Portal:Current events/March 2008

Two IDF soldiers and at least 50 Palestinians are killed during an Israeli military operation in the Gaza Strip. (Jerusalem Post)
A wind storm in Europe kills four people in Austria, two people in Germany, and two people in the Czech Republic. (AFP)^{[permanent dead link]}
The President of Armenia Robert Kocharyan declares a state of emergency following anti-government protests in Yerevan. (Reuters)
Raúl Reyes, the second in command of the FARC guerilla organization, is killed in a Colombian military operation in northern Ecuador. (El Tiempo)
Renewed violence erupts in the Abyei region of Sudan. Approximately 70 deaths are reported and analysts warn that further conflict could threaten the peace process. (Reuters Alertnet)

March 2, 2008 (Sunday)

A Lufthansa Airbus 320 nearly crashes while landing in Hamburg, Germany due to high winds. The pilot was able to stabilize the plane and successfully landed on the second try. No one was injured. (Stern)
South American diplomatic crisis: President Hugo Chávez orders the closure of the Venezuelan embassy in Colombia and moves ten battalions to the Colombian-Venezuelan border in response to the killing of FARC leader Raúl Reyes in Ecuador by Colombian armed forces the previous day. Rafael Correa, the President of Ecuador, orders troops to the Colombian border. The Colombian government accuses Correa of having "a relationship and commitments" with FARC. (AP via Google News) (AP via Google News)^{[permanent dead link]} (BBC News)
Two bombings in quick succession hit a Russian police convoy in the town of Khasavyurt in the Republic of Dagestan. (AP via Fox News)
Eight people are killed in violent protests in Yerevan, Armenia, following protests over the outcome of the latest presidential election. (Reuters via The Sydney Morning Herald)
President of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrives in Baghdad for the first state visit to Iraq by an Iranian president since the Iran-Iraq War. (AP via The Hindu)
Russian voters go to the polls to decide the country's next president. Dmitry Medvedev of the United Russia wins the election and is expected to succeed Vladimir Putin as the President of Russia. (The Independent)

March 3, 2008 (Monday)

The remains of Padre Pio, the Capuchin monk who died in 1968 after living for decades with inexplicable, bleeding wounds on his hands and feet, are exhumed. (AP via International Herald Tribune)
Iran considers shutting down private access to Internet service during its legislative elections. (International Herald Tribune)
The U.N. Security Council approves a third round of sanctions against Iran with near unanimous support. (AP via Yahoo! News)
A U.S. Navy submarine conducts at least one missile strike using Tomahawk cruise missiles in Somalia. The attack was aimed at Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan, an al-Qaeda terrorist. (AFP via Google News) (AP via Yahoo! News) (CNN)
A Pentagon report to the United States Congress states that the Peoples Republic of China's reluctance to explain the extent and purpose of its military buildup poses a risk to stability in Asia. (AP via Google News)^{[permanent dead link]}
Androulla Vasiliou replaces Markos Kyprianou as European Commissioner for Health. (European Council)
Earth Liberation Front sets fires to five model luxury homes in Woodinville, Washington in an act of eco-terrorism. (CNN) (AP via Yahoo! News) (KIRO-TV)
A gunman opens fire at a Wendy's restaurant in West Palm Beach, Florida, killing one person and critically wounding three others before committing suicide. (ABC News) (AP via Yahoo! News)
Albertans go to the polls in a provincial general election, electing an eleventh straight Progressive Conservative government. (CBC)

March 4, 2008 (Tuesday)

Brett Favre, quarterback of the Green Bay Packers announces his retirement from the NFL after 17 years.
United States presidential election, Super Tuesday II:
- Arizona Senator John McCain wins the Vermont, Texas, Rhode Island, and Ohio Republican primaries, giving him enough delegates to be able to win the Republican Party nomination. (MSNBC)
- Former Governor of Arkansas Mike Huckabee withdraws his candidacy. (CNN)
- Illinois Senator Barack Obama wins the Vermont Democratic primary. (MSNBC)
- New York Senator Hillary Clinton wins the Rhode Island, Ohio, and Texas Democratic primaries.(ABC News)
First Minister of Northern Ireland Ian Paisley announces his intentions to stand down from the post in May 2008 and, at the same time, resign as leader of the DUP, a party he has led for almost 40 years. (RTÉ)
At least four people are killed and 14 injured in a suicide bombing at a naval college in the Pakistani city of Lahore. (BBC News)
United States Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Dan Fried estimates that Kosovo will need about $2 billion in foreign aid to become economically viable, and says that the United States will participate in a major donors' conference on Kosovo in June. (Reuters)
India wins cricket's Commonwealth Bank Series in Australia. (BBC Sport)

March 5, 2008 (Wednesday)

The first plenary session of the 11th National People's Congress begins in China. Premier Wen Jiabao delivers the last annual government report in his first term of office. (Xinhua)
Jimmy Wales, co-founder of Wikipedia, is facing allegations that he used the Wikimedia Foundation funds to pay for personal expenses. (The Washington Post)
U.S. Republican presidential nominee John McCain is endorsed by President George W. Bush. (ABC News)
Warren Buffett, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, is named the richest person in the world by Forbes magazine. (Forbes)
Saudi Arabia announces plans to execute a Canadian man and a Saudi friend convicted of murder by beheading them in public. (Arab News) (Canwest News)
A manmade flood is created in the Grand Canyon in Arizona in an attempt to replenish the ecosystem in the gorge. (CNN)

March 6, 2008 (Thursday)

The discovery of the Rings of the Saturnian moon Rhea, the first known rings around a moon, is announced. (NASA)
The United States Senate passes legislation providing for more rigorous inspection of toys and other playthings imported into the United States. (AP via USA Today)
At least eight people, including four children, are killed and dozens wounded in a shooting attack on the Mercaz HaRav yeshiva in Jerusalem. (AP via WTVJ)
At least 54 people die and 130 are injured as two bombs explode in Baghdad, Iraq. (BBC News)
Viktor Bout, one of the world’s most notorious arms dealers, is arrested at a hotel in Thailand. (The New York Times)
Paul Burrell, Princess Diana's butler, refuses to be questioned about whether he lied to the inquest into her death in 1997. (Reuters)
A bomb causes minor damage to the door of a U.S. military recruiting center in Times Square, New York City. (Reuters)
Philippine authorities arrest three people accused of plotting terrorist attacks on foreign embassies in Manila. (BBC News)

March 7, 2008 (Friday)

Václav Klaus is sworn in for another term as the President of the Czech Republic. (Xinhua)
Eight people are killed in separate attacks in central and western Kenya. (AP via USA Today)
In Germany the former Stasi informant Holm Singer won an interim injunction to prevent an exhibition from including his name and clandestine activities. (Reuters)
Former Olympic gold medalist Marion Jones reports to a Texas jail to begin a six-month sentence for perjury regarding past steroid use. (BBC News)
Colombia confirms the killing of FARC leader Iván Ríos by his chief of security. (AP via International Herald Tribune)
A United States Department of Labor report shows that the United States economy lost 63,000 jobs in February. (AFP)
The President of Venezuela Hugo Chávez calls for a cooling of tensions with Colombia at a summit of the Rio Group presidents in the Dominican Republic. The Rio Group later approves a declaration aimed at reducing tensions between, Ecuador, Venezuela and Colombia. (AP via Google News)^{[permanent dead link]} (The Globe and Mail)
Pakistan's Election Commission announces the completed results of parliamentary election. (Reuters)

March 8, 2008 (Saturday)

2008 United States presidential election: Illinois Senator Barack Obama wins the Wyoming Democratic caucus. (The New York Times)
Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs Carl Bildt becomes the first foreign minister to visit Kosovo since the country declared its independence. (Ministry for Foreign Affairs)
Police in Memphis, Tennessee make an arrest in connection with the killing of four adults and two children. (AP via Google News)
Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Koštunica resigns, dissolving a coalition too divided over the loss of Kosovo to carry on governing. (AP via Google News)^{[permanent dead link]} (The Daily Telegraph)
Voters in Malta go to the polls for the Maltese general election, 2008. (AP via International Herald Tribune) hggfd
Vietnam bans ownership of pet hamsters. (BBC News)
Malaysians go to the polls for the Malaysian general election, 2008. The Barisan National secures another term in government, but suffers its worst performance since the country's independence in 1957. (AP via CNN) (Xinhua) (Gaulia.com) (CNA)
The United States and Iraq commence talks about the future of relationships between the two nations including a longer term US military presence in Iraq. (AP via Google News)^{[permanent dead link]}

March 9, 2008 (Sunday)

Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs Carl Bildt says that Kosovo may become a European Union member state even if it is not a member of the United Nations. (Xinhua News Agency)
Kosovar Prime Minister Hashim Thaçi unveils a "Welcome to the Republic of Kosovo" sign (in Albanian, Serbian, and English) at the border with Serbia. (EuroNews)
Venezuela announces that it will reopen its embassy in Colombia and welcome back Colombian diplomats expelled during the regional diplomatic crisis. (AP via Google News)^{[permanent dead link]}
French voters go to the polls for the municipal elections. (BBC News)
The Socialist Workers' Party wins the Spanish general election, with the People's Party conceding defeat. (BBC News)
An Ariane 5 rocket launches the first Automated Transfer Vehicle, Jules Verne, from the Guiana Space Centre in French Guiana. The spaceship will rendezvous with and provide supplies to the International Space Station on March 29. (ESA)
An Argentine train headed for Mar del Plata from Buenos Aires slams into a bus at a rural rail crossing near Dolores, killing 26 people and leaving at least 60 others injured. (Gaulia.com - Actualidad) (Xinhua News Agency)
An official reports that last week a flight crew prevented an apparent attempt to crash a Chinese jetliner. (Reuters)

March 10, 2008 (Monday)

Eight United States Army soldiers are killed in two bombings in Iraq. (AP via Google News)^{[permanent dead link]}
The Serbian government adopts a policy to dismiss the National Assembly of Serbia and hold elections later in the year. (Xinhua)
Governor of New York Eliot Spitzer is linked with a criminal investigation of an international online prostitution ring. (The New York Times)
Yahoo! tops the list in the first attempt to quantify the data collected from Web users for Internet marketing. (The New York Times)
The Nationalist Party wins the general election in Malta, by a relative majority of 1,580 vote over the Labour Party. (Department of Information, Malta)
Sri Lankan voters in the Batticaloa district, an area formerly controlled by the Tamil Tigers, go to the polls in local government elections for first time in ten years. (BBC News)

March 11, 2008 (Tuesday)

2008 United States presidential election: Illinois Senator Barack Obama wins the Mississippi Democratic primary. (The New York Times)
The United States House of Representatives fails to override President Bush's veto of a bill outlawing waterboarding and other interrogation techniques. (AP via Google News)^{[permanent dead link]}
Admiral William Fallon resigns as Commander of the U.S. Central Command due to reports in Esquire Magazine of disagreement with President George W. Bush over the administration's policy with Iran. (Reuters)
Cricket Australia and the Pakistan Cricket Board announce that the tour of Pakistan by the Australia national cricket team has been postponed due to security issues. (The Age)
The Space Shuttle Endeavour launches from Kennedy Space Center carrying the crew of STS-123, the Japanese Experiment Module, and Dextre. The ship will rendezvous with the International Space Station. (NASA)
At least 12 people are killed when a bomb explodes at offices of Pakistan's Federal Investigation Agency in Lahore. (AFP)^{[permanent dead link]}

March 12, 2008 (Wednesday)

The United States Environmental Protection Agency announces a major expansion of efforts to fight smog in cities and towns throughout the United States. (AP via Google News)^{[permanent dead link]}
The total amount of digital information is estimated at 281 exabytes in 2007, exceeding available data storage for the first time. (Ars Technica) (IDC via EMC)
Crude oil futures contracts end trading at a new closing high of $109.92 a barrel after earlier topping $110 a barrel for the first time. (MarketWatch)
Israeli commandos kill four militants on the West Bank including three members of the Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine. (Reuters)
Sweden’s largest lake, the Vänern, which is also the third largest lake in Europe, will be lowered by 15 centimeters, in order to avoid flooding. (Expressen)
Southwest Airlines grounds 41 jets after the FAA discovers the airline failed to inspect its Boeing 737s for structural flaws during 2006 and 2007. (Reuters)
The last French veteran of World War I, Lazare Ponticelli, an Italian immigrant who lied about his age to join the French Foreign Legion and fight in the trenches, dies at 110. (BBC News)
French Minister of Foreign Affairs Bernard Kouchner and his Swedish counterpart Carl Bildt pronounce their support for Serbian membership of the European Union. (Reuters)
Chinese police fire tear gas to disperse protesters during the second day of demonstrations by Buddhist monks in Lhasa, Tibet demanding the region's independence. (AFP)^{[permanent dead link]}
Governor of New York Eliot Spitzer resigns effective March 17 amid a prostitution ring scandal. He will be replaced by David Paterson, the first African American and legally blind person to hold this position. (Yahoo! Finance)
A gunman opens fire at a bank in McComb, Mississippi, killing two people, before forcing his wife into a car and driving away, later killing her and committing suicide. (WAPT)
A man under investigation for the sexual abuse of children at an orphanage in Sofia, Bulgaria, opens fire on teenage witnesses, killing one and wounding two others before committing suicide. (MSNBC)

March 13, 2008 (Thursday)

Darfur Conflict: Chad's President Idriss Déby and Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir meet in Senegal to sign the Dakar Agreement, the sixth peace agreement in five years. (BBC News)
The Canadian House of Commons extends the Canadian military mission in Afghanistan until 2011. (CBC)
The body of Mar Paulos Faraj Rahho, the Chaldean Catholic archbishop of Mosul who was kidnapped in Iraq on February 29, is found in a shallow grave close to the city. (Reuters)
The price of gold reaches $1000 per troy ounce for the first time. (BBC News)
Serbian President Boris Tadić disbands parliament and calls an early general election for May 11. (BBC News)
Democratic Party (United States) presidential primaries, 2008: Geraldine Ferraro resigns from the Clinton campaign after making comments that "if Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position." (The New York Times)
The U.S. dollar, after repeatedly testing 100 yen in Asian dealings and early European action, breaks through to touch 99.75, its lowest level since November 1995. (Reuters)
Melbourne, Adelaide and Hobart experience some of their warmest weather of record for this season as result of an Australian autumn heatwave. (The Age)
Leaders of the European Union meet in Brussels, Belgium with climate change and energy security dominating the agenda. (BBC News)
Turkish prosecutor Abdurrahman Yalçınkaya asks the Constitutional Court of Turkey to ban the ruling Justice and Development Party for anti-secular activities. (BBC News)

March 14, 2008 (Friday)

Queen Elizabeth officially opens London Heathrow Airport's new Terminal 5. (The New York Times)
Colombian Ministry of National Defense Juan Manuel Santos says the government will pay US$2.5 million to Pedro Pablo Montoya, the FARC rebel who killed Iván Ríos. (BBC News)
Muhammed Rahim, an al-Qaeda member who helped Osama bin Laden escape from Tora Bora, Afghanistan in 2001, is taken to the Guantanamo Bay detention camp. (BBC News)
After a summit in Brussels, European Union leaders agree to a 20% reduction in greenhouse gases by 2020. (BBC News)
United States investment bank Bear Stearns gets emergency funding from JPMorgan Chase, with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York's backing. (BBC News)
An EF2 tornado hits Atlanta, Georgia, damaging many buildings including the CNN Center, the Georgia Dome, the World Congress Center and the Philips Arena. (BBC News)
Iranian voters go to the polls in legislative election. Nearly 90 percent of reformist candidates have been disqualified from the election. (BBC News)
Seven are reported dead in Lhasa, Tibet as protests turn violent. Protests began Monday on the anniversary of the failed 1959 Tibetan uprising with calls for the release of detained Buddhist monks. Other protests followed calling for Tibetan independence and displaying the banned Tibetan national flag. (CNN) (AP via the Houston Chronicle)
Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez dares the United States to designate Venezuela as a state sponsor of terrorism. (AP via CNN)
Saint Patrick's Day happens today, not the usual March 17th. (USA Today)

March 15, 2008 (Saturday)

Wales achieve the Grand Slam by beating France 29-12 in the final match of Rugby Union's 2008 RBS Six Nations. (BBC News)
Protesting Guatemalan farmers release four Belgian tourists they had taken hostage on Thursday. (AP via Google News)^{[permanent dead link]}
Michael D. Griffin, the current Administrator of NASA, announces the agency will concentrate more on the outer Solar System and less on Mars exploration, due to cuts to its 2009–2012 budget. (BBC News)
A bomb explodes at a restaurant in Islamabad, Pakistan, killing a Turkish woman and injuring 10 other people. (BBC News)
A construction crane falls on a residential building in Manhattan, New York City, killing four people and injuring at least 17. (Reuters) (AFP via Google News) (BBC News)
The Mayor of Atlanta, Shirley Franklin, declares a state of emergency following the previous night's tornado, while northwest Georgia is hit by more tornadoes, causing at least one death. (Reuters via Canada.com)
Tens of thousands of Italians gather in Bari to march against the mafia and remember its many victims. (Reuters) (EuroNews)
Three former police officers are jailed over the killing of Ukrainian investigative journalist Georgiy R. Gongadze in 2000. (BBC News)
A weapons depot near Tirana, Albania is hit by multiple explosions, killing at least 11 people and injuring around 300. (BBC News)
More than 9,000 people around the world protest against Scientology under the banner of Anonymous. (Tampa Tribune) (Village Voice)
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan says prosecutor Abdurrahman Yalçınkaya's proposal to ban the ruling Justice and Development Party is against the "national will". (BBC News)
At the 11th National People's Congress, Hu Jintao is elected to a second term as the President of China, and Xi Jinping is elected Vice-President. (Xinhua via the People's Daily)
2008 unrest in Tibet:
- In reference to ongoing protests in Tibet, Chairman of the Tibet Autonomous Region Qiangba Puncog threatens to "deal harshly with these criminals who are carrying out activities to split the nation". (AP via Google News)^{[permanent dead link]}
- Tibet Autonomous Region authorities give protesters until March 17 to surrender. The Central Tibetan Administration government in exile reports 30 confirmed deaths. (BBC News)

March 16, 2008 (Sunday)

2008 unrest in Tibet:
- The Central Tibetan Administration government in exile reports 80 confirmed deaths. (BBC News)
- The Dalai Lama calls for a change in Chinese policies towards Tibet and claims that the death toll could be as high as 100. (BBC News)
- Protests spread to Aba, Sichuan province, where a police station and cars are attacked. Several unconfirmed deaths are reported. (BBC News)
Subprime mortgage crisis:
- JPMorgan Chase announces plans to buy investment bank Bear Stearns for $2 a share following liquidity problems caused by the crisis. (AP via Charlotte.com)
- The U.S. Federal Reserve System becomes a lender to twenty large investment banks, backs JPMorgan Chase in purchasing failed Bear Stearns, and lowers direct lending rate. (The New York Times)
The Australian Government announces that the wreck of the German auxiliary cruiser Kormoran has been found off the coast of Western Australia. The ship sank after a battle in 1941. (Sydney Morning Herald)
Data from the United Nations Environment Programme shows the 2006 global glacial shrinkage rate is more than double that of 2005. (BBC News)
The Conservative Alliance wins the Iranian legislative election. (BBC News)
At least 68 people have been killed this month in clashes between Bundu dia Kongo and police in the west of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. (BBC News)
The United Nations World Food Programme warns that it has become "very difficult" to provide food aid to the Darfur region of Sudan because of repeated truck hijacks. (BBC News)
Hundreds of thousands of Taiwanese participate in rival political rallies ahead of the 2008 presidential election. (BBC News)
The United National Liberation Front attacks an Indian Army camp in Minou, in the Chandel district of Manipur, killing at least six soldiers. (BBC News)
A missile strike on a building near Wana in South Waziristan, Pakistan kills at least 16 people. A local tribesman accuses the United States Army of being behind the attack. (BBC News)
Scientists from Harvard Medical School announce a breakthrough technique that could stop cancer cells' growth by inhibiting the enzyme pyruvate kinase. (BBC News)
French voters go to the polls in the second round of the 2008 municipal elections, with President Nicolas Sarkozy's party Union for a Popular Movement likely to lose. (BBC News)
United States Senator and Republican candidate to the 2008 presidential election John McCain makes a surprise visit to Iraq. (BBC News)
Italian airline Alitalia is purchased by a consortium of Air France and KLM for €138 million. (BBC News)
At the 2008 National People's Congress, Wen Jiabao is elected as Premier for another five years term. (Xinhua)

March 17, 2008 (Monday)

2008 United States presidential election:
- The Florida Democratic Party abandons plans to redo the Florida Democratic primary, 2008 using mail-in ballots. (AP via Google News)^{[permanent dead link]}
- Barack Obama gives a major speech addressing race and racial divisions in Philadelphia. (The New York Times)
UNMIK and NATO KFOR forces clashed with Serb protesters in North Kosovo resulting in over 150 wounded after arresting Serb lawyers and court officials who had taken control of a UN court. The clashes are part of ongoing unrest following Kosovo's declaration of independence. (BBC News)
A container ship pilot whose ship hit the San Francisco Bay Bridge resulting in an oil spill is charged with breaking United States pollution laws. (Reuters)
Subprime mortgage crisis:
- World stock markets decline sharply after the proposed sale of investment bank Bear Stearns to rival JPMorgan Chase. (BBC News)
- The United States dollar reaches a new record low against the euro, while petroleum price climbs to a new high. (BBC News)
- German engineering conglomerate Siemens AG issues a profit warning, and its shares fall by more than 10%. (BBC News)
- The price of gold rises above the £500 per troy ounce mark (£508.445/$1023.50/€649.511) for the first time in the a.m. London Gold Fixing. (LBMA)
- The price of gold reaches a record intraday high of 1034 US dollars per troy ounce. Stockcharts.com
2008 unrest in Tibet:
- Chinese security forces round up Tibetan dissidents in Lhasa. Qiangba Puncog, Chairman of the Tibet Autonomous Region, says the official death toll from the unrest is 13 and calm is returning to the city. (BBC News)
- Indian politicians, including Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee, express concern over the Chinese response to Tibetan protests. (BBC News)
2008 National People's Congress: Li Keqiang, Hui Liangyu, Zhang Dejiang, and Wang Qishan are approved by the National People's Congress as the new Vice-Premiers of the State Council. (People's Daily)
War in Iraq:
- United States Vice President Dick Cheney visits Baghdad, three days before the fifth anniversary of the 2003 invasion. (BBC News).
- A suicide bomber kills at least 32 people and injures at least 50 near the Imam Husayn Shrine in Karbala. (BBC News)
Pakistan:
- The new Parliament convenes for the first time after the 2008 general election. (BBC News)
- President Pervez Musharraf signs the death warrant of Sarabjit Singh, an Indian man convicted of espionage and bombing. (BBC News)
Albanian Defense Minister Fatmir Mediu resigns over the 2008 Tirana explosions. (BBC News)
United Nations police are forced to retreat from Serb areas of Mitrovica after clashes with Serb protesters. At least 22 UN policemen and two Kosovo Force soldiers are injured. (BBC News)
David Paterson is sworn in as the new Governor of New York after the Eliot Spitzer prostitution scandal. (BBC News)
French President Nicolas Sarkozy's Union for a Popular Movement party loses the 2008 municipal elections. (BBC News)
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and half of her cabinet visit Israel in a move to upgrade bilateral relations (BBC News)
The trial of Jovica Stanišić and Franko Simatović, two former Serbian State Security Service officers and allies of Slobodan Milošević, starts at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague. (BBC News)
Ugandan Lord's Resistance Army leader Joseph Kony enters the Central African Republic, thus violating a ceasefire. (BBC News)
A suicide bomber attacks a NATO convoy in Gereshk in Helmand province of Afghanistan, killing three Afghan civilians. (BBC News)
World War II Royal Australian Navy warship HMAS Sydney is discovered off the coast of Western Australia after being missing for 65 years with the loss of all 600+ crew. (ABC News Australia)
A former Luftwaffe pilot reveals he may have shot down the airplane of French writer and aviator Antoine de Saint Exupéry, thus killing him, on July 31, 1944. (BBC News)

March 18, 2008 (Tuesday)

In an address to the Israeli Knesset, German Chancellor Angela Merkel says "Germany will always stand by the Jewish state." (Reuters)
The United States Federal Reserve System cuts the federal funds rate by 75 basis points to 2.25%. (AP via Yahoo! Finance)
The United States embassy in Yemen is closed after three mortar shells detonate near the embassy compound. Two people are killed in the attack. (CNN) (AFP via Google News)
The Organization of American States condemns Colombia's recent raid into Ecuador's territory as "a clear violation of the OAS charter." (VOA)
Police in Manipur, India claim a rebel group has killed seven migrant workers. (BBC News)
2008 National People's Congress: At the concluding press conference, Premier of the People's Republic of China Wen Jiabao asserts the Chinese government exercised restraint in suppressing the 2008 unrest in Tibet. Wen also accused the Dalai Lama of inciting the protests. (Xinhua) (AP via Google News)^{[permanent dead link]}
Canada and Japan recognize Kosovo's independence. (CBC) (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan)
French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner says the EU should consider punishing China's crackdown in Tibet with a boycott of the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Beijing. (International Herald Tribune)
The Netherlands sets a new world record in the 400-metres relay at the European swimming championships in Eindhoven. (Associated Press)^{[permanent dead link]}
Sweden’s Supreme Court rules in favor of late film director Vilgot Sjöman who had sued a TV channel for copyright infringement after it ran three commercial breaks during the director's film. (Dagens Nyheter) (SR International)

March 19, 2008 (Wednesday)

An audio tape with a voice believed to be Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden's is released, criticizing the European Union for allowing publication of cartoons that he claims insulted the Prophet Mohammed and threatening a strong reaction. (AP via Google News)
Early elections are called for May 2008 in Kuwait after a crisis between the cabinet and parliament leads the emir Sabah al-Sabah to dissolve parliament. (BBC News)
Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary and Monaco jointly recognize Kosovo's independence. (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bulgaria) (AFP via Google News) (Balkan Insight)
Foreign Minister of Russia Sergey Lavrov states that "the Albanians in Macedonia have already made demands that they be granted such autonomy...which could be seen as a move towards independence." The Foreign Ministry also linked the events in Tibet with the declaration of independence by Kosovo, showing a growing movement of groups seeking independence. (Makfax)^{[permanent dead link]} (Ria Novosti)
The Parliament of Pakistan elects Fahmida Mirza as its first female speaker. (BBC News)

March 20, 2008 (Thursday)

Yves Leterme is sworn in as Prime Minister of Belgium. (The Guardian)
The Vice-President of the United States Dick Cheney makes an unannounced visit to Afghanistan to hold discussions with the President of Afghanistan. (Reuters)
2008 unrest in Tibet:
- The Xinhua news agency reports for the first time that protests have spread to neighbouring provinces of Sichuan and Gansu as the Chinese authorities attempt to regain control. (AP via Google News)^{[permanent dead link]}
- The Dalai Lama offers to meet with senior Chinese officials including the President of the People's Republic of China Hu Jintao. (Canadian Press via Google News)^{[permanent dead link]}
- China dispatches convoys to Tibet consisting of thousands of soldiers and hundreds of police vehicles. (AFP via Google News)

March 21, 2008 (Friday)

A 7.2-magnitude earthquake hits western China. (AP via Google News)
President Nicolas Sarkozy announces that France will reduce its airborne nuclear weapons arsenal by a third. (AFP)^{[permanent dead link]}
Alain Bernard sets a world record for the men's 100 meters freestyle with a time of 47" 60. (CNN).

March 22, 2008 (Saturday)

Ma Ying-jeou is elected President of the Republic of China with more than 58% of the votes in the 2008 presidential election, handing the presidency back to the Kuomintang (KMT) after eight years under the Democratic Progressive Party. (Bloomberg)
Magdi Allam, the most prominent Muslim in Italy, converts to Catholicism and is baptized by Pope Benedict XVI. (AP via Yahoo! News)
A Ukrainian tug and a China-registered bulk carrier have collided east of the Brothers Island on the Urmston Channel in Hong Kong at night; the tug has sunk, 7 crew members on board were rescued, but the remaining 18 crew members were missing. (HK Government Press Releases)

March 23, 2008 (Sunday)

Farouk Abdulhak, prime suspect in the murder of Martine Vik Magnussen, turns up in Yemen. (Daily Telegraph)
U.S. military casualties in the Iraq War reach 4,000. (CNN)
An agreement on talks to resolve the Fatah–Hamas conflict is reached in Sana'a, Yemen. (Washington Post)
Kimi Räikkönen of Finland wins the Malaysian Grand Prix in Sepang. (BBC News)
Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad, Telangana India is constructed officially replacing Begumpet Airport which commences civil operations.

March 24, 2008 (Monday)

Serbia formally proposes partitioning Kosovo along ethnic lines, asking the United Nations to ensure that Belgrade can control key institutions and functions in areas of the newly independent country where Serbs form a majority. (The International Herald Tribune)
Relatives of victims of the Virginia Tech massacre report that the Government of Virginia will offer victims compensation of $100,000 to forestall law suits. (AP via Houston Chronicle)
The Bhutan Peace and Prosperity Party wins Bhutan's first democratic general election, making Lyonpo Jigme Thinley the new Prime Minister elect. (Reuters)
The United States Department of Justice approves the merger of Sirius Satellite Radio and XM Satellite Radio. (The Wall Street Journal)
The Federal Bureau of Investigation identifies the bodies of two United States citizens working as contractors in Iraq kidnapped more than a year ago. (AP via Google News)^{[permanent dead link]}
Marleen Veldhuis of the Netherlands and Federica Pellegrini of Italy break world records at the final day of the European Swimming Championships in Eindhoven, Netherlands. (CNN)
Comoran army helicopters drop leaflets on the island of Anjouan warning the population of the imminent landing of its troops backed by African Union contingents. (france24)
Yusuf Raza Gillani of the Pakistan Peoples Party is elected Prime Minister of Pakistan by the National Assembly and vows to free Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry and other judges from house arrest. (BBC News)
Former President of the Philippines Corazon Aquino, the leader of the 1986 People Power Revolution, is diagnosed with colon cancer. (Philippine Daily Inquirer)
The Olympic Flame of the 2008 Summer Olympics is lit in Olympia, despite disruption by three protesters from Reporters Without Borders, among whom was Robert Ménard. (CNN) (Reporters Without Borders)

March 25, 2008 (Tuesday)

Liechtenstein recognizes Kosovo as an independent state. (Government of Liechtenstein)
French President Nicolas Sarkozy says he might boycott the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics if China continues its crackdown in Tibet. (Reuters)
Adam Air Flight 574: A final report finds the 102 on board died when pilots preoccupied with an instrument failure did not realise the 737 was descending out of control. (Xinhua) (Wikinews)
Iraq War: Heavy fighting rages in Basra as thousands of Iraqi troops battle Shia militants. (BBC News)
The Comoros army supported by African Union troops invade Anjouan. (BBC News)
The Tibetan government in exile estimates that the death toll in the 2008 unrest in Tibet is approximately 140. (AP via The International Herald Tribune)
In Sitka, Alaska a man with a knife kills four people and seriously injures one other before being subdued by police. (ADN)

March 26, 2008 (Wednesday)

The Space Shuttle Endeavour lands at Cape Canaveral, Florida in a rare nighttime landing ending a 16-day mission to the International Space Station. (The New York Times)
Ford Motor Company announces it will sell its British luxury-car brands Jaguar and Land Rover to India's Tata Motors for $2.3 billion. (MarketWatch)
The United States embassy in Cairo confirms that the crew of a United States Navy-contracted ship killed an Egyptian when it opened fire on a small boat near the Suez Canal. (AFP via Google News)
2008 unrest in Tibet:
- The first foreign journalists allowed in Tibet since the outbreak of the unrest arrive in Lhasa. (AP via Google News)^{[permanent dead link]}
- The President of the United States of America George W. Bush calls the President of the People's Republic of China Hu Jintao to raise concerns about events in Tibet. (AP via Fox News)
Iraq war:
- The death toll from the Battle of Basra (2008) rises to 40 dead and 200 injured in two days of fighting between Shiite militias and the Iraqi military. (UK Press via Google News)^{[permanent dead link]}
- A federal indictment of a former official of Life for Relief and Development claims that Saddam Hussein's Iraqi Intelligence Service paid for a U.S. congressional delegation's trip to the country during the buildup to the war. A spokesman for the Department of Justice said the congressmen on the State Department-approved trip were not aware of this, and that "[n]one of the congressional representatives are accused of any wrongdoing." (CNN)
The South Korean government decides to vote for a resolution on North Korean human rights violations in the United Nations Human Rights Council. (Chosun Ilbo)
A 41 km × 2.5 km chunk of ice (102.5 km², see size comparisons) breaks away from the Antarctic Wilkins ice shelf, heralding the disintegration of the remaining 14,000 km². (BBC News) (CNN)
A Californian federal judge has ruled that the heirs of Jerry Siegel have a valid claim to a share in the United States copyright which Time Warner holds in the Superman character. (NY Times)

March 27, 2008 (Thursday)

2008 Mahdi Army revolt: Iraqi authorities impose a curfew until Sunday in a bid to stop clashes with Shiite militants. (AFP via France 24)
Geert Wilders releases his controversial anti-Islam film, Fitna. (BBC News)
Puerto Rican Governor Aníbal Salvador Acevedo Vilá and twelve others are charged with electoral fraud. (Reuters)
Germany scraps plans to build the Transrapid high-speed monorail link between the Bavarian capital Munich and its airport because of a massive overrun in costs. (Deutsche Welle)
Airbus parent EADS wins a £13 billion contract for airtankers from the United Kingdom. (The International Herald Tribune) (Wikinews)
The oldest known recording of a human voice, created with a phonautograph by Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville on April 9, 1860 is replayed by American researchers. (The New York Times)
A gunman opens fire at Doctors Hospital in Columbus, Georgia, United States, killing two people and critically wounding one other who later died of his injuries before being shot and wounded by police. (WTVM)

March 28, 2008 (Friday)

Norway and South Korea recognize Kosovo as an independent state. (Government of Norway) (Government of South Korea)
Dwain Chambers: BBC, Sky Sports & The Sun newspaper are all carrying reports that Chambers is to announce he is to become an English rugby league player with Castleford Tigers. Chambers was previously an athlete and American Football player. (BBC News)
2008 unrest in Tibet: About 18 protesting Tibetan exiles scale the walls of the United Nations compound in Kathmandu, Nepal as Nepalese police arrest another 40 protestors. (AP via The International Herald Tribune)
North Korea fired a volley of missiles into the sea warning that it might stop disabling its nuclear facilities unless the United States dropped its demands for more details about North Korea's nuclear arsenal. A day before, North Korea expelled 11 South Korean officials from an industrial park north of the border that separates the two Koreas. (Reuters via The Washington Post)
Australian swimmer Eamon Sullivan breaks the 50m Freestyle World Record with a time of 21.28 seconds. (AP via The International Herald Tribune)

March 29, 2008 (Saturday)

Sixteen Shiite militiamen are killed in airstrikes supporting Iraqi government forces during the Battle of Basra (2008). (AP via Google News)^{[permanent dead link]}
Libby Trickett of Australia sets a new world record (21.28 seconds) for the 50 metres freestyle at the selection trials for the Australian swimming team at the 2008 Summer Olympics. (AFP via Google News)^{[permanent dead link]}[actual date: March 28 not March 29]
Zimbabweans vote in the presidential and parliamentary elections. (Reuters)
Cities around the world participate in Earth Hour, an international event that asks households and businesses to turn off their lights and non-essential electrical appliances between 8-9pm local time. (Toronto Star) (Reuters via Yahoo! News) (AP via Yahoo! News) (Reuters via Yahoo! News)

March 30, 2008 (Sunday)

WrestleMania XXIV takes place from the Citrus Bowl with an all-time attendance record for the stadium at over 70,000 people.
Aloha Airlines, a Hawaii based airline which operates inter-island and trans-Pacific flights, has suspended all passenger services effective March 31, 2008, due to bankruptcy. (Honolulu Advertiser)
The enlargement of the EU's borderless zone to eight Eastern European countries and Malta is completed through the lifting of air border controls between them and the 15 countries already part of the area. (European Commission)
French architect Jean Nouvel wins one of the world's premier architecture honors, the Pritzker Prize. (The New York Times) (Gaulia) (Time Magazine)
Battle of Basra (2008): Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr calls for his followers, the Mahdi Army, to lay down their arms and end their fighting with the Iraqi Army in Basra. (Fox News)
North Korea threatens to cut off dialogue with South Korea over comments a South Korean military official reportedly made last week about a possible pre-emptive strike against the country. (Bloomberg)
A privately registered Cessna 501 Citation carrying five people crashes into two homes in Farnborough, Kent, United Kingdom, after taking off from London Biggin Hill Airport. (BBC News) Onboard were former racing drivers Richard Lloyd and David Leslie. (Sky News)
In track cycling, Ellen van Dijk won the women's scratch at the 2008 UCI Track Cycling World Championships. (Cylingnews) (WielerRevue)

March 31, 2008 (Monday)