Monday 9 March 2009

Holidays:

• Saint Frances of Rome.
• Belize - Baron Bliss Day.
• Saint Gregory of Nyssa

Famous Birthdays:

Facts:

• US President Barack Obama signs an executive order restoring funding for stem cell research.
• American pharmaceutical company Merck & Co announces it will acquire Schering-Plough for US$41.1 billion.
• A government in the United Kingdom is criticised by churches, politicians and Rowan Atkinson for its proposal to outlaw homophobic hatred. (''The Daily Telegraph'')
• Palau officially recognizes Kosovo. (New Kosova Report)
• A Police Service officer is killed in Craigavon, County Armagh, Northern Ireland. (CNN)

• The United States government claims five Chinese ships ampquotharassedampquot the USNS ''Impeccable'' in the South China Sea. (BBC)
• U.S. President Barack Obama lifts George W. Bush's restrictions on embryonic stem cell research. (Reuters)
• Argentina and Chile reject the United Kingdom's claims on Antarctic territory. (Sky News)
• North Korea says an interception of its upcoming ampquotsatelliteampquot launch would ampquotmean a war.ampquot (CNN)
• National Islamic Front founder Hassan al-Turabi is released after seven weeks of incarceration for suggesting that Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir should surrender to the International Criminal Court. (AP)
• Sri Lanka's Armed Forces claim to have killed 180 counterattacking Tamil Tigers. (Reuters)
• Japan's economy posts a record deficit of 172.8 billion yen. (Press Association)
• China deploys the People's Armed Police to Tibet to quell possible protests related to Tibetan Uprising Day. (Xinhua)
• Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai rules out foul play in a car accident in Harare that killed his wife. (Guardian)
• Madagascar's government announces it will employ ampquotmilitary measuresampquot against Army soldiers mutinying near Antananarivo. (Reuters)
• An Ilyushin Il-76 crashes into Lake Victoria after taking off from Entebbe International Airport in Uganda, likely killing all eleven passengers. (UGpulse)amp!--note: several news report call it a ampquotmilitary aircraftampquot. While technically correct, the term is confusing (the aircraft is registered to a civilian company) and is better avoided. Note also that some reports (e.g. Reuters) give it as an Antonov, but the registration leads to images that are not those of an Antonov. --amp
• At least 13 people are missing or dead after the cargo ship MV ''Ibn al-Battuta'' sinks near Port Safaga, Egypt. (Xinhua) amp!-- The three sources are to highlight the variation in the figures around for the missing/deceased --amp
• Standing Committee Chairman Wu Bangguo tells the National People's Congress that China will not adopt Western democracy. (''New York Times'')