TOP WORLD NEWS

JUNE 2006
 
NEW BETA 2 ENHANCEMENTS ARE BEING DEPLOYED. WORLD EVENTS SERVICE IS TEMPORARILY SUSPENDED. THE SERVICE WILL RESUME IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE DEPLOYMENT IS COMPLETED.

MAY 2006

26-May-06

Baghdad and Kirkuk, Iraq
A car bomb kills at least 9 people and injures 30 in Baghdad [1]; a roadside bomb kills an Iraqi police officer and injures 4 in Kirkuk [1,2].

Giro, Ghazni, Afghanistan
Fighting leaves at least 10 Talibans and 1 policeman dead in Afghanistan [1].

25-May-06

Mogadishu, Somalia
Fighting between Islamic Courts and Anti-Terrorism Alliance militias kills at least 12 people [1,2]; more than 140 have been killed in May-06 [1,3], and more than 250 since Feb-06 [3]. The Islamists are reportedly allied with al-Qaeda, the Alliance with the U.S. [3].

Sochi, Russia
Russia-European Union summit [1-3]. Key issues include energy security and visa requirements [2,3].

Houston, TX
 A federal jury finds former Enron Corp. founder and chairman Kenneth L. Lay and former chief executive Jeffrey K. Skilling guilty of conspiracy and fraud in connection Enron's collapse in 2001 [1].

New York, NY
MasterCard Inc. raises $2.4 billion in an initial public offering on the NYSE [1-3].

24-May-06

Tarin Kowt, Uruzgan, Afghanistan
Firefight kills at least 29 people, including 24 insurgents, 4 Afghan soldiers, and 1 Afghan police officer; a British C-130 Hercules plane catches fire while landing [1]. According to Army Brig. Gen. Carter F. Ham, NATO and Afghan national forces are expanding their reach, the Taliban are desperate and frustrated [3].

Baghdad and Latifiya, Iraq
Drive-by shootings and other violence kill 16 people, including a student and a university professor; insurgent bomb an oil pipeline in Latifya [1].

Houston, TX
 A federal judge approves a $6.6 billion settlement to be paid by banks to former Enron Corp. shareholders [1-2]: Canadian Imperial Bank of commerce, $2.4 billion [3]; JPMorgan Chase & Co., $2.2 billion [4]; Citigroup Inc., $2 billion [5].

Istanbul, Turkey
A massive fire breaks out at Istanbul's Ataturk International Airport [1-3]. Sabotage is ruled out; but the Kurdistan Freedom Falcons Organisation claims responsibility [4].

23-May-06

Baghdad, Iraq
A bomb targeting a Shia mosque in Baghdad kills at least 11 people; 2 car bombs kill 10 more [1].

Mosul, Baquba, Baghdad, and Kirkuk, Iraq
Gunmen kill 7 Iraqis and injure 8; 7 more are killed in other violence [1].

Internet
Osama bin Laden, in an audio tape message: Neither Zacarias Moussaoui nor the people held in Guantanamo Bay had any connection to Sept. 11 [1-2].

22-May-06

Washington, DC
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA): Personal data on up to 26.5 million veterans and some spouses was stolen [1].

Beijing, China
German Chancellor Angela Merkel visits with China's Prime Minister Wen Jinbao [1]. China and Germany reach consensus on the 4 billion euro maglev line linking Shanghai and Hangzhou [3,4]. Trade between Germany and China reached $63.2 billion in 2005 [1].

India
India's Bombay Stock Exchange crashes [1-5]: The Sensex falls 1,111.70 points, recovers 654 points, and closes at 10,481.77, with a loss of 456.84 points [1]. The Sensex lost 2,130.61 points, from its peak at 12,612.38 on 10-May-06 [6]. Brokers and investors loose billions of dollars; Indian police issue a suicide alert [2]. Some blame the heavy selling on pressure to meet margins; some suspect market manipulation -- an "international bear cartel out to destabilise" India's financial system --; others blame a circular issued by the Central Board of Direct Taxes [4,5].

21-May-06

Azizi and Hajiyan, Afghanistan
U.S.-led coalition planes bomb a village in Afghanistan, including a school, and kill up to 80 people [1-4]. The air strike kills 20 Talibans, and injures 15, including women and children [1]. More than 280 people have been killed in Afghanistan since 17-May-06 [2].

Baghdad, Iraq
Bomb attacks, including a suicide bomber attack targeting the police, kill at least 17 Iraqis and injure dozens [1].

Sher-e-Kashmir Park, Srinagar, Kashmir
2 suspected Islamic militants fire at a rally, in honor of former Indian prime minister Rajiv Gandhi [1-3]; at least 8 people are killed, including the militants, and 25 are injured [1-2].

Montenegro
 Montenegro votes for independence from Serbia in a referendum [1-2]. According to one Montenegrin, "This win will only benefit the ruling government who, I think, will try and create a private state that only serves the interest of themselves and their tycoon friends" [3].

20-May-06

Hubei, China
China completes the world's largest dam, the Three Gorges Dam [1]. The dam's power output is 49 billion kilowatt-hours; it cost $25 billion to build [2].

Baghdad, Iraq
 Iraq's parliament approves Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's government; however, the defense and interior ministry positions remain vacant [1-3]. U.S. officials are optimistic [5,6]; President George W. Bush: "The formation of a unity government in Iraq is a new day for the millions of Iraqis who want to live in peace. . . I fully understand that a free Iraq will be an important ally in the war on terror, will serve as a devastating defeat for the terrorists and al Qaeda, and will serve as an example for others in the region who desire to be free" [6]. But Iraqis are skeptical; according to an editorial, the new government includes “several of the inept, corrupt and thoroughly discredited leaders . . ."  [5,6].

Baghdad, Qaim, and Musayib, Iraq
 Bombs kill 24 people and injure 58 [1]. 15 bodies are found in Musayib [3].

Afghanistan
Violence in Afghanistan kills 34 people, including 2 French soldiers and 1 American soldier [1].

Gaza City, Gaza Strip
Israel assassinates Mohammed al-Dahdouh, a top commander of Islamic Jihad [1,2]; and kill a grandmother and a mother and her child [1]. Infighting continues between Hamas and Fatah [2,3].

19-May-06

Hubei, China
Li Yong'an, general manager of the Yangtze River Three Gorges Project Development Corporation, disputes "Western estimates" of the cost of the Three Gorges Dam -- the world's largest dam. Li Yong'an claims the project cost no more than $22.5 billion; Western news agencies put the cost at between $40 billion and $50 billion. [1]

18-May-06

China; Vietnam; Philippines; Taiwan; Japan
Typhoon Chanchu kills nearly 90 people [1], including at least 23 people in China [2]. Nearly 200 Vietnamese fishermen are missing [1].

U.S.; China
 China is accused of stealing US military and scientific intelligence: Ko-Suen Moo, a Taiwanese, has reportedly pleaded guilty to spying for China [1]. China claims the spying allegation is "totally fictitious" [2]. A CTV report estimates the number of Chinese agents and informants operating in Canada at about 1,000 [4].

17-May-06

New York, NY; London, UK; Paris, France; Frankfurt am Main, Germany; Tokyo, Japan; and Hong Kong, China
 All global stock prices tumble [5-14]. Consumer prices, especially energy prices and shelter costs, increased in Apr-06 [1-3]; the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) raised its target for the federal funds rate to 5% on 10-May-06 [4].
 DJIA down 214.28 to 11,205.61 [5].
NYSE Composite down 188.19 to 8,199.38 [6].
NASDAQ Composite down 33.33 to 2,195.80 [7].
 FTSE 100 down 170.70 to 5,675.50 [8].
CAC 40 down 161.38 to 4,920.31 [9].
DAX down 199.20 to 5,652.72 [10].
NIKKEI 225 down 220.49 to 16,087.18 (18-May-06) [11].
Hang Seng down 349.03 to 16,266.52 [12].

Helmand and Kandahar, Afghanistan
Taliban insurgents attack provincial government offices and police stations [3] in Helmand and Kandahar; More than 100 people are killed, including at least 15 Afghan policemen [1,2], a Canadian woman soldier, and a US contractor [4,5].

Ankara, Turkey
 A lawyer shoots 5 judges in the Council of State in Ankara and kills Judge Mustafa Yucel Ozbilgin; one of the judges ruled against teachers wearing Muslim head scarves [1,4].

Nazran, Ingushetia, Russia
Suicide bombing kills at least 7 people, including Dzhabrail Kostoyev, the deputy interior minister of Ingushetia [1-2].

16-May-06

Baghdad, Iraq
Violence kills at least 27 Iraqis; roadside bombs kill 3 U.S. soldiers over 2 days [1].

15-May-06

Washington, DC
 President George W. Bush plans to send an additional 6,000 National Guard troops to the U.S.-Mexico border by yearend 2008, and says he favors a path to citizenship for some illegal immigrants with roots in the U.S. [1-3]. Mexican President Vicente Fox opposes a "militarized" border [4]. The U.S.-Mexico border is 3,200 kilometers long [4].

Washington, DC; Tripoli, Libya
 The United States is restoring full diplomatic relations with Libya [1]. Secretary Condoleezza Rice: "We are taking these actions in recognition of Libya's continued commitment to its renunciation of terrorism and the excellent cooperation Libya has provided to the United States and other members of the international community in response to common global threats faced by the civilized world since September 11, 2001" [1]. American oil companies and aircraft manufacturers stand to benefit from renewed relations [2].

14-May-06

Baghdad, Mosul, Kirkuk, Basra, and Karbala, Iraq
A double suicide attack, roadside bombs, and other violence targeting the police and the convoy of Iraq's Foreign Minister kill 34 people; the death toll includes 2 British and 2 U.S. troops. [1]

13-May-06

Bali, Indonesia
 President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's nuclear technology program gets the support of Indonesia, Pakistan, Nigeria, Turkey, Malaysia, Egypt, and Bangladesh at the D-8 summit [6].

Iraq
Iraq violence kills 9 people; roadside bomb kills one U.S. soldier [1]. 93 journalists have been killed since the start of the war in Iraq; 5 in the first 10 days of May-06 [2].

13-May-06 - 14-May-06
Sao Paolo, Osasco, Guarulhos, Carapicuiba, Cubatao, and Guaruja, Brazil
Riots in jails and attacks against the police, the fire department, public transportation, and banks in Brazil kill more than 80 people, including 39 security personnel [1]; over 174 people are taken hostage [2]. The First Command of the Capital (PCC) gang is behind the attacks [1-3].

12-May-06

Inagbe, Nigeria
Oil pipeline explosion in Nigeria kills about 200 people [1-5]. The explosion resulted from "bunkering" or oil theft by mostly poor people [2].

New York, NY; London, UK; Paris, France; Frankfurt am Main, Germany; Tokyo, Japan; Hong Kong and Shanghai, China
 Except for the Shanghai Composite, all global stock prices plummet [1-2,12].
DJIA down 119.74 to 11,380.99 [3].
NYSE Composite down 115.48 to 8,411.26 [4].
NASDAQ Composite down 28.92 to 2,243.78 [5].
 FTSE 100 down 129.90 to 5,912.10 [6].
CAC 40 down 112.49 to 5,150.45 [7].
DAX down 138.44 to 5,916.28 [8].
NIKKEI 225 down 260.36 to 16,601.78 [9].
Hang Seng down 238.93 to 16,901.85 [10].
Shanghai Composite up 65.45 to 1,602.83 [11]

11-May-06

Washington, DC
 The House of Representatives approves $512.9 billion for Defense in FY2007 [1-3].

Washington, DC
 The Senate passes the Tax Relief Act of 2005 (H.R. 4297) [1]. The $69 billion tax relief benefits mostly the rich [2].

New York, NY; London, UK; Paris, France; Frankfurt am Main, Germany; Tokyo, Japan; Hong Kong and Shanghai, China
 Except for the Hang Seng, all global stock prices plummet [1-2,12].
DJIA down 141.92 to 11,500.73 [3].
NYSE Composite down 104.85 to 8,526.74 [4].
NASDAQ Composite down 48.04 to 2,272.7 [5].
FTSE 100 down 41.40 to 6,042.00 [6].
CAC 40 down 15.33 to 5,262.94 [7].
DAX down 63.66 to 6,054.72 [8].
NIKKEI 225 down 89.79 to 16,862.14 [9].
Hang Seng up 60.19 to 17,140.78 [10].
Shanghai Composite down 8.31 to 1,537.38 [11]

Jakarta, Indonesia
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad tells students in Jakarta: "Israel a regime based on evil that cannot continue and one day will vanish" [1].

Sri Lanka
 A naval battle kills at least 50 Tamil Tiger rebels after rebels sink a navy patrol boat; 17 Sri Lankan sailors are missing [1].

10-May-06

Jakarta, Indonesia; Iran
 Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad accuses the West of hypocrisy and "big powers" of monopolizing science and technology at the expense of developing nations [1-3].

Washington, DC
The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) raises its target for the federal funds rate by 25 basis points to 5%; the Board of Governors also increases the discount rate 25 basis points to 6% [1]. FOMC: "The Committee judges that some further policy firming may yet be needed to address inflation risks but emphasizes that the extent and timing of any such firming will depend importantly on the evolution of the economic outlook as implied by incoming information" [1].

Mogadishu, Somalia
At least 94 people are killed in 4 days of fighting between Islamic Court Union fighters and U.S.-backed Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counterterrorism militia [1].

Washington, DC
The U.S. Department of Treasury avoids labeling China a "currency manipulator" [1]. The Treasury's "backdown" on China's currency angers U.S. legislators [4-6]. Treasury Secretary John W. Snow: "China is engaged in an historic transformation to a market system. To achieve the requisite economic rebalancing, China must make its currency regime more flexible, strengthen consumption and modernize its financial system – the three pillars of our policy engagement. . . It is important for China to understand that its exchange rate regime is not simply a bilateral US-China issue, but a multilateral issue. Chinese exchange rate practices affect the entire world. . . The IMF must take this mandate for leadership by encouraging real reform in the Chinese currency regime" [1].

Washington, U.S
 Article in USA Today reveals that the National Security Agency (NSA) has been building a massive database of phone call records using data provided by AT&T, Verizon, and BellSouth (Qwest has refused to participate in the NSA call-tracking program) [1]. The phone companies claim they act in strict accordance with the law [1]. The NSA refused to grant security clearance to lawyers of the Justice Department's Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR); the Justice Department's inquiry into domestic spying is killed [4].

9-May-06

New York, NY
Gold surges to $708.3 per ounce and platinum to $1,235.50 per ounce, betraying geopolitical instability [1-2].

Tal Afar, Iraq
 Suicide car bomb kills at least 17 people and injures at least 35 in Tal Afar [1-2]. Other violence killed another 24 people; 17 bodies are also found [1].

8-May-06

Washington, DC
President George W. Bush nominates General Michael Hayden, former head of the National Security Agency (NSA), as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) [1]. Anthony D. Romero, ACLU Executive Director: "Hayden's approval of warrantless surveillance on Americans raises serious questions about whether the CIA would be further unleashed on the American public. It was under General Hayden's watch that the NSA started to wiretap Americans, without court or Congress' approval, even though the FISA Court acts quickly to review requests for intelligence investigations" [6].

Iraq
Violence, including an attack on a court in Baghdad, kills more than 30 people. including a U.S. soldier [1].

Tehran, Iran; Washington, DC
Letter from Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to US President George W. Bush: "Can one be a follower of Jesus Christ (PBUH), the great Messenger of God, feel obliged to respect human rights, present liberalism as a civilization model, announce one’s opposition to the proliferation of nuclear weapons and WMDs, make 'War on Terror' his slogan, and finally, work towards the establishment of a unified international community – a community which Christ and the virtuous of the Earth will one day govern, but at the same time, have countries attacked. . .
"Or because of the possibility of the existence of WMDs in one country, it is occupied, around one hundred thousand people killed, its water sources, agriculture and industry destroyed, close to 180,000 foreign troops put on the ground, sanctity of private homes of citizens broken, and the country pushed back perhaps fifty years. At what price?" [1]

7-May-06

Al Adhamiya. Karbala, and Baghdad, Iraq
A series of car bombings kill 30 people and injure over 70 in Al Adhamiya. Karbala, and Baghdad [1]; 42 dead bodies are also found in Baghdad [1-2].

Charlotte, NC; Oakland, CA
Wachovia Corporation to acquire the Golden West Financial Corporation for about $26 billion in cash and stock [1]. The combined company will have assets of $669 billion and a market capitalization of $117 billion [1].

6-May-06

Kunar, Afghanistan
 A US CH-47 Chinook helicopter crashes in Afghanistan; all 10 soldiers on board are killed [1-2]. The Taliban claim they shot the helicopter down [1].

Basra, Iraq
A British military helicopter crashes in Basra as a result of a missile attack [1-2]. 4 British soldiers are killed [3]. 2 British military tanks are also set on fire [4].

Hyderabad, India
 Thousands of people in Hyderabad protest against the Asian Development Bank for increasing poverty in India [1]. See 5-May-06.

5-May-06

Washington, DC
Director Porter Goss offers to step aside as the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) [1-2]; President George W. Bush accepts Goss' resignation [2]. A report in The Washington Post suggests Goss was "forced out" [3].

Hyderabad, India
 39th Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) [1]. Haruhiko Kuroda, President of the Asian Development Bank: "If economic growth remains strong and its benefits are more widely shared, we can now envision our region approaching eradication of extreme poverty in the not-too-distant future. . . nearly 1.9 billion people in the region are poor, living on less than $2 a day. As the region grows more prosperous, the widening gap between rich and poor becomes less tolerable to all of us. We all agree that more must be done to include the poor in the region’s plans for growth" [2].

Abuja, Nigeria; Sudan
Minni Arcua Minnawi, leader of the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA), agrees to sign a peace agreement with the Sudanese government [1]. Many refugees are skeptical [2].

4-May-06

Vatican City
The Vatican excommunicates two bishops, Bishop Joseph Liu Xinhong of Anhui and Bishop Joseph Ma Yinglin of Kunming; the bishops were installed by the government-controlled Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association, without the Vatican's approval [1-3].

Baghdad and Ramadi, Iraq
 A bomb outside a courthouse in Baghdad kills at 10 Iraqis and injures 52 [1]. A roadside bomb kills 2 U.S. soldiers [1,2]. U.S. air strike kills at least 13 civilians in Ramadi [2,3].

Doha, Qatar
An article by Ahmed Janabi in Aljazeera.net explores the possible motives behind the war on Iraq in 2003: (1) Oil theft; (2) huge profits for oil companies (production-sharing agreements); (3) oil supply for Israel's benefit (Israel-United States Memorandum of Understanding of 1-Sep-1975; war planned by pro-Israel neocons); (4) Control of oil flow to India and China. [1]

3-May-06

Black Sea
An Armavia Airbus A320 crashes into the Black Sea killing 113 people [1-2].

Baghdad and Falluja, Iraq
Sectarian killings: 37 bodies are found in Baghdad [1]. A suicide bomber targets a police recruitment center in Falluja and kills at least 17 people [1,2]. Coalition forces kill 10 insurgents [3].

Jakarta, Indonesia
Some 40,000 workers protest in Jakarta against newly proposed labor laws favoring investors [1].

Alexandria, VA
A federal court jury decides to imprison Zacarias Moussaoui for life without possibility of release for his role in the 11-Sep-01 attack [1-7]. Moussaoui: "America, you lost! . . . I won" [2-3].

Tonga
A magnitude 7.9 earthquake hits Tonga [1]: No reports of injury or major damage [2-3].

2-May-06

Ramadi, Iraq
A suicide bomber targets governor of al-Anbar province in Ramadi and kills 10 people [1]. The attack follows a week of fighting in which U.S. and Iraqi forces killed 100 insurgents [2].

Black Sea
An Armavia Airbus A320 crashes into the Black Sea killing 113 people [1-2].

1-May-06

Los Angeles, CA; Chicago, IL; New York, NY; New Orleans, LA
"Day Without Immigrants": Between 500,000 and 600,000 people in Los Angeles and about 400,000 people in Chicago stage a boycott day and demand legal status for undocumented immigrants [1-3].

Europe; Indonesia
May Day rallies: More than a million people demonstrate across Europe [1]. About 30,000 Indonesian workers protest in Jakarta against newly proposed labor laws favoring investors [3].

Washington, DC
The Trustees of the Social Security and Medicare trust funds estimate that the Social Security trust fund and the Medicare Hospital Insurance trust fund will be exhausted in 2040 and 2018, respectively [1]. Key Projection of the Trustees: In 2005, the estimated number of workers per beneficiary was about 3.3 workers per OASDI beneficiary; by 2030, the projected ratio of workers to beneficiaries will be 2.2 [4]. Major conclusion of the Trustees: "Over the 75-year period, the Trust Funds require additional revenue equivalent to $4.6 trillion in today’s dollars to pay all scheduled benefits" [2,4].

Bolivia
 President Evo Morales announces the nationalization of Bolivia's energy industry [1].

APRIL 2006

30-Apr-06

Washington, DC
 Thousands of protesters call for the US to help stop "genocide" in Darfur [1-2].

Welikada, Sri Lanka
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealam (LTTE) attack a rival group; at least 28 rebels are killed and 50 are injured [1].

Doda and Udhampur,  Kashmir
Suspected separatists kill at least 26 Hindu villagers in Kashmir [1-2]. Insurgency in Kashmir killed at least 44,000 people since 1989 [2].

Sudan
 The Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) refuse to sign a draft Darfur peace agreement [1].

29-Apr-06

Boston, MA
 Dr. John Kenneth Galbraith, 97, dies in Cambridge, MA [1-4]. Dr. Galbraith was born in Ontario, Canada; he was Paul M. Warburg Professor of Economics Emeritus at Harvard University; he served as U.S. Ambassador to India from 1961 to 1963 [1].

Yanan, Shaanxi, China
An explosion at the Wayaobao Township Coal Mine kills 30 miners; 2 are missing [1].

Dantewada, Chattisgarh, India
Suspected Maoist rebels (Naxalites) kill 13 of 52 abducted villagers in Chattisgarh in 2 days [1].

Pakistan
Pakistan successfully test-fires the surface-to-surface Hatf VI (Shaheen II) missile; the missile is capable of delivering a nuclear weapon within a potential range of 2,500 km [1].

28-Apr-06

Internet
 Ayman al-Zawahri calls for toppling Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, whom he calls a "bribe-taking treacherous criminal," and says "Al Qaeda in Iraq alone has carried out 800 martyrdom operations . . . And this is what has broken the back of America in Iraq,"  [1-3].

Washington, DC
 The U.S. Department of State releases Country Reports on Terrorism 2005: Approximately 11,000 terrorist attacks occurred in 2005; over 14,600 people were killed; 24,705 were injured [1]. Key conclusion of the Report: "Overall, we are still in the first phase of a potentially long war" [1]. The term "terrorism" means premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against non-combatant targets by subnational groups or clandestine agents" (Section 2656f(d) of Title 22 of the United States Code) [2].

Kenya; China
 Presidents Hu Jintao of China and Mwai Kibaki of Kenya sign an oil exploration agreement [1-2].

Seoul, Korea
 Hyundai Automotive Group chairman Chung Mong-Koo is arrested on charges of embezzlement and breach of trust [1-3]. The chairman denies the charges [2].

27-Apr-06

Irving, TX
 Exxon Mobil Corporation reports a record profit of $8.4 billion in 2006Q1, up $540 million (6.87%) from 2005Q1 [1]. Total revenues in 2006Q1 are $88.980 billion, up from $82.051 billion in 2005Q1 [1].

Beijing, China
The People's Bank of China raises the benchmark interest rate of RMB loans with a maturity of one year 27 basis points to 5.85% [1-4]. The last increase occurred in Oct-04 [2]. China has the world's largest currency reserves: $875.1 billion [3]. Bad loans at Chinese banks: 1.31 trillion yuan [3].

Washington, DC
The Federal Reserve signals a pause in its rate increases [1-2]. Chairman Ben S. Bernanke: " . . . even if in the Committee's judgment the risks to its objectives are not entirely balanced, at some point in the future the Committee may decide to take no action at one or more meetings in the interest of allowing more time to receive information relevant to the outlook" [1]. Chairman Bernanke also warns: " . . . the cumulative effect of years of current account deficits have caused the United States to switch from being an international creditor to an international debtor, with a net foreign debt position of more than $3 trillion, roughly 25 percent of a year's GDP. This trend cannot continue forever, as it would imply an ever-growing interest burden owed to foreign creditors" [1].

New York, NY
 Construction of the Freedom Tower at ground zero in New York is officially started [1] -- 1 day after an agreement is reached between Larry Silverstein and The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey [2], and 1,689 days after the attack on the World Trade Center (WTC) on 11-Sep-01. However, not every New Yorker is celebrating [2]. Bill Weinberg: "The WTC helped transform New York from a working-class city of neighborhoods and industry to a sterile administrative clearinghouse for global finance and a culturally-cleansed playground for the rich" [4].

Baghdad and Nasiriyah, Iraq
 Gunmen in Baghdad kill a sister of Iraq's Sunni Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi [1-3]. A roadside bomb in Nasiriyah kills 4 soldiers, 3 from Italy, 1 from Romania [2].
 

26-Apr-06

China; Nigeria
 President Hu Jintao and President Olusegun Obasanjo sign a memorandum on petroleum cooperation [1-4]. China to invest $4 billion in Nigeria's oil infrastructure [1-2,4]. President Olusegun Obasanjo welcomes China as an alternative to the West as the trade relationship with the West "is essentially colonial" [1]. The U.S. is concerned about "China's growing clout" [4].

25-Apr-06

Colombo, Sri Lanka
A Tamil Tiger female suicide bomber targets Sri Lanka's army commander Sarath Fonseka [1-3]; 9 people are killed and 27 are injured, including the commander [1]. Death toll from violence in Sri Lanka: At least 83 people, including 43 troops or police, in Apr-06 [3]; more than 64,000 from the mid-1980s to Feb-02 [1]. Sri Lanka's air force launch an air strike against the LTTE [4].

Internet
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, in an Internet video: "By God, America will be defeated in Iraq" [1-2].

Israel; Svobodni, Russia
Israel launches from Russia the Eros B satellite to spy on Iran [1-3].

London, UK
Researchers accuse the World Bank of "promulgating false epidemiological statistics" and "using untransparent and contradictory accounting" in its Roll Back Malaria campaign [1].

24-Apr-06

Dahab, Sinai Peninsula, Egypt
3 explosions in Dahab in the Sinai peninsula kill 22 people and injure 150 [1].

Baghdad, Iraq
A series of 7 car bomb attacks kills 15 people and injures 100 in Baghdad [1]; 17 bodies are found [3].

Kathmandu, Nepal
 King Gyanendra bows to his people's demand: He reinstates parliament [1-3]. The people celebrate victory; Maoist rebels reject the king's concession [2.3].

New York, NY
 Grand Rabbi Moses Teitelbaum of the ultra-orthodox Satmar sect of Hasidic Jews is dead [1-4]; 2 of his sons, Rabbi Zalmen and Rabi Aaron, are fighting over control of "a $500 million religious empire" [1]. The Satmars oppose Zionism and the State of Israel [4-5].

23-Apr-06

Doha, Qatar
 Osama bin Laden accuses the West of waging a "crusader war" against Islam -- a "Zionist crusader war against Muslims." He calls on mujahidin "to prepare for long war against the crusader plunderers in Western Sudan." The bin Laden audio tape was aired on Aljazeera. [1]

Washington, DC
 2006 Spring Meetings -- International Monetary Fund and World Bank Group [1]: The IMF is not responding quickly enough to economic crises; emerging economies and poor countries are inadequately represented [2,5]. The IMF’s policy-setting committee plans to increase the voting stakes of 5 countries: China, Mexico, Singapore, South Korea, Turkey [5]. According to John Williamson of the Institute for International Economics, the reduction in the imbalances at the IMF and the IMF's new multilateral approach risk "diminishing the role of the G-7" [6].

Iraq
 Insurgent attacks in Iraq kill at least 11 Iraqis and 3 U.S. soldiers [1].

Hungary
Hungary's Socialist Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany wins a second term [1-4]. Gyurcsany is a millionaire businessman [1,3]. Key issues in Hungary include: high budget deficit; joining the eurozone [3].

22-Apr-06

Shah Wali Kot, Kandahar, Afghanistan
 Roadside bomb explosion kills 4 Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan [1-3]. Canada has 2,300 troops in Afghanistan [1]. The Canadian death toll in Afghanistan since 2002 is 15 soldiers and 1 senior diplomat [1,3].

Iraq
 5 Multinational Division Baghdad (MNDB) soldiers died in Iraq [1].

21-Apr-06

Kathmandu, Nepal
Hundreds of thousands of protesters in Kathmandu demand that King Gyanendra restore democracy [1-2]. The king renounces absolute power [2-3]. At least 14 protesters are killed in 2 weeks [2].

Dearborn, MI
The Ford Motor Company reports a net loss of $1.2 billion for 2006Q1 [1].

Rio Grande City, TX
Merck loses the third of 5 Vioxx lawsuits involving juries [1]. Merck is the subject of 11,500 product-liability lawsuits over Vioxx [1-2]. Merck shares fall 1.6% [3]. Merck to appeal the verdict [4].

New Haven, CT
China's President Hu Jintao concludes his visit to the United States with a speech at Yale University [1]. More than 1,000 people protest against China's human rights records. [1] Yale has 300 Chinese students [2]. Yale is the first university to be granted access to China's securities market [2].

20-Apr-06

Washington, DC
 President George W. Bush and Chinese President Hu Jintao hold talks [1-5]. Key U.S.-China issues include: Competition for energy resources; China's currency; U.S. trade deficit; theft of intellectual property; and human rights [5]. The U.S. trade deficit with China in 2005 was $202 billion [4-5]. President Bush: "China has become successful because the Chinese people are experienc[e] the freedom to buy, and to sell, and to produce -- and China can grow even more successful by allowing the Chinese people the freedom to assemble, to speak freely, and to worship" [1].

Kathmandu, Nepal
 Tens of thousands of Nepalis protest against King Gyanendra. Nepalese security forces kill 3 people; 37 are injured. [1]

Washington, DC
The 2007 budget for the U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) and its 16 agencies is estimated at about 1 billion U.S. dollars [1].

Il'pyrskiy, Kamchatka, Russia
A series of earthquakes in Kamchatka, including a 7.8-magnitude quake, injure 31 people [1].

19-Apr-06

Seattle, WA
Chinese President Hu Jintao meets with Microsoft founder Bill Gates [1-2]. Bill Gates, in his welcoming remarks at luncheon honoring Hu Jintao: "As you have stated Mr. President, science and technology are the most important drivers of productivity, economic and social development. You have said that developments in technology are giving rise to a new round of industrial revolution. We agree with you." [1]

18-Apr-06

Washington, DC
The Federal Reserve Board and the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) release the minutes of the Committee meeting held on 27-28-Mar-06 [1-2]. FOMC domestic policy directive: "The Federal Open Market Committee seeks monetary and financial conditions that will foster price stability and promote sustainable growth in output. To further its long-run objectives, the Committee in the immediate future seeks conditions in reserve markets consistent with increasing the federal funds rate to an average of around 4¾ percent" [2].

New York, NY; Tokyo, Japan
 U.S. stock market indices soar [1,5].
DJIA up 194.99 to 11,268.77 [1].
NYSE Composite up 147.29 to 8,389.44 [2].
NASDAQ Composite up 44.98 to 2,356.14 [3].
 NIKKEI 225 up 232.50 to 17,232.86 [4].

New York, NY; London, UK
 Oil prices soar to record highs [1-4]. Iran's nuclear program and crude oil supply disruptions in Nigeria are blamed. [1]

17-Apr-06

Tel Aviv, Israel
A Palestinian suicide bomber kills at least 9 people, including himself, and injures 50 in Tel Aviv [1]; Palestinians had vowed to avenge 18 Palestinians killed by the Israeli military in the Gaza Strip [2].

Doha, Qatar
Qatar to give $50 million to the Palestinian government after the EU and the US withdrew their financial assistance [1-3]. Israel is withholding about $50 million in monthly Palestinian tax revenues [1].

New York, NY; London, UK
U.S.-Iran tension is up; oil prices soar beyond $70 per barrel [1-3].

Veracruz, Mexico
Bus crash kills at least 67 people in Mexico [1].

Romania; Serbia; Bulgaria; Hungary
Tens of thousands of people flee record flooding caused by the Danube in Romania, Serbia, Bulgaria and Hungary [1-3].

Sri Lanka
Suspected Tamil Tiger rebels attack kills at least 5 soldiers and injures 7 [1]. At least 65 people have been killed in the past 10 days [3].

16-Apr-06

Beijing , China
China's gross domestic product (GDP) expanded by 10.2% in 2006Q1 and 9.9% in 2005 [1].

Tehran, Iran
Iran pledges $50 million in aid to the Palestinian Authority after the US and the European Union decided to suspend their aid [1]. The Palestinian Authority is plagued with $1.7 billion in debts [1]. Hamas refuses to recognize Israel [3].

Mahmudiya, Baquba, and Baghdad, Iraq
2 car bombs and other attacks kill at least 24 people in Iraq [1]. 7 former U.S. generals have urged Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to resign [2].

15-Apr-06

Iraq
Insurgent attacks kill at least 8 Iraqis [1].

14-Apr-06

Srinagar and Dalgate, Indian Kashmir
Grenade attacks kill 5 people and injure at least 18 in Srinagar [1].

Baquba, Iraq
Bombs near 2 Sunni mosques in Baquba kill 4 people and injure 5 [1].

13-Apr-06

N'Djamena, Chad
 Rebel assault on N'Djamena kills 350 people [1]. France supports President Idriss Deby with 1,350 troops; Deby's government is accused of corruption [3].

Basra, Iraq
 7 employees of a construction company are killed in Basra [1]. Policemen are ambushed near Baghdad; 2 policemen are killed [1]. Sectarian violence has forced 65,000 Iraqis to flee [2].

12-Apr-06

Baquba, Tal Afar, and Baghdad, Iraq
2 car bombs kill at least 48 people in Baquba; a car bomb in Tal Afar kills 3 people; a roadside bomb in Baghdad kills 4 people, including 1 policeman [1].

Trincomalee, Sri Lanka
Bomb blast kills at least 14 people and injures more than 40 in Sri Lanka; 2 policemen are also killed [1]. Tamil Tiger rebels are blamed [1-2].

11-Apr-06

Karachi, Pakistan
Bomb explosion kills at least 55 people and injures about 100 at a religious gathering organized by Jamat Ahl-e-Sunnat in Karachi [1,2].

Tehran, Iran
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says Iran has joined the world's nuclear countries [1]. Iran has successfully produced enriched uranium at the 3.5% level using a 164-unit centrifuge chain [4,6]. A 90% enrichment level is needed for nuclear bombs [6].

Italy
Centre-left leader Romano Prodi declares victory in Italy's parliamentary elections [1]. However, the victory over Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's centre-right bloc is very narrow [2] (49.8% of the vote v. 49.7%) [3-4].

New York, NY; London, UK
Nasdaq Stock Market Inc. buys 14.99% of London Stock Exchange plc for 447.7 million pounds ($781.7 million) [1,2].

10-Apr-06

Paris, France
 French President Jacques Chirac scraps the First Employment Contract (CPE): students and labor unions win; Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin loses [1-4].
See 18-Mat-06, 28-Mar-06, 4-Apr-06.

Atlanta, GA; Charlotte, NC; Houston, El Paso and Austin, TX
 Massive rallies around the U.S. in favor of immigration reform [1]

Paris, France
 The Arab Committee for Human Rights (ACHR), an International NGO in special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations, has called for protecting Iraqi academics. About one thousand Iraqi academics have been assassinated (105 cases have been documented). The "assassination policy" targeting Iraqi scientists and scholars serves "a network of foreign interests," including especially Israeli interests. [1]

9-Apr-06

Karachi, Pakistan
Stampede in Karachi kills at least 30 women and children [1]; 70 are injured [2-3].

AL; CA; IA; ID; IL; MI; NM; OR; TX; UT
 Hundreds of thousands of people rally in 10 states in favor of immigrant rights: 500,000 in Dallas; 50,000 in San Diego; 20,000 in Salt Lake City [1].

New York, NY
A report in the New Yorker by Seymour Hersh claims the U.S. is drawing up plans to attack Iran's nuclear facilities; military options include "the use of a bunker-buster tactical nuclear weapon, such as the B61-11" [1]. President George W. Bush describes such report as "just wild speculation" [2].

Iraq
American troops kill 8 anti-US fighters near Baghdad [1].

8-Apr-06

Kathmandu, Taulihawa, and Butwal, Nepal
Police halt a pro-democracy anti-monarchy demonstration in Kathmandu; Maoist rebels attack security bases in Taulihawa and Butwal [1]. At least 19 people are reportedly killed [3].

Musayyib, Iraq
A car bomb kills at least 6 people and injures 21 in Musayyib [1].

New York, NY
JPMorgan Chase & Co. to swap its corporate trust business for The Bank of New York Company's consumer, small-business and middle-market banking businesses [1-2]; the transaction is valued at about $3.1 billion [2,3].

7-Apr-06

Baghdad, Iraq
3 suicide bombers, including a woman, target the Buratha Shia mosque in Baghdad, kill at least 74 people, and injure 136 [1,2].

Doda, Pakistan
 Bus accident kills more than 50 people in Pakistan [1].

Rafah, Gaza Strip
Israeli forces kill 6 Palestinians, including a commander of the Popular Resistance Committee and his daughter [1].

6-Apr-06

Najaf, Iraq
A car bomb near the Shia Imam Ali shrine in Najaf kills at least 13 people and injures about 40 [1].

Djibouti
Boat capsizes off the coast of Djibouti killing at least 72 people [1].

Washington, DC
A new translation of the Gnostic Gospel of Judas claims Jesus told Judas " . . . you will exceed all of them. For you will sacrifice the man that clothes me . . . you will be cursed by the other generations — and you will come to rule over them" [1].

London, UK
 Greenpeace accuses McDonald's of destroying the Amazon rainforest [1,2-3].

5-Apr-06

Atlantic City, NJ
New Jersey court orders Merck to pay $4.5 million in damages in Vioxx case [1-2]; but rejects a claim by another plaintiff [1-3]. Merck & Co, shares fall in Germany [4].

4-Apr-06

France
 Up to 3 million people demonstrate across France against the First Employment Contract (CPE) [1-3]; violence and vandalism is reported [3]. Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin remains defiant [3].

Iraq
9 U.S. troops are killed in Iraq [1].

3-Apr-06

Detroit, MI; New York, NY
 General Motors Corp. to sell a 51% controlling interest in General Motors Acceptance Corp. (GMAC) to a consortium led by Cerberus Capital Management, LP, and including Citigroup Inc., and Aozora Bank Ltd., for approximately $14 billion [1].
See 23-Mar-06.

Canberra, Australia; China
 Australia and China sign nuclear safeguards and uranium exports agreements [1-3].

DE
 U.S. Air Force C-5 Galaxy cargo jet crashes near Dover Air Force Base in Delaware; 17 people aboard survive [1].

Waziristan, Pakistan
 Continuing violence in Waziristan kills 7 people [1].

2-Apr-06

Paris, France; Murray Hill, NJ
 Alcatel to acquire Lucent Technologies, including Bell Labs, for $13.5 billion in stock [1-3]. Cost synergies are estimated at $1.7 billion within 3 years [1-2]; about 9,000 employees are expected to lose their jobs [3-5].

TN; MO; IL
 Tornadoes and thunderstorms kill at least 23 people in Tennessee, Missouri and Illinois [1].

Afghanistan
 Suspected Taliban insurgents kill 9 police officers [1].

Iran
 Iran successfully test-fires a high speed underwater missile [1-2].

1-Apr-06

New York, NY
 Tens of thousands of people demonstrate in New York in support of immigrants' rights [1-2].

Iraq

 U.S. AH-64D Apache Longbow helicopter crashes southwest of Baghdad; 2 helicopter pilots are dead [1]. Iraqi fighters claim they shot down the helicopter [2]. Iraq violence kills 25 people [2].

London, UK
 The Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA), UK's new FBI, assumes its function: 4,200 staff; and a budget of £400 million [1-2]. SOCA is sponsored by, but is operationally independent from, the Home Office [3].

MARCH 2006

31-Mar-06

Doroud and Boroujerd, Lorestan, Iran
 A series of earthquakes ranging from 4.7 to 6 on the Richter scale kill 66 people and injure about 1,000 in Lorestan, Iran [1,2]. About 200 villages are damaged [3].

Paris, France
 French President Jacques Chirac decides to implement a diluted version of the new First Job Contract (CPE) law [1-3].

30-Mar-06

Bahrain
A cruise ship capsizes off the coast of Bahrain drowning at least 57 people [1,2].

Kedumim, Israel; Gaza City, Gaza Strip
Suicide bombing kills 4 Israelis outside a Jewish settlement [1-2]. The Israeli air force bombs targets in Gaza [2]. A car bomb kills a senior Palestinian leader of the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC) [1-3].

Cancun, Mexico
 North American summit focuses on border security, immigration, North American competitiveness, and cross-border commerce [1-4]. Key issues remain unresolved [3].

29-Mar-06

Afghanistan
32 suspected Taliban fighters and a U.S. and a Canadian soldier are killed in a battle in Helmand, Afghanistan [1].

Baghdad, Iraq
Gunmen kill 9 people, including 3 women, in an attack on a trading company in Baghdad [1].

Mountain View, CA
 Google Inc. plans to sell 5.3 million shares of Class A common stock [1] for more than $2 billion primarily to funds that are base