Monday February 12, 2007

Holidays

• United States - Lincoln's Birthday (traditionally).
• Saint Alexis of Moscow
• Saint Benedict of Aniane
• Red Hand Day
• Darwin Day.
• National Freedom to Marry Day (unofficial).
• Georgia Day in the U.S. state of Georgia.
• Saint Damian of Alexandria
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Events

• An armed gunman shoots and kills five people at the Trolley Square Mall in Salt Lake City, Utah, before being killed by the police, bringing the evening's rampage death toll to six.
• India's Hindalco Industries buys Atlanta-based Novelis for US$6 billion. (BusinessWeek) (Forbes) (NYTimes)
• Approximately 60,000 people in Mozambique are evacuated in the Zambezi River valley due to floods caused by three weeks of heavy rain. (BBC)
• A suspicious brown substance is found in envelope at the Virginia Supreme Court building in Richmond, Virginia, United States, on the same day that Senator John McCain (R-AZ) speaks at the Jefferson Hotel. (Richmond Times-Dispatch) (CBS News) (Forbes.com) (Fox News) (Guardian Unlimited) (International Herald Tribune)
• Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad states in an interview that Iran does not fear the U.S. and that any foreign attack would be ampquotseverely punishedampquot. (BBC)
• United States Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Christopher R. Hill, announces that tentative agreement has been reached over North Korean nuclear disarmament pending review by the signatories. (CNN)
• Iraq's High Tribunal sentences former Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan to death for his role in the 1982 killing of 148 men and boys in Dujail following an unsuccessful assassination attempt against Saddam Hussein. (CNN)
• Italian police arrest in raids 15 people who the police claimed were associated with the Red Brigades terrorist group. (BBC)
• Iraq War: At least 76 people are killed in four bomb attacks in Baghdad. (BBC)
• An earthquake of a magnitude of 6.1 on the Richter scale strikes about 160 km east of Cabo de São Vicente, Portugal, at 11:36 am (CET). (Bloomberg)
• A German court orders the release of Brigitte Mohnhaupt, a former member of the Red Army Faction, also known as the ampquotBaader-Meinhof Gangampquot she has served 24 years in prison for her involvement in kidnappings and murders in the 1970s. (CNN)
• 2007 Guinean general strike: Unions in Guinea resume a general strike to protest the President of Guinea Lansana Conté appointing Eugène Camara as Prime Minister of Guinea. At least 17 people have died in protests over the weekend. The protest started on the morning of the 12th with a march from the centre of Conakry to the palace. Widespread problems with armed bandits taking advantage of the insecurity have also been reported. Lansana Conté has now declared a state of emergency. (AP via
• China's trade surplus increases by 67%, increasing pressure on the government to float the yuan. (BBC)
• The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society claims that one of its ships has collided with a Japanese whaling vessel in the Ross Sea, leading to the Japanese vessel lodging a distress call. (Sydney Morning Herald)
• Islamist insurgency in Somalia: Five mortar bombs explode in Mogadishu, killing at least three people. (Reuters)
• Four state-owned enterprises of the Republic of China (Taiwan)—Chunghwa Post, the Chinese Petroleum Corporation, the China Shipbuilding Corporation, and the Central Bank of China—change their names to remove ampquotChinaampquot from their titles at the request of President Chen Shui-bian. The decision is condemned by the Pan-Blue Coalition, the United States and People's Republic of China as a move towards Taiwan independence. (Reuters)
• Israel has carried out a successful test of its Arrow missile, the defence ministry says. (BBC)
• A gunman kills five people in the Trolley Square shopping center in Salt Lake City, Utah, before being shot by police. (Salt Lake Tribune), (KSL-NBC), (KUTV-CBS), (CNN), (BBC)
• Australian Prime Minister John Howard criticizes U.S. Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) for his stance on Iraq, saying that al-Qaeda in Iraq should be praying for Obama to win the election. The opposition Australian Labor Party says that Howard's statement imperiled the relationship Australia might have with the United States under a Democratic administration. (Sydney Morning Herald) (BBC) (Al Jazeera)
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Famous Deaths

• Randy Stone

  American actor and casting director...

• Peggy Gilbert

  American jazz saxophonist and bandleader...

Top #5 songs in the USA

1. Beyonce - Irreplaceable
2. Nelly Furtado - Say It Right
3. Fall Out Boy - This Ain't A Scene, It's An Arms Race
4. Daughtry - It's Not Over
5. Gwen Stefani - The Sweet Escape

Top #5 songs in the UK

1. Mika - Grace Kelly
2. Just Jack - Starz In Their Eyes
3. Kaiser Chiefs - Ruby
4. Fall Out Boy - This Ain't A Scene It's An Arms Race
5. Mason - Exceeder

Top #5 R&B songs

1. Lloyd Featuring Lil Wayne - You
2. Ciara - Promise
3. Robin Thicke - Lost Without U
4. Ludacris Featuring Mary J. Blige - Runaway Love
5. Rich Boy Featuring Polow Da Don - Throw Some D's

Top #5 Latin songs

1. Hector "El Father" - Sola
2. Ricky Martin Featuring La Mari De Chambao Y Tommy Torres - Tu Recuerdo
3. Xtreme - Shorty Shorty
4. Conjunto Primavera - Ese
5. Wisin & Yandel - Pam Pam

Bundesliga 2

• Duisburg - Karlsruhe : 2 - 1

Division 2

• Bastia - Metz : 1 - 0

Stock Markets

• ExxonMobil XOM: opens at $74.93
• Apple AAPL: opens at $84.43
• Microsoft MSFT: opens at $28.89
• General Electric GE: opens at $35.75
• International Business Machines IBM: opens at $98.80

Exchange Rates

• 1 USD = 121.93 JPY
• 1 USD = 1.1754 CAD
• 1 USD = 1.2536 CHF
• 1 USD = 7.756 CNY
• 1 EUR = 158.09 JPY