Current Events for the Week of 10 May 2010

Current Events for Monday, 10 May 2010

Afghan President Hamid Karzai to visit U.S. this week, hopes to mend ties with U.S. President Barack Obama (D.)
Kyodo news agency: Japanese government drops end-of-May deadline for U.S. base decision
Okinawan officials reject Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama’s proposal they accept U.S. military base
U.S. White House sources: U.S. President Obama to nominate moderate U.S. Solicitor-General Elena Kagan for Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) vacancy
“Shock-and-awe” $1 trillion European aid package agreed to for halting of euro (€) slide
At least nine killed, dozens wounded in morning drive-by attacks in Baghdad, Iraq
Mass grave believed to hold some 250 Kosovo Albanian bodies from 1998-99 war found in Serbia
Senior European Union (E.U.) official: Bolivia has right to nationalize major companies if those companies receive compensation
Man held at Karachi, Pakistan airport after electrical equipment discovered in his shoes
NYSE Euronext, Nasdaq OMX Group halt bickering, agree to cooperate with federal investigators to find-out what happened in last week’s stock plunge
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown meets with Liberal Democratic Party leader Nick Clegg
Internal Vatican fighting over sex abuse scandal intensifies, Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn of Vienna accuses former Vatican Secretary of State Italian Cardinal Angelo Sodano of cover-up
U.S. now convinced Pakistani Taliban behind failed Times Square bombing
E.U. finance ministers promise to protect Greek investments from international “wolfpack”
Russian Federation President Dmitry Medvedev offers North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) olive branch, NATO soldiers march in Red Square parade
Palestinian Authority (PA) claims indirect talks with Israel have begun
Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva renews calls for peaceful solution to two-month-long bipass with Red Shirts, as renewed violence in Bangkok kills twenty-nine
New York Staten Island ferry slams into dock, dozens hurt
Pakistani security officials: U.S. unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV, “drone”) attack kills nine Taliban militants in South Waziristan region
BP announces “dome” failure, looks at new plans as oil slick spreads west towards Texas coastline
At least thirty killed in two Siberian coal mine explosions, search for survivors underway
U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates: U.S. military spending out of control
One woman killed, five others injured when bomb exploded on a Dagetan, Russian Federation train station platform
U.S. Department of Agriculture: 40 million Americans receive food-stamp assistance
European air traffic agency Eurocontrol: new ash cloud forces rerouting of several flight paths
Filippino polls set to open for president, local elections after three months of hard campaigning
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell voices fears over upcoming Burmese poll’s fairness
7.4-magnitude earthquake hits near site of 2004 Aceh, Indonesia earthquake
German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s coalition loses key regional election, threatening upper-house majority
Tea Party Movement claims victory after U.S. Senator Bob Bennett (R., UT) comes-in third-place at Republican Party convention in Salt Lake City, Utah
Costa Rican President-elect Laura Chinchilla sworn-in as that nation’s first-ever female president
Nokia sues Apple claiming the iPad 3G and iPhone infringe on five of its patents
Two Egyptian peacekeepers killed by militants in Darfur
U.S. Department of State extends warning on travel to three more Mexican states over recent drug-related violence
U.S. Department of Labor: U.S. jobless rate rose to 9.9% in April, up from 9.7% in March
Mauritian opposition leader Paul Berenger accepts incumbent Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam has won parliamentary elections
U.S. Senators John Kerry (D., MA), Joseph “Joe” Lieberman (I., CT) to unveil climate change bill without support from key Republican architect U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R., SC)
U.S. Senate Republicans vow to continue so-called “secret holds” on fifty-three Obama administration nominees

Current Events for Tuesday, 11 May 2010

Fannie Mae posts $13.1 billion loss for quarter-one of 2010, asks for additional $8.4 billion in Troubles Assets Relief Program (TARP) money
Excitement over Eurozone’s $1 trillion bailout fades into doubt whether weakest economies can meet their end of the bargain, euro (€) again slips
Siberian coal mine deathtoll rises to forty-seven
U.S. congressional investigation set to grill oil executives over Gulf of Mexico rig explosion
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown to step-down by September
U.S. President Obama revives civilian nuclear deal with Russian Federation
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Mary Schapiro: major stock and option exchanges, brokerage industry watchdog Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) agree to boost market safeguards
Filippino presidential front-runner Senator Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino poised for decisive win in polls
Wave of Baghdad attacks kill over 100
Pakistani security forces clash with Taliban in Orakzai region, ten soliders and thirty militants killed
London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS): Iran ten years away from anti-American missile
U.S. Deputy Trade Representative Michael Punke: there is no “quick fix” for World Trade Organization (WTO) impasse
International Committee of the Red Cross and Red Crescent (ICRC): U.S. base in Bagram, Afghanistan houses secret U.S. jail distinct from main prison
At least five killed by Oklahoma tornadoes
Port-au-Prince police fire tear-gas into protesters demanding President René Préval resign
Former governor of Mexican state of Quintana Roo, Mario Ernesto Villanueva Madrid, arrives in New York for trial on drug trafficking, money laundering charges
Social networking site Twitter fixes flaw that could allow users to force followers
After week of intense rallies and riots, main Bolivian trade union calls for indefinite strikes
Thai Red Shirts accept electoral timetable, not to end protests until Thai Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaungsuban surrenders to police
South Korean Minister of Defense Kim Tae-young: explosive residue from torpedo found in wreckage of naval vessel sunk
Iran executes five accused Kurdish rebels
U.S. Attorney-General Eric Holder: U.S. Department of Justice may file suit against Arizona over immigration law

Current Events for Wednesday, 12 May 2010

Passenger plane crashes in Libya and kills 105 people, investigation underway
Siberian mine deathtoll hits sixty, thirty still missing
German cabinet backs $1 trillion eurozone bailout plan
U.S. SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro: no single event has been found to explain last Thursday’s market collapse
In political shock, Gordon Brown immediately steps-down as prime minister and Queen Elizabeth II asks Conservative Party leader David Cameron to form a government
U.S. Senator Kit Bond (R., MO) casts doubt on Obama administration belief Pakistani Taliban connected to Times Square plot
U.S. Department of State mulling whether or not to place Pakistani Taliban on list of “foreign terrorist” groups
Chilean judge orders Pakistani man held under anti-terrorism laws after trace explosives were found on him at U.S. embassy in Santiago
Iranian military claims to have “warned-off” U.S. reconaissance aircraft near military maneuvers
Roman Catholic Pope Benedict XVI: “Sin within the Church“ threat to Catholicism
Suspected U.S. drone attacks in Pakistan kill at least twenty-four
Afghan Hezb-i-Islami (HIA) rejects exile offer from President Hamid Karzai
German economy grew an unexpected 0.2% in the first-quarter of 2010
North Korea announces it has made “significant progress” towards development of thermo-nuclear power
Thai government threatens to take measures to “clear protesters’ camp” if they do not leave today
Six children, teacher hacked to death in latest Chinese school attack
Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero announces deep budget cuts as E.U. fears Greek contagion
Microsoft prepares launch of latest Office software meant to rival Google’s online office suite
Delaware Attorney-General Beau Biden (D.) suffers possible stroke
French parliament calls Islamic full-face veil an “affront to the nation’s values“
Pakistani Ambassador to Iran Mohammad Bakhsh Abbasi attacked by Afghan men in Tehran
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak issues decree renewing tough emergency laws
Darfur Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) rebels threaten to break ceasefire, launch “all-out war” after Sudan seeks arrest of their leader Khalil Ibrahim
Colombian presidential candidate Robinson Devia chains himself to Bogotá statute of national hero Simón Bolívar, launches hunger strike
University of North Carolina researchers begin human tests on reversible contraceptive for men using ultrasound
Internet Corporation for the Assignment of Names and Numbers (ICANN): estimates show remaining pool of Internet addresses available is shrinking faster than expected
The Carter Center questions Sudanese presidential poll results
Cross war memorial on Sunrise Rock in Mojave National Preserve stolen

Current Events for Thursday, 13 May 2010

Newly chosen British Prime Minister David Cameron holds first cabinet meeting, to focus on economy
European Commission seeks right of prior review of national budgets, wants say in future budgets
Media back-tracks, “infant” who survived crash in Libya ten years-old
Thai authorities shut roads surrounding Red Shirts
China, U.S. to resume human rights talks on hiatus for the last two years
Los Angeles City Council votes to ban future business with state of Arizona over immigration law
Arizona Governer Jan Brewer (R.) signs into law bill outlawing “ethnic studies”
BP coming-up with alternatives as oil leak seen as worsening
U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO): while urging the world to cut business ties with Iran, U.S. government has handed-out some $880 million in contracts to foreign companies that perform work for Iranian energy sector
U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., KY) seeks assurances of Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) nominee U.S. Solicitor-General Elana Kagan’s independence
Two-thousand Greeks march on parliament in Athens to protest austerity measures
U.S. Senate approves measure to include U.S. Federal Reserve audit as part of financial overhaul
Russian Federation officials: Russia may “lift veil” of nuclear secrecy after recent nuclear talks produced agreement with U.S.
Two Mexican fossils lead paleontologists to determine certain marine life lived beyond the Middle Cambrian Period, may have been part of the “Cambrian explosion”
Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan nominates Kuduna state governor Namadi Sambo to be his vice-president
Supporters of ousted Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev seize government offices in southern city of Osh
U.N. officials: Afghan poppy fungal infection has driven-up opium prices
Mobile maker HTC files patent lawsuit against Apple, urges U.S. regulators to ban iPhone sales
Roman Catholic Pope Benedict XVI visits shrine in Fatima, Portugal
British health experts warn anthrax-tainted heroin still on Scottish streets
U.S. trade deficit rises as economy begins to exit recession
Archaeologists unearth 114 new Terracotta Warriors at the Qin dynasty tomb complex in Xian, China
European Commission: Estonia may join euro (€) in January 2011
Fédération Internationale de Football Association (International Federation of Association Football, FIFA) bans El Salvador from international competition due to “political interference” by that nation’s government
Kazakhstan approves bill giving President Nursultan Nazarbayev more powers, names him “leader of the nation”
U.S. National Basketball Association (NBA) approves sale of New Jersey Nets to Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov
British Computer Society’s Chartered Institute for Information Technology study: technology enhances happiness
U.S. Senators John Kerry (D., MA), Joe Lieberman (I., CT) unveil “landmark” energy bill acknowledging climate change
U.S. senators question why Pakistani Taliban is not on “terror list”

Current Events for Friday, 14 May 2010

Thousands of Afghan villagers in Surkhrod protest eleven civilian deaths they say were caused by International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) soliders, protest turns violent and one protester killed
Thai security troops close-in on Red Shirts, shots heard fired, “renegade” Thai General Khattiya Sawasdipol shot in head
Foreign journalist shot during Bangkok clashes, condition unknown
Indonesian National Police Chief Bambang Hendarso Danuri: militants recently arrested were planning attacks on President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, American tourists
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to unveil latest budget cuts in projected $20 billion deficit
New York Police Department (NYPD) shuts Union Square for suspicious vehicle, reopened early this morning
Portuguese leaders agree to austerity measures, markets calm
In massive crime net, U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) arrests three, questions two others in-connection with Times Square plot
U.S. President Obama sends new Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT) to U.S. Senate for ratification, also asks for $80 billion in nuclear funding
Libya, Thailand among fourteen other nations elected as new members of U.N. Human Rights Council
Powerful bomb explodes outside Athenian prison, causes extensive damage and no injuries
U.S. Senator Arlen Specter (D., PA): U.S. Solicitor-General Kagan criticized SCOTUS in meeting
Venezuelan Energy Minister Rafael Ramirez: natural gas Aban Pearl rig has sunk in Caribbean Sea, no gas escaping, aged and faulty submarine rafts blamed
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warns U.S. over unilateral Iranian sanctions
U.S. President Obama expected to ask U.S. Congress to appropriate $200 million in military aid for Israel to install rocket defense system
Interim Kyrgyz government claims to have regained control of government offices in Osh
Southwestern Chinese Guizhou province mine explosion kills at least twenty-one
Sony shares drop seven percent on recent negative financial outlook
U.S. SEC investigating eight major American banks
Hawai’i legislature passes law permitting officials to ignore repetitive requests for U.S. President Obama’s birth certificate
Human Rights Watch: Israel illegally destroyed private property in 2008-2009 Gaza offensive
Search for twenty-four still missing after Siberian coal mine explosion is called-off on fears of new blasts
Nepalese sherpa effort to clean-up Mount Everest on hold for sixty-two miles-per-hour (mph) winds
The Pfleger Institute of Environmental Research, University of Massachusetts researchers capture video of thresher shark using large tail to stun prey
At least seven killed in Dagestan militant attack