholders, eyes exit to bankruptcy
- U.S. House, Senate joint panel votes to freeze some $700 million in Pakistani aid
- Eurozone fiscal pact fails to mullify markets, European Central Bank (ECB) forced to step back-in
- European Council President Herman Van Rompuy believes eurozone E.U. pact would be signed by most member-states by March 2012
- Gloves stay on in Lincoln-Douglas debate between Republican Party (GOP) presidential hopefuls former U.S. House Speaker Gingrich, former U.S. Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman
- U.S. lawmakers reach tentative agreement on $1 trillion omnibus spending bill
- Canada becomes first nation to formally pull-out of Kyoto Protocol
- Canadian parliament bans wearing of veils during citizenship ceremonies
- U.S. President Obama says U.S. will be loyal partner for Iraq moving forward
- Conservative publisher Newsmax says Donald Trump debate still-on, despite only former U.S. House Speaker Gingrich, former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum (R., PA) agreeing to take-part
- Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney (R.) stumped by gay veteran
- Anti-Wall Street advocates rally at many West Coast ports, police in several cities report arrests
- SCOTUS agrees to hear Arizona immigration law challenge
- Intel Corp. warns hard-drive shortages may impact fourth-quarter (Q4) revenue
- Human Rights Watch warns West turning blind-eye to Uzbek human rights abuse allegations
- European Organization for Nuclear Research’s (CERN) Large Hadron Collider (LHC) scientists expected to announce glimpse of Higgs boson particle
- Switzerland cuts 2012 growth forecast
- U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navanethem “Navi” Pillay says Syrian uprising deaths top 5,000, urges U.N. Security Council (UNSECO) to refer Syria to International Criminal Court (ICC)
- Hunted Zeta drug cartel drug lord Raúl Lucio Hernández Lechuga captured in Veracruz state
- Papua New Guinea (PNG) faces political deadlock after supreme court rules Peter O’Neill was illegally appointed prime minister in-place of Sir Michael Somare
- U.S. formally requests Iran return unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV, “drone”) they claim to have taken-down
- Iranian steel factory blast kills seven, including foreign nationals
- Israeli authorities close wooden bridge to Moughrabi Gate, which leadis to the Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount stoking Palestinian outrage, anger
- Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov announces he will stand against Russian Prime Minister Putin in next year’s presidential election
- French President Nicolas Sarközy: there are clearly two Europes
- Twelve al-Qaeda militants break-out of southern Yemeni prison
- U.S. Congress rewrites defense spending bill to avoid promised presidential veto
- Gallup poll: 64% of Americans view “big government” as nation’s greatest threat
- U.S. House Speaker John Boehner (R., OH) names former Secret Service official Paul Irving as new U.S. House Sargeant-at-Arms
Current Events for Wednesday, 14 December 2011
- CERN LHC scientists confirm possible glipse of Higgs boson particle
- Disgraced Japanese imaging, optics company Olympus Corp. irons-out crooked accounts, sees $1.1 billion hole
- Egyptians head back to polls for second-round of voting, Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood will try to maintain lead
- China pledges economic growth despite “extremely grim” global outlook
- Reuters/Ipsos poll: former U.S. House Speaker Gingrich fares worse in general election against U.S. President Obama than former Governor Romney
- Investigative arm of CME Group Inc. turns interviews over to U.S. Department of Justice alleging former MF Global Holdings Ltd. chief executive officer (CEO) Jon Corzine knew of customer fund misuse
- Belgian authorities confirm Nordine Amrani killed four, wounded another 125 in gun, grenade attack in Liège; authorities do not believe this was a terrorist attack, but are not sure of motive
- U.S. Federal Reserve Board (Fed) sees contagion possible from eurozone crisis, some improvement in U.S. economic data
- U.S. Fed announces it will keep key rates low, continue with bond-buying stimulus program
- U.S. congressional Democrats, Republicans once again in gridlock over Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) tax holiday as U.S. House Republicans pass bill to expediate approval of Keystone XL Pipeline despite unlikely U.S. Senate passage and promised U.S. White House veto
- Three former Washington Mutual, Inc. (WaMu) executives reach $64 million settlement with U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)
- Former Pennsylvania State University (PSU) football assistance coach Jerry Sandusky waives right to preliminary trial
- Iranian Foreign Ministry announces it will not return downed UAV, demands U.S. President Obama apoligize
- U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta makes “surprise” trip to Afghanistan
- Israel reopens wooden bridge to Moughrabi Gate
- Magnitude 7.1 earthquake hits PNG, no injuries or major damage reported
- Iraqi Prime Minister Maliki urges U.S. investment in Iraq
- World Economic Forum (WEF) report: Hong Kong “most developed” financial market
- U.S. Attorney-General Eric Holder: federal government will intervene, protect voters against new state laws aimed at supressing citizens’ right to vote
- Microsoft Inc. co-founder Paul Allen announces plans for commercial spaceship
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) researchers develop one trillion frames per second (fps) camera that can track pulses of light
- Deadly clashes hit northern Syria, kill 28
- Yemeni Interior Ministry announces plan to release hundreds of political protesters currently jailed
- Italian man opens-fire in Florentine market, kills two and wounds three others
- ICC refers Malawi to UNSECO for refusing to arrest Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir
- Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas raises Palestinian flag above U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
- U.S. retail sales grew at 0.2% in November, much lower than Black Friday expectations set
- European regulators dragging feet over Google Inc. buyout of Motorola Mobility Holdings, Inc.
- World Health Organization (WHO): global malaria deaths falling, but more drug-resistant infections are rising
- U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) admits hackers have attacked infrastructure systems in at least three cities
- New U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulations on commercial volume go into effect
- “All-Star lineup” of technology luminaries set to lobby U.S. Congress against S.968 (Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act of 2011, PROTECT IP Act) and H.R.3261 (Stop Online Piracy Act, SOPA)
- NBC News/The Wall Street Journal poll: former U.S. House Speaker Gingrich has opened national double-digit lead over former Governor Romney
- U.S. National Tranportation Safety Board (NTSB) recommends harsh new anti-technology motoring regulations
- Public Policy Polling (PPP) poll shows U.S. Representative Ron Paul (R., TX) closing gap in Iowa
- American billionaire Donald Trump bows-out as moderator of NewsMax debate
- U.S. President Obama’s reelection campaign manager Jim Messina confirms former U.S. President Bill Clinton (D.) will campaign for the President
- NBC confirms Union Leader will co-sponsor Republican debate with Meet the Press next month
- Gallup/USA Today poll shows U.S. President Obama trails Republicans in five swing states
Current Events for Thursday, 15 December 2011
- U.S. lowers flag in Baghdad
- U.S. congressional Republicans introduce $915 billion spending bill to avoid imminent government shutdown
- Russian Prime Minister Putin deflects calls for election rerun because of irregularities, accepts “lawful” protests
- The Wall Street Journal: U.S. SEC considering appeal to U.S. judicial system over Citigroup Inc. $285 million settlement
- Chinese Ministry of Commerce announces it will impose as high as a 22% import duty on large U.S. cars, sport utility vehicles (SUV)
- ECB policymaker Christian Noyer: French debt downgrade “not justified”
- German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Deutsche Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann rebuff calls for more ECB aid to eurozone
- U.S. President Obama signals willingness to drop millionaire surtax from FICA tax holiday bill
- U.S. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke: U.S. can’t, won’t bail-out Europe
- U.S. Representative Paul gaining ground in a number of states
- Credit Suisse Group AG New York City (NYC) headquarters evacuated after suspicious package found, determined to be no threat
- Thousands rally in southern Chinese village of Wukan against government land-grabs, anger of the death of village leader Xue Jinbo in police custody
- Syrian troops storm Hama to break anti-government strike
- Time names “The Protester” 2011 Person of the Year
- French court finds former President Jacques Chirac guilty of diverting public funds, abusing public confidence
- Shocking U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) study reports nearly 20% of American women are raped, suffer attempted rape at some point in their lives
- U.S. House passes defense spending bill 283-136 including language placing terror suspects into military custody, permit indefinite detention after U.S. White House lifts threatened veto
- Brazilian prosecutors to bring $10.6 billion lawsuit against Chevron Corp. for off-shore oil spill
- U.S. Department of State warns recent Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) elections were “seriously flawed,” “lacked transparency”
- Morocco orders foreign fishing vessels operating in its waters under E.U. deal to leave amid row over over-fishing, Western Sahara
- Key 1994 genocide architect Théoneste Bagosora appeals life sentence by International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), wins reduction to 35 years
- Internet data transfer speed of 186 gigabits per second (Gbps) achieved between University of Victoria, Washington State Convention Center
- eBay Inc.’ online payment program PayPal planning daily deals online coupon service
- Euro (€) drops below $1.30 for first time since January 2011
- Google Inc. deletes 22 applications (apps) from its Android Market after dangerous text message fraud discovered
- Vandals set-fire to 12th Century mosque in the Jerusalem center, leave graffiti insulting the Prophet Muhammad on the walls
- Egyptian Islamists, mainly led by the Muslim Brotherhood, set to take-over parliament
- Pennsylvania redistricting plan benefits most-endangered U.S. House GOP seats
- U.S. Representative Michele Bachmann (R., MN) stands-by spokesman’s allegations about “money changing hands” in Gingrich campaign
- Human Rights Watch condemns Alabama immigration law
- U.S. Representative Lamar Smith (R., TX) fires-back at Google, other SOPA critics
- U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission workers testify to U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform about “verbal assaults” from Chairman Gregory Jaczko
Current Events for Friday, 16 December 2011
- U.S. Navy announces plans to station new coastal combat ships in Singapore, possibly Philippines in coming years
- U.S. Army Private First Class (PFC) Bradley Manning face first Article 32 hearing in Fort Meade, Maryland
- New Apple Inc. A5 processor made in surprising place: Austin, Texas
- The New York Times CEO Janet Robinson announces surprise resignation
- Reuters: over 150 boxes of documents were “lawfully,” “legitimately” destroyed
- Rivals pounce on GOP front-runner, former U.S. House Speaker Gingrich at last Iowa debate
- U.S. Congress compromises on $1 trillion spending bill to avert government shutdown
- Research In Motion Ltd. (RIM) delays debut of QNX-powered smartphones, offers dismal outlook
- Today’s Zynga initial public offering (IPO) expected to net company $1 billion, $10 per share expected
- American jobless claims fell to three-and-one-half year low last week, Northeast factory activity increased
- Wukan villagers continue to defy Chinese government orders to disperse
- CNN: Welsh actor Christian Bale “roughed up” by Chinese security guards as he attempted to visit blind legal activist
- Chinese authorities issue new regulations requiring Weibo users to register their identities
- Russian Federation to join World Trade Organization (WTO) after 18 years of negotiations
- Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti faces another confidence vote
- Prosecutor of the ICC José Luis Moreno Ocampo: ousted Libyan dictator Muammar al-Gaddafi’s death may have been war crime
- Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda declares Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant in “cold shutdown state,” stable
- Fitch Ratings upgrades Indonesian investment grade status, puts it on-par with India
- Fitch Ratings downgrades world’s six largest banks—American banks Bank of America Corp. and The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., British Barclays PLC, French BNP Paribas S.A., German Deutsche Bank AG, and Swiss The Credit Suisse Group AG
- In surprise move, Russian Federation circulates draft UNSECO resolution aimed at resolving Syrian political crisis
- Russian fishing vessel The Sparta taking-on water in Antarctic, rescue being hampered by ice
- Google Inc. awarded patent for self-driving car system
- Chinese poll chooses kong, “control,” as 2011 word-of-the-year
- Toxic alcohol deathtoll hits 143 in West Bengal
- Street artist Bansky installs vandalized sculpture of a priest meant to represent the Catholic Church’s child abuse scandal
- Economic downturn of 17 eurozone nations slows
- South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley (R.) set to endorse former Massachusetts Governor Romney
- SCOTUS to rule on Texas redistricting map
- U.S. federal court upholds Illinois redistricting plan
- United Wisconsin coalition claims to have 507,533 signatures of the 540,208 needed to recall Governor Scott Walker (R.)
- U.S. Department of Justice accuses Maricopa County, Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio of violating constitutional, civil rights