Current Events for the Week of 3 May 2010

Current Events for Monday, 3 May 2010

Pakistani Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud, thought killed by United States (U.S.) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV, “drone”) attack in January, appears in Internet videos threatening suicide attacks on U.S.
Pakistani Taliban claim unsuccessful car bomb attack on New York City’ Times Square, U.S. officials claim no proof
Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou: Taiwan will not seek U.S. military assistance in any future conflicts
BBC aquires documents detailing Israeli rationale behind Gaza Strip embargo
South Korean news agency Yonhap: North Korean leader Kim Jong-il’s armored train enters China
American billionaire Warren Buffett stands-by defense of Goldman Sachs’ controversial mortgage transaction
Bomb explosion at HSBC branch office in Athens damages entrance, causes no injuries
Roman Catholic Pope Benedict XVI visits Turin Shroud, takes over powerful Legionaries of Christ
British politicians launch personal attacks ahead of Thursday’s polls
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to visit U.S. President Barack Obama this week
U.S. May Day rallies focus on ever-present immigration debate
European Union (E.U.), International Monetary Fund (IMF) agree to $147 billion bailout for Greece
Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva talks tough about Red Shirt protesters, Red Shirts refuse to give in
International Crisis Group (ICG): Thai standoff may worsen to civil war
Armed secessionists kidnap two Yemeni soldiers, demand release of two southern Yemeni leaders being held by government, U.S. embassy warns staff
U.S. orders two offshore oil production platforms in Gulf of Mexico shut-down as safety precaution
U.S. President Obama throws his support behind congressional bill designed to restrict corporate campaign contributions
U.S. Coast Guard (USCG): inland shallow-water drilling rig capsized near Morgan City, Louisiana while being towed to a salvage yard, a minor accident
U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI): Massey Energy Company faces criminal charges
British Petroleum (BP) to pay oil spill claims
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki rejects former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi’s call for international intervention
Manual recount of Iraqi election votes gets under-way
University of Manitoba researchers: mammoths had “anti-freeze” blood
South Korea vows “punitive action” against those behind explosion which sank naval vessel
French parliament requests information from U.S. Navy in sinking of trawler off Cornish coast
Turkish officials: Kurdish rebels have attacked military outpost in eastern Turkey, killed four soldiers
At least thirty killed by two bomb blasts in Mogadishu mosque
Nepalese Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal refuses to step-down despite mass Kathmandu Maoist protests
U.S. embassy in Delhi, India warns of “imminent attacks” by militants
Tens of thousands march in Tirana, Albania demanding political transparency
At least eight killed in mutinous army attack on base in South Sudan
Muslim Association of Malawi: anti-polygamy law discriminates against Muslims
U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issues approval for Provenge, possible prostate cancer vaccine
China opens 2010 World Exposition
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton issues stark warning to Syria over Scud missile sales to Hezbollah
Spanish unemployment hits 20%
Burmese Prime Minister Thein Sein, twenty-six others apply to form new political party in what observers believe is bid to increase military control of elections
Arizona Governor Jan Brewer (R.) signs into law changes to immigration law, claiming the changes should “ease concerns” over racial profiling
Hawai’i legislature approves same-sex civil union bill

Current Events for Tuesday, 4 May 2010

U.S. voter unrest turns-on incumbents
Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama urges islanders to accept U.S. military base “burden”
U.S. Senate to vote on uncontroversial amendments, procedural motion on financial regulation bill
Ireland to reopen all airports as of noon local time today, may see regular closings through the summer
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton tells U.N. meeting Iran puts world at nuclear risk, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad fires-back calling U.S. “nuclear criminal”
U.S. reveals actual size of nuclear arsenal: 5,113 warheads; does not include those warheads decommissioned and awaiting disposal
U.S. authorities arrest Pakistani-American Faisal Shahzad in-connection with failed Times Square car bomb incident
U.S. District Court Judge Victoria Roberts orders release on-bail nine Hutaree militia members, prosecutors failed to prove they were an immediate threat
U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Trade Commission (FTC) may launch antitrust investigation of Apple
U.S. FDA issues warning, McNeil Pharmaceuticals recals children’s Tylenol, Motrin, Benadryl, Zyrtec
Wal-Mart to pay over $27.6 million in California toxic waste case
U.S. White House: U.S. President Obama, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu want to use indirect Israeli-Palestinian talks to push for direct talks
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak hold proximity talks about Arab-Israeli conflict
International crude oil prices begin to rise, many blame Gulf of Mexico disaster
Bostonians survive third-day without drinking water due to water main break
Apple iPad reaches one million sales faster than iPod
United Airlines to buy Continental for $3.17 billion in all-stock deal
Greek public sector workers to stage forty-eight-hour strike against austerity measures
Darfur rebels boycott peace talks on accusations Sudanese government has broken February armistice
Kathmandu businesses remain shut as Nepalese Maoist strike enters third day
Taiwan opens tourism office in China
U.S. President Obama renews Syrian sanctions, accusing nation of sponsoring terrorism and pursuing weapons of mass destruction
Former Argentine military leader Jorge Rafael Videla charged with forty-nine counts of murder
Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development Main Exposure: the more television a toddler watches, the more likely he is to do poorly in school and have poor health at the age of ten
Main entrance to the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) building closed due to security concerns, Associate Justices Stephen Breyer and Ruth Bader Ginsburg issue “dissents”
Thai Prime Minister Vejjajiva offers 14 November elections, with certain conditions
Uganda’s Mount Margherita loses ice cap due to climate change
U.S. military begins three-week training exercise in Sahara

Current Events for Wednesday, 5 May 2010

Cinco de Mayo: On the fifth of May, 1862, Mexican forces under the leadership of General Ignacio Zaragoza Seguin defeated French forces in the Battle of Puebla; this day commemorates that victory and celebrates Mexican heritage.
Iranian President Ahmadinejad agrees “in principle” to Brazilian mediation of U.N.-backed nuclear fuel deal, says sanctions will not deter nuclear program
Greek austerity protests expected to intensify today, euro (€) sent tumbling on fears of economic situation spreading
New ash clouds from Icelandic volcano grounds flights in Ireland, Scotland
Shahzad charged with attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction, acts of terrorism transcending national boundaries, use of a destructive device in connection with criminal violence, transporting and receiving explosives, and damaging and destroying property by means of fire
Calm Gulf of Mexico weather aiding oil spill cleanup effort
Thai Red Shirts hold ground in Bangkok’s main market district, reject Prime Minister Vejjajiva’s offer of 14 November elections
Democratic, Republican negotiators work-out deal with “key” U.S. senators on financial regulation bill
Two large Iraqi Shi’a blocs agree to unify in parliament
Iraqi Presidential Council urges formation of new government
Tunisian woman fined for veiling as she entered an Italian mosque
Mumbai attacker found guilty, prosecution seeks death penalty
Indonesian Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati resigns post after appointment as managing director of the World Bank
Indian Supreme Court rules use of “truth serum” in interrogations is illegal, violates “fundamental rights”
Sri Lankan parliament relaxes some emergency rules
French parliament votes to return fifteen Maori warrior heads to New Zealand
Small bomb explodes outside police station in Lurgan, County Armagh, Northern Ireland
Honduran special commission assembled to probe last year’s military-backed overthrow of President Manuel Zelaya
Forty-nine dead across the American south from severe rains
British Marine Conservation Society study: fisherman in U.K. must work seven times harder to catch the same amount of fish caught 120 years ago
U.S Special Envoy to the Middle East George Mitchell returns to Israel, to attempt to restart stalled peace talks
NetApplications report: Microsoft’s Internet Explorer has fallen below 60% usage
Militants storm government buildings in southwest Afghan city of Nimroz

Current Events for Thursday, 6 May 2010

U.S. Senate overwhelmingly approves, 93-5, two amendments aimed at businesses “too big to fail”
Iran holds naval war games in Persian Gulf despite nuclear tensions
News media outlets stand corrected, no bomb found in abandoned truck on New York City’s Triborough Bridge
Thai government suggests parliament could be dissolved in September, Thai Red Shirts demand more clarity from most recent government offer
The Washington Post: U.S. formally asks Pakistan for assistance in investigating Shahzad
Britons begin voting in what many pollsters are already calling a photo finish
Nigerian President Umaru Yar’Adua dies, Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan sworn-in as president
U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) dancing line between sweeping broadband plan, heavy regulation on broadband providers
Somali pirates hijack Russian tanker, Russian Federation naval warship dispatched, Russian special forces storm tanker and free crew
National Basketball Association’ (NBA) Phoenix Suns to wear “Los Suns” jerseys in tonight’s playoff match against San Antonio in show of support of Arizona’s Latino community
U.S. President Obama meets with Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit judge Diane Wood, U.S. Senators Orin Hatch (R., UT) and Jon Kyl (R., AZ)
Egyptian Christian groups bring lawsuit over “offensivea” novel
Powerful Democrat U.S. Representative David Obey (WI) will not seek reelection in November’s elections
U.S. House of Representatives (House) passes trade bill intended to assist the Haitian economy
U.N. Security Council (UNSECO) backs plan to make Middle East “nuclear-free zone”
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen: although missile defense shield high, it is a small price to pay for security
Pablo Picasso’s “Nude, Green Leaves and Bust” sets record price for a single piece of art: $106.5 million
Bosnian appeals court overturns conviction of Milos Stupar, six others for their involvement in 1995 Srebrenica massacre on lack of evidence
Greek anti-austerity protests turn violent, three Athenians killed
BP’s “dome” on its way to the Gulf of Mexico
Japan reactivates Monju fast-breeding nuclear reactor for first time in fourteen years
U.S. mortgage giant Freddie Mac requests another $10.6 billion loan from the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP)
Facebook scrambles to fix security flaw that allowed anyone to follow anyone else’s chat
Russian Federation Regional President of Kalmykia Kirsan Ilyumzhinov tells of alien abduction in recent television interview
Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology researchers film wild bonobos shaking their heads “no” to indicate a negative response
Google confirms plans to open digital bookstore called Editions by the end of the year
Flagstaff, Tucson file suit against Arizona immigration law
Former Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Director Michael Brown asserts U.S. President Obama is using Gulf oil spill to put an end to off-shore drilling

Current Events for Friday, 7 May 2010

China’s warm reception for North Korean leader Kim Jong-il irks neighbors
U.S. intelligence experts see link between Shahzad, Pakistani Taliban
The Wall Street Journal: Goldman Sachs in settlement talks with U.S. Security and Exchange Commission (SEC)
U.S. nonfarm payrolls up in April, jobless claims steady
Greek parliament backs tough austerity bill
U.S. attends diplomatic dinner held by Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki
New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), Nasdaq cancel trades after possible trading error tanks values
After a nine-hour standoff with police, Greyhound bus passenger who claimed to have a bomb surrenders to Portsmouth, New Hampshire police
U.S. Senate refuses to split six largest U.S. banks
U.S. Vice-President Joseph “Joe” Biden (D.) urges E.U. to permit U.S. investigators access to European banking accounts, assures protection of privacy
Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi: African, Chinese economic interests “in step”
U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan rules detainee Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani must be present at the beginning of his civilian trial
U.S. Army: two people have died after blast at arsenal and missile test center in Alabama
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) urges united international pressure on Iran
FCC clarifies new Internet regulations, reclassifies Internet access versus content
Britons anxiously awaiting election results; primary numbers show Conservatives increasing by 4%, Labour losing 6.5%, and the Liberal Democrats increasing by almost 1%
Two soldiers, four militants die in Indian-administered Kashmir clash
Gulf of Mexico oil reaches Breton National Wildlife Refuge, Lousiana
Londonderry, England police confirm pipe bomb was left at election counting center
Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology study contradicts previous research, finds evidence of Homo sapien Neandertalensis in modern human deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)
Nigerien junta leaders vow elections by February 2011
Burmese junta dissolves Aung San Suu Kyi’s democracy party ahead of elections
Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) switches-on system to allow non-Latin web addresses
Nintendo reports fall in annual profits, slow Wii sales to blame
Hundreds of Afghans hit the streets in Kabul to protest against Iranian involvement in country’s future
Political analysts narrow-down U.S. President Obama’s top SCOTUS choices: U.S. Solicitor-General Elena Kagan, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit Judge Diane Wood, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Washington, D.C. Circuit Judge Merrick Garland, and U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit Judge Sidney Thomas
Bipartisan group of legislators introduce legislation to strip anyone found to be involved in terrorism of their U.S. citizenship
U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke: U.S. Federal Reserve not waiting for U.S. Congress reform
2010 National Day of Prayer may be last marked officially in U.S.